相关论文: Mediating gel formation from structurally controll…
Colloidal gels are elasto-plastic materials composed of an out-of-equilibrium, self-assembled network of micron-sized (solid) particles suspended in a fluid. Recent work has shown that far-field hydrodynamic interactions do not change gel…
We use molecular dynamics simulations of a simple model to show that dispersions of slightly elongated colloidal particles with long-range dipolar interactions, like ferrofluids, can form a physical (reversible) gel at low volume fractions.…
Motivated by the organization of crosslinked cytoskeletal biopolymers, we present a semimicroscopic replica field theory for the formation of anisotropic random networks of semiflexible polymers. The networks are formed by introducing…
Interfacial polar molecules feature a strongly anisotropic response to applied electric field, favoring dipole orientations parallel to the interface. In water, in particular, this effect combines with generic orientational preferences…
Historical monuments, outdoor stone sculptures and artworks made of porous materials are exposed to chemical and physical degradation over time. Presently, the most promising route for consolidation of weakened porous materials is the…
Polymerization and formation of crosslinked polymer networks are important processes in manufacturing, materials fabrication, and in the case of hydrated polymer networks, synthesis of biomedical materials, drug delivery, and tissue…
The efficiency of nanopore-based polymer sensing devices depends on the fast capture of anionic polyelectrolytes by negatively charged pores. This requires the cancellation of the electrostatic barrier associated with repulsive polymer-pore…
We model the behaviour of a single colloid embedded in a cross-linked polymer gel, immersed in a viscous background fluid. External fields actuate the particle into a periodic motion, which deforms the embedding matrix and creates a local…
The goal of this work is to propose a simple continuous model that captures the dielectric properties of water at the nanometric scale. We write an electrostatic energy as a functional of the polarisation field containing a term in $P^4$…
Ionic polymer-metal composites consist in a thin film of electro-active polymers (Nafion R for example) sandwiched between two metallic electrodes. They can be used as sensors or actuators. The polymer is saturated with water, which causes…
Fluid polyamorphism, the existence of multiple amorphous fluid states in a single-component system, has been observed or predicted in a variety of substances. A remarkable example of this phenomenon is the fluid-fluid phase transition in…
Viscoelastic and thermodynamic properties of transient gels formed by telechelic polymers are studied on the basis of the transient network theory that takes account of the correlation among polymer chains via network junctions. The global…
The field of synthetic active matter has, thus far, been led by efforts to create point-like, isolated (yet interacting) self-propelled objects (\emph{e.g.} colloids, droplets, microrobots) and understanding their collective dynamics. The…
Porous gels -- gels with solvent-filled pores that are much larger than their mesh size -- are widely used in engineering and biomedical applications due to their tunable mechanics, high water content, and selective permeability. Among…
A simple model of water nanoelectrolysis-defined as the nanolocalization at a single point of any electrolysis phenomenon-is presented. It is based on the electron tunneling assisted by the electric field through the thin film of water…
Polymer gels with photo-responsive cross-links enable tunable mechanics and surface morphologies, making them promising for adaptive materials. While prior work on coumarin cross-linked gels has focused on photo-mediated events in dilute…
We report the formation of colloidal complexes resulting from the electrostatic co-assembly between anionic surfactants and cationic polyelectrolytes or block copolymers. Combining light and x-ray scattering experiments with cryogenic…
The addition of enough non-adsorbing polymer to an otherwise stable colloidal suspension gives rise to a variety of phase behavior and kinetic arrest due to the depletion attraction induced between the colloids by the polymers. We report a…
We study pattern formation in gels undergoing simultaneous phase separation and orientational ordering. A 2D numerical simulation is performed using a minimal model of nonlinear elasticity with density-anisotropy coupling. For strong…
A desktop experiment has been done to show the nonlinearity in the I-V characteristics of an ion conducting electrochemical micro-system. Its chaotic dynamics is being reported for the first time which has been captured by an electronic…