Soft Particles at Liquid Interfaces: From Molecular Particle Architecture to Collective Phase Behavior.

Ciarella S, Rey M, Harrer J, Holstein N, Ickler M, Löwen H, Vogel N, Janssen LMC (2021)

Publication Language: English

Publication Status: Published

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Book Volume: 37

Pages Range: 5364-5375

Journal Issue: 17

DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c00541

Abstract

-isopropylacrylamide) particle systems using phase-contrast atomic force microscopy and correlate the distinct interfacial morphology with their bulk molecular architecture. We subsequently introduce a new coarse-grained simulation method that uses augmented potentials to translate this interfacial morphology into the resulting phase behavior upon compression. The main novelty of this method is the possibility to efficiently encode multibody interactions, the effects of which are key to distinguishing between heterostructural (anisotropic collapse) and isostructural (isotropic collapse) phase transitions. Our approach allows us to qualitatively resolve existing discrepancies between experiments and simulations. Notably, we demonstrate the first in silico account of the two-dimensional isostructural transition, which is frequently found in experiments but elusive in simulations. In addition, we provide the first experimental demonstration of a heterostructural transition to a chain phase in a single-component system, which has been theoretically predicted decades ago. Overall, our multiscale framework provides a phenomenological bridge between physicochemical soft-particle characteristics at the molecular scale and nanoscale and the collective self-assembly phenomenology at the macroscale, serving as a stepping stone toward an ultimately more quantitative and predictive design approach.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Eindhoven University of Technology / Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e) Netherlands (NL) Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Ciarella, S., Rey, M., Harrer, J., Holstein, N., Ickler, M., Löwen, H.,... Janssen, L.M.C. (2021). Soft Particles at Liquid Interfaces: From Molecular Particle Architecture to Collective Phase Behavior. Langmuir, 37(17), 5364-5375. https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c00541

MLA:

Ciarella, Simone, et al. "Soft Particles at Liquid Interfaces: From Molecular Particle Architecture to Collective Phase Behavior." Langmuir 37.17 (2021): 5364-5375.

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