Related papers: Elasticity in strongly interacting soft solids: po…
We characterize the dynamics of an electrolyte embedded in a varying-section channel under the action of a constant external electrostatic field. By means of molecular dynamics simulations we determine the stationary density, charge and…
The mechanical resistance of a polyethylene strand subject to tension and the way its properties are affected by the presence of a knot is studied using first-principles molecular dynamics calculations. The distribution of strain energy for…
We explore the mechanical response of a single polyelectrolyte chain under tension in good and poor solvents using a combination of simulation and theory. In poor solvents, where the equilibrium state of the chain is a collapsed globule, we…
Liquid-crystal networks consist of weakly crosslinked polymers that are coupled to liquid-crystal molecules. The resultant hybrid system has rich elastic properties. We develop a phase field model to describe mechanical properties of a…
Here, we provide an overview of theoretical approaches to semiflexible polymers and their networks. Such semiflexible polymers have large bending rigidities that can compete with the entropic tendency of a chain to crumple up into a random…
A self-consistent mode-coupling theory is presented for the viscosity of solutions of charged rod-like polymers. The static structure factor used in the theory is obtained from polymer integral equation theory; the Debye-H\"{u}ckel…
Using molecular dynamics simulations we study the behavior of a dilute solution of strongly charged polyelectrolytes in poor solvents, where we take counterions explicitly into account. We focus on the chain conformational properties under…
Two dimensional simulations of non-cohesive granular matter in a biaxial shear tester are discussed. The effect of particle elasticity on the mechanical behavior is investigated using two complementary distinct element methods (DEM): Soft…
The structure and dynamics of a range of polystyrene sulphonate comb polyelectrolytes with well defined chain architectures were examined with static light scattering, dynamic light scattering, small angle neutron/X-ray scattering, particle…
Herein, we describe new methods to produce colloidal particle chains of three stiffness regimes that can be observed on a single-particle level, that is, on the level of the monomers that make up the chain; the chains can even be observed…
Conformation of single polyelectrolytes in tetravalent salt solutions is investigated under the framework of a coarse-grained model, using Langevin dynamics simulations. The chain size, studied by the radius of gyration, shows three…
Macroscopic elastic core-shell systems can be generated as toy models to be deformed and haptically studied by hand. On the mesoscale, colloidal core-shell particles and microgels are fabricated and investigated by different types of…
Biological cells in soft materials can be modeled as anisotropic force contraction dipoles. The corresponding elastic interaction potentials are long-ranged ($\sim 1/r^3$ with distance $r$) and depend sensitively on elastic constants,…
The influence of structural constraints on the relaxation dynamics of three polyurea networks with varying degree of crosslinking, has been studied by means of a thorough analysis of broadband dielectric spectroscopy measurements. Two…
The recent discovery of electro-active polymers has shown great promises in the field of soft robotics, and was logically followed by experimental, numerical and theoretical developments. Most of these studies were concerned with systems…
Constant temperature molecular dynamics simulations were used to study solutions of flexible polyelectrolyte chains at nonzero concentrations with explicit counterions and unscreened coulombic interactions. Counterion condensation, measured…
We explore the electrostatic bending response of a chain of charged particles confined on a finite helical filament. We analyze how the energy difference $\Delta E$ between the bent and the unbent helical chain scales with the length of the…
We use numerical simulations to show how a fully flexible filament binding to a deformable cylindrical surface may acquire a macroscopic persistence length and a helical conformation. This is a result of the nontrivial elastic response to…
A Poisson-Boltzmann approach is used to determine the double-layer integral and differential capacitances in a finite-length situation for an electrolytic cell. By means of simple analytical calculations, it is shown how these quantities…
Starting from a microscopic model of randomly cross-linked particles with quenched disorder, we calculate the Laudau-Wilson free energy S for arbitrary cross-link densities. Considering pure shear deformations, S takes the form of the…