Microgels Adsorbed at Liquid-Liquid Interfaces : A Joint Numerical and Experimental Study
(2019) In ACS Nano 13(4). p.4548-4559- Abstract
Soft particles display highly versatile properties with respect to hard colloids and even more so at fluid-fluid interfaces. In particular, microgels, consisting of a cross-linked polymer network, are able to deform and flatten upon adsorption at the interface due to the balance between surface tension and internal elasticity. Despite the existence of experimental results, a detailed theoretical understanding of this phenomenon is still lacking due to the absence of appropriate microscopic models. In this work, we propose an advanced modeling of microgels at a flat water/oil interface. The model builds on a realistic description of the internal polymeric architecture and single-particle properties of the microgel and is able to... (More)
Soft particles display highly versatile properties with respect to hard colloids and even more so at fluid-fluid interfaces. In particular, microgels, consisting of a cross-linked polymer network, are able to deform and flatten upon adsorption at the interface due to the balance between surface tension and internal elasticity. Despite the existence of experimental results, a detailed theoretical understanding of this phenomenon is still lacking due to the absence of appropriate microscopic models. In this work, we propose an advanced modeling of microgels at a flat water/oil interface. The model builds on a realistic description of the internal polymeric architecture and single-particle properties of the microgel and is able to reproduce its experimentally observed shape at the interface. Complementing molecular dynamics simulations with in situ cryo-electron microscopy experiments and atomic force microscopy imaging after Langmuir-Blodgett deposition, we compare the morphology of the microgels for different values of the cross-linking ratios. Our model allows for a systematic microscopic investigation of soft particles at fluid interfaces, which is essential to develop predictive power for the use of microgels in a broad range of applications, including the stabilization of smart emulsions and the versatile patterning of surfaces.
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- author
- Camerin, Fabrizio LU ; Fernández-Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel ; Rovigatti, Lorenzo ; Antonopoulou, Maria-Nefeli ; Gnan, Nicoletta ; Ninarello, Andrea ; Isa, Lucio and Zaccarelli, Emanuela
- publishing date
- 2019-04-23
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- AFM, cryo-SEM, interface, microgels, modeling, polymer networks
- in
- ACS Nano
- volume
- 13
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 12 pages
- publisher
- The American Chemical Society (ACS)
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:30865829
- scopus:85063540390
- ISSN
- 1936-0851
- DOI
- 10.1021/acsnano.9b00390
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2019 American Chemical Society.
- id
- fd25b46f-71d9-449b-858c-3c47cfddf8f5
- date added to LUP
- 2024-02-22 14:14:10
- date last changed
- 2024-04-22 02:25:26
@article{fd25b46f-71d9-449b-858c-3c47cfddf8f5, abstract = {{<p>Soft particles display highly versatile properties with respect to hard colloids and even more so at fluid-fluid interfaces. In particular, microgels, consisting of a cross-linked polymer network, are able to deform and flatten upon adsorption at the interface due to the balance between surface tension and internal elasticity. Despite the existence of experimental results, a detailed theoretical understanding of this phenomenon is still lacking due to the absence of appropriate microscopic models. In this work, we propose an advanced modeling of microgels at a flat water/oil interface. The model builds on a realistic description of the internal polymeric architecture and single-particle properties of the microgel and is able to reproduce its experimentally observed shape at the interface. Complementing molecular dynamics simulations with in situ cryo-electron microscopy experiments and atomic force microscopy imaging after Langmuir-Blodgett deposition, we compare the morphology of the microgels for different values of the cross-linking ratios. Our model allows for a systematic microscopic investigation of soft particles at fluid interfaces, which is essential to develop predictive power for the use of microgels in a broad range of applications, including the stabilization of smart emulsions and the versatile patterning of surfaces.</p>}}, author = {{Camerin, Fabrizio and Fernández-Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel and Rovigatti, Lorenzo and Antonopoulou, Maria-Nefeli and Gnan, Nicoletta and Ninarello, Andrea and Isa, Lucio and Zaccarelli, Emanuela}}, issn = {{1936-0851}}, keywords = {{AFM; cryo-SEM; interface; microgels; modeling; polymer networks}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{04}}, number = {{4}}, pages = {{4548--4559}}, publisher = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}}, series = {{ACS Nano}}, title = {{Microgels Adsorbed at Liquid-Liquid Interfaces : A Joint Numerical and Experimental Study}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.9b00390}}, doi = {{10.1021/acsnano.9b00390}}, volume = {{13}}, year = {{2019}}, }