Elasticity of polymeric nanocolloidal particles
- Author(s)
- Jonas Riest, Labrini Athanasopoulou, Sergei A. Egorov, Christos N. Likos, Primoz Ziherl
- Abstract
Softness is an essential mechanical feature of macromolecular particles such as polymer-grafted nanocolloids, polyelectrolyte networks, cross-linked microgels as well as block copolymer and dendrimer micelles. Elasticity of individual particles directly controls their swelling, wetting, and adsorption behaviour, their aggregation and self-assembly as well as structural and rheological properties of suspensions. Here we use numerical simulations and self-consistent field theory to study the deformation behaviour of a single spherical polymer brush upon diametral compression. We observe a universal response, which is rationalised using scaling arguments and interpreted in terms of two coarse-grained models. At small and intermediate compressions the deformation can be accurately reproduced by modelling the brush as a liquid drop, whereas at large compressions the brush behaves as a soft ball. Applicable far beyond the pairwise-additive small-strain regime, the models may be used to describe microelasticity of nanocolloids in severe confinement including dense disordered and crystalline phases.
- Organisation(s)
- Computational and Soft Matter Physics, Research Platform Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics
- External organisation(s)
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS), University of Virginia, University of Ljubljana
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Volume
- 5
- No. of pages
- 12
- ISSN
- 2045-2322
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/srep15854
- Publication date
- 11-2015
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103015 Condensed matter, 103029 Statistical physics, 103036 Theoretical physics, 103023 Polymer physics
- Keywords
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/138401c9-8b93-430e-82c0-f5fa3a57d021