Search results for "surface tension"
showing 10 items of 150 documents
Interfaces in polymer blends
2000
We investigate the structure and thermodynamics of interfaces in dense polymer blends using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and self-consistent field (SCF) calculations. For structurally symmetric blends we find quantitative agreement between the MC simulations and the SCF calculations for excess quantities of the interface (e.g., interfacial tension or enrichment of copolymers at the interface). However, a quantitative comparison between profiles across the interface in the MC simulations and the SCF calculations has to take due account of capillary waves. While the profiles in the SCF calculations correspond to intrinsic profiles of a perfectly flat interface the local interfacial position f…
Microscale Marangoni actuation: All-optical and all-electrical methods
2006
We present experimental results from an all-optical microfluidic platform that may be complimented by a thin film all-electrical network. Using these configurations we have studied the microfluidic convective flow systems of silicone oil, glycerol, and 1,3,5-trinitrotoluene on open surfaces through the production of surface tension gradients derived from thermal gradients. We show that sufficient localized thermal variation can be created utilizing surface plasmons and/or engaging individually addressable resistive thermal elements. Both studies manipulate fluids via Marangoni forces, each having their unique exploitable advantages. Surface plasmon excitation in metal foils are the driving …
Micelles, Rods, Liposomes, and Other Supramolecular Surfactant Aggregates: Computational Approaches
2017
Surfactants are an interesting class of compounds characterized by the segregation of polar and apolar domains in the same molecule. This peculiarity makes possible a whole series of microscopic and macroscopic effects. Among their features, their ability to segregate particles (fluids or entire domains) and to reduce the surface/interfacial tension is the utmost important. The interest in the chemistry of surfactants never weakened; instead, waves of increasing interest have occurred every time a new field of application of these molecules has been discovered. All these special characteristics depend largely on the ability of surfactants to self-assemble and constitute supramolecular struc…
How do droplets on a surface depend on the system size?
2002
Abstract We investigate the thermodynamics of inhomogeneous polymer melts in the framework of a coarse grained off-lattice model. Properties of the liquid–vapour interface and the packing of the melt in contact with an attractive wall are considered. We employ Monte Carlo simulations in the grand canonical ensemble to determine excess free energies, the wetting temperature and the pre-wetting line, as well as the pre-wetting critical point. Having determined the wetting properties and the phase diagram of the model polymer, we perform canonical Monte Carlo simulations of small droplets on a surface. This allows us to study the dependence of droplet size on the wetting properties. It is foun…
Polymerizable and polymeric zwitterionic surfactants: 2. Surface activity and aggregation behaviour in aqueous systems
1991
Abstract The surfactant properties of a series of permanently zwitterionic monomers and polymers were studied with respect to structural variations. A strong influence of the molecular geometry on solubility and aggregation behaviour was observed, in particular for the polymers. Whereas all monomers were water-soluble and true surfactants, the water solubility of the polymers was restricted to selected geometries. Water-soluble polymers showed the properties of classical polysoaps, i.e. low surface activity and solubilization power for hydrophobic solutes. In contrast, water-insoluble polymers formed stable monolayers at the air-water interface and could be deposited onto solid substrates b…
Depletion of carbon nanotube depositions and tube realignment in the spreading of sessile drops
2015
Abstract