Transition Behaviors of Configurations of Colloidal Particles at a Curved Oil-Water Interface.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Lee M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5456683 | biostudies-other | 2016 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
Similar Datasets
Project description:The physical behavior of solid colloids trapped at a fluid-fluid interface remains in itself an open fundamental issue. Here, we show that the gradients of surface tension can induce particles to jet towards the oil/water interface with velocities as high as ≈ 60 mm/s when particle suspensions come in contact with the interface. We hypothesize that rubbing between the particles and oil lead to the spontaneous accumulation of negative charges on the hemisphere of those interfacial particles that contact the oil phase by means of triboelectrification. The charging process is highly dependent on the sliding distances, and gives rise to long-ranged repulsions that protect interfacial particles from coagulating at the interface by the presence of electrolyte. These triboelectric charges, however, are compensated within several hours, which affect the stability of interfacial particles. Importantly, by charging different kinds of colloidal particles using various spreading solvents and dispersion methods, we have demonstrated that charging and discharging of single colloidal particles at oil/water interfaces impacts a broad range of dynamical behavior.
| S-EPMC4007091 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Although the role of methanesulfonic acid (HMSA) in particle formation in the gas phase has been extensively studied, the details of the HMSA-induced ion pair particle formation at the air-water interface are yet to be examined. In this work, we have performed Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory calculations to investigate the ion pair particle formation from HMSA and (R1)(R2)NH (for NH3, R1 = R2 = H; for CH3NH2, R1 = H and R2 = CH3; and for CH3NH2, R1 = R2 = CH3) at the air-water interface. The results show that, at the air-water interface, HMSA deprotonates within a few picoseconds and results in the formation of methanesulfonate ion (MSA-)??H3O+ ion pair. However, this ion pair decomposes immediately, explaining why HMSA and water alone are not sufficient for forming stable particles in atmosphere. Interestingly, the particle formation from the gas-phase hydrogen-bonded complexes of HMSA with (R1)(R2)NH on the water droplet is observed with a few femtoseconds, suggesting a mechanism for the gas to particle conversion in aqueous environments. The reaction involves a direct proton transfer between HMSA and (R1)(R2)NH, and the resulting MSA-??(R1)(R2)NH2+ complex is bound by one to four interfacial water molecules. The mechanistic insights gained from this study may serve as useful leads for understanding about the ion pair particle formation from other precursors in forested and polluted urban environments.
| S-EPMC5703292 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We studied monomolecular layers at the oil/water interface (O/Wint) in a Langmuir interfacial trough using egg-yolk phosphatidylcholine (EPC) (the model phospholipid) and Vaseline (VAS) as oil phase. The temporal dynamics in the surface pressure (?) evolution depended on the method (spreading/adsorption) used for monolayers preparation and reflected the different distribution of EPC between all the system compartments (bulk phases and interfaces). We distinguished between EPC located either stable at the interface or hopping between the interface and bulk phases. The size order of the apparent mean molecular area, at constant ?, of EPC at different interfaces (EPCO/W?>?EPC/VAS0.02;A/W?>?EPCA/W), suggested that VAS molecules intercalated between the hydrocarbon chains of EPCO/W, at a molar fraction xVAS?>?0.02. However, EPC/VAS0.02;A/W showed the highest compressional free energy. This leaded us to study the EPC/VAS0.02 mixture at A/W by Brewster Angle Microscopy (BAM), finding that upon compression VAS segregated over the monolayer, forming non-coalescent lenses (as predicted by the spreading coefficient S?=?-13?mN/m) that remained after decompression and whose height changed (increase/decrease) accompanied the compression/decompression cycle. At the O/Wint, while some VAS molecules remained at the interface up to the collapse, others squeezed out towards the VAS bulk phase with an energy requirement lower than towards the air.
| S-EPMC6381208 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Polyelectrolytes (PEs) are widely used in applications such as water purification, wastewater treatment, and mineral recovery. Although much has been learned in past decades about the behavior of PEs in bulk aqueous solutions, their molecular behavior at a surface, and particularly an oil-water interface where many of their applications are most relevant, is largely unknown. From these surface spectroscopic and thermodynamics studies we report the unique molecular characteristics that several common polyelectrolytes, poly(acrylic acid) and poly(methylacrylic acid), exhibit when they adsorb at a fluid interface between water and a simple insoluble organic oil. These PEs are found to adsorb to the interface from aqueous solution in a multistepped process with a very thin initial layer of oriented polymer followed by multiple layers of randomly oriented polymer. This additional layering is thwarted when the PE conformation is constrained. The adsorption/desorption process is highly pH dependent and distinctly different than what might be expected from bulk aqueous phase behavior.
| S-EPMC3295288 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Hexagonally ordered arrays of polystyrene (PS) microspheres were prepared by a modified air-water self-assembly method. A detailed analysis of the air-water interface self-assembly process was conducted. Several parameters affect the quality of the monolayer colloidal crystals, i.e., the colloidal microsphere concentration on the latex, the surfactant concentration, the polystyrene microsphere diameter, the microsphere polydispersity, and the degree of sphericity of polystyrene microspheres. An abrupt change in surface tension was used to improve the quality of the monolayer colloidal crystal. Three typical microstructures, i.e., a cone, a pillar, and a binary structure were prepared by reactive-ion etching using a high-quality colloidal crystal mask. This study provides insight into the production of microsphere templates with flexible structures for large-area patterned materials.
