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Microgels Adsorbed at Liquid-Liquid Interfaces: A Joint Numerical and Experimental Study.

  • Camerin F CNR Institute for Complex Systems, Uos Sapienza , Piazzale Aldo Moro 2 , 00185 Roma , Italy.
  • Fernández-Rodríguez MÁ Laboratory for Interfaces, Soft Matter and Assembly, Department of Materials , ETH Zürich , Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5 , 8093 Zürich , Switzerland.
  • Rovigatti L CNR Institute for Complex Systems, Uos Sapienza , Piazzale Aldo Moro 2 , 00185 Roma , Italy.
  • Antonopoulou MN Laboratory for Interfaces, Soft Matter and Assembly, Department of Materials , ETH Zürich , Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5 , 8093 Zürich , Switzerland.
  • Gnan N CNR Institute for Complex Systems, Uos Sapienza , Piazzale Aldo Moro 2 , 00185 Roma , Italy.
  • Ninarello A CNR Institute for Complex Systems, Uos Sapienza , Piazzale Aldo Moro 2 , 00185 Roma , Italy.
  • Isa L Laboratory for Interfaces, Soft Matter and Assembly, Department of Materials , ETH Zürich , Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5 , 8093 Zürich , Switzerland.
  • Zaccarelli E CNR Institute for Complex Systems, Uos Sapienza , Piazzale Aldo Moro 2 , 00185 Roma , Italy.
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  • 2019-03-14
Published in:
  • ACS nano. - 2019
AFM
cryo-SEM
interface
microgels
modeling
polymer networks
English 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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  • English
Open access status
hybrid
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https://sonar.ch/global/documents/241223
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