Simulations Reveal Fundamental Insights on Janus Particles
upstart writes:
Simulations Reveal Fundamental Insights on Janus Particles:
Named for a Roman god, Janus particles refer to nanoparticles that possess surfaces with two or more distinct physical chemical properties.
The special nanoparticles were introduced to the scientific community by 1991 Nobel Prize winner Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, who pointed out that "objects with two sides of different wettability have the unique advantage of densely self-assembling at liquid-liquid interfaces," and consequentially, generating new colloidal structures.
The resulting chemical asymmetry led to the discovery of new and unusual molecular properties, making Janus particles relevant to a wide range of applications, from biomedicine to water-repellent textiles to fabrication of membranes with tunable properties.
[...] Focusing on a cluster of spherical particles used to create a rigid body of Janus rods, the simulations shed light on the dynamic behavior of the nanoparticles, with varying surface coatings and sizes, at a water-oil interface. The work reveals a strong influence of their shape on their orientation at the interface as well as on their mobility.
"As a result, these varying individual responses modify the interfacial tension of the entire system, which impacts rheology and, thus, processing schemes," said co-author Giovanniantonio Natale.
Journal Reference:
Mohammad T. Hossain, Ian D. Gates, Giovanniantonio Natale. Dynamics of Brownian Janus rods at a liquid-liquid interface, Physics of Fluids (DOI: 10.1063/5.0076148)
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