| S-EPMC5666456 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Designing and controlling particle self-assembly into robust and reliable high-performance smart materials often involves crystalline ordering in curved spaces. Examples include carbon allotropes like graphene, synthetic materials such as colloidosomes, or biological systems like lipid membranes, solid domains on vesicles, or viral capsids. Despite the relevance of these structures, the irreversible deformation and failure of curved crystals is still mostly unexplored. Here, we report simulation results of the mechanical deformation of colloidal crystalline shells that illustrate the subtle role played by geometrically necessary topological defects in controlling plastic yielding and failure. We observe plastic deformation attributable to the migration and reorientation of grain boundary scars, a collective process assisted by the intermittent proliferation of disclination pairs or abrupt structural failure induced by crack nucleating at defects. Our results provide general guiding principles to optimize the structural and mechanical stability of curved colloidal crystals.
| S-EPMC4664301 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We have analyzed the chemical variety obtained by Miller-Urey-type experiments using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy, gas chromatography followed by mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and two-dimensional gas chromatography followed by mass spectrometry (GCxGC/MS). In the course of a running Miller-Urey-type experiment, a hydrophobic organic layer emerged besides the hydrophilic aqueous phase and the gaseous phase that were initially present. The gas phase mainly consisted of aromatic compounds and molecules containing C?C?or?C?N triple bonds. The hydrophilic phase contained at least a few thousands of different molecules, primarily distributed in a range of 50 and 500 Da. The hydrophobic phase is characterized by carbon-rich, oil-like compounds and their amphiphilic derivatives containing oxygen with tensioactive properties. The presence of a wide range of oxidized molecules hints to the availability of oxygen radicals. We suggest that they intervene in the formation of alkylated polyethylene glycol (PEG) in the oil/water interface. CARS spectroscopy revealed distinct vibrational molecular signatures. In particular, characteristic spectral bands for cyanide compounds were observed if the broth was prepared with electric discharges in the gaseous phase. The characteristic spectral bands were absent if discharges were released onto the water surface. NMR spectroscopy on the same set of samples independently confirmed the observation. In addition, NMR spectroscopy revealed overall high chemical variability that suggests strong non-linearities due to interdependent, sequential reaction steps.
| S-EPMC5705758 | biostudies-other
Project description:Chemo-enzymatic cascade processes are invaluable due to their ability to rapidly construct high-value products from available feedstock chemicals in a one-pot relay manner. However, they have proven to be challenging because of the mutual inactivation of both catalysts. A conceptually novel strategy based on Pickering interfacial catalysis (PIC) is proposed here to address this challenge. This study aimed to construct a protein-stabilized Pickering system for biphasic cascade catalysis, enabled by phosphorylated zein nanoparticles (ZCPOPs) immobilized in gold nanoparticles (Au NCs). Ultra-small Au NCs, 1-2 nm in diameter, were integrated into ZCPOPs at room temperature. Then, the as-synthesized ZCPOPs-Au NCs were used to stabilize the oil-in-water (o/w) Pickering emulsion. Besides their excellent catalytic activity and recycling ability in a variety of oil phases, ZCPOPs-Au NCs possess unpredictable catalytic activity and exhibit mimicking properties of horseradish peroxidase. Particularly, the cascade reaction is well achieved using a metal catalyst and a biocatalyst at the oil-water interface. The result showed that such a combination of chemo- and biocatalysis improved the catalytic yield more than two times compared with that of sole metal catalysis. This study opened a new avenue to design nanomaterials using the combination of chemo- and biocatalysis in a Pickering emulsion system for multistep syntheses.
| S-EPMC8179504 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The process by which sheared suspensions go through a dramatic change in viscosity is known as discontinuous shear thickening. Although well-characterized on the macroscale, the microscopic mechanisms at play in this transition are still poorly understood. Here, by developing new experimental procedures based on quartz-tuning fork atomic force microscopy, we measure the pairwise frictional profile between approaching pairs of polyvinyl chloride and cornstarch particles in solvent. We report a clear transition from a low-friction regime, where pairs of particles support a finite normal load, while interacting purely hydrodynamically, to a high-friction regime characterized by hard repulsive contact between the particles and sliding friction. Critically, we show that the normal stress needed to enter the frictional regime at nanoscale matches the critical stress at which shear thickening occurs for macroscopic suspensions. Our experiments bridge nano and macroscales and provide long needed demonstration of the role of frictional forces in discontinuous shear thickening.
| S-EPMC5499204 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Critical-like behaviors have been found in translational degrees of freedom near the glass transition of spherical particle systems mainly with local polycrystalline structures, but it is not clear if criticality exists in more general glassy systems composed of nonspherical particles without crystalline structures. Here, through experiments and simulations, we show critical-like behaviors in both translational and rotational degrees of freedom in monolayers of monodisperse colloidal ellipsoids in the absence of crystalline orders. We find rich features of the Ising-like criticality in structure and slow dynamics at the ideal glass transition point ϕ0, showing the thermodynamic nature of glass transition at ϕ0 A dynamic criticality is found at the mode-coupling critical point ϕc for the fast-moving clusters whose critical exponents increase linearly with fragility, reflecting a dynamic glass transition. These results cast light on the glass transition and explain the mystery that the dynamic correlation lengths diverge at two different temperatures.
| S-EPMC7810379 | biostudies-literature