Fluid-fluid interfaces are an attractive platform for self-assembling nanoparticles into low-dimensional materials. In this Perspective, we review recent developments in the use of interfaces to direct the assembly of spherical and anisotropic nanoparticles into diverse and sophisticated architectures. We illustrate how nanoparticle clusters, strings, networks, superlattices, chiral lattices, and quasicrystals can be self-assembled by harnessing the frustration between interfacial and interparticle forces. We highlight the role of polymeric ligands attached to the surface of nanoparticles in modulating assembly behavior by directly altering particle-fluid and particle-particle interactions or by deforming at interfaces and junctions between particles. We conclude by providing a roadmap of key questions and opportunities in this exciting field of interfacial assembly.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c03321 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Thermodynamics of Surfactant-Enriched Binary-Fluid Systems.
Langmuir
January 2025
Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Surface-active agents (surfactants) release potential energy as they migrate from one of two adjacent fluids onto their fluid-fluid interface, a process that profoundly impacts the system's energy and entropy householding. The continuum thermodynamics underlying such a surfactant-enriched binary-fluid system has not yet been explored comprehensively. In this article, we present a mathematical description of such a system, in terms of balance laws, equations of state, and permissible constitutive relations and interface conditions, that satisfies the first and second law of thermodynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrom Frustration to Order: Role of Fluid-Fluid Interfaces in Precision Assembly of Nanoparticles.
Langmuir
December 2024
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States.
Fluid-fluid interfaces are an attractive platform for self-assembling nanoparticles into low-dimensional materials. In this Perspective, we review recent developments in the use of interfaces to direct the assembly of spherical and anisotropic nanoparticles into diverse and sophisticated architectures. We illustrate how nanoparticle clusters, strings, networks, superlattices, chiral lattices, and quasicrystals can be self-assembled by harnessing the frustration between interfacial and interparticle forces.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHybrid particle-phase field model and renormalized surface tension in dilute suspensions of nanoparticles.
Phys Rev E
October 2024
School of Mathematics and Statistics, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, United Kingdom.
We present a two-phase field model and a hybrid particle-phase field model to simulate dilute colloidal sedimentation and flotation near a liquid-gas interface (or fluid-fluid interface in general). Both models are coupled to the incompressible Stokes equation, which is solved numerically using a combination of sine and regular Fourier transforms to account for the no-slip boundary conditions at the boundaries. The continuum two-phase field model allows us to analytically solve the equilibrium interfacial profile using a perturbative approach, demonstrating excellent agreement with numerical simulations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSurfactant-Nanoparticle Formulations for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Calcite-Rich Rocks.
Langmuir
November 2024
ChampionX, 11177 S. Stadium Drive, Sugar Land, Texas 77478, United States.
Aqueous surfactant-nanoparticle mixtures have received great attention recently for promoting a more sustainable and efficient enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process. However, colloidal stability under reservoir conditions is considered a great challenge. In addition, the way synergy operates in EOR is not clearly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEntropy-favorable adsorption of polymer-grafted nanoparticles at fluid-fluid interfaces.
J Chem Phys
September 2024
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry & Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 130022 Changchun, China.
The adsorption of polymer-grafted nanoparticles at interfaces is a problem of fundamental interest in physics and soft materials. This adsorption behavior is governed by the interplay between interaction potentials and entropic effects. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations and umbrella sampling methods to study the adsorption behavior of a Janus-like homopolymer-grafted nanoparticle at fluid-fluid interfaces.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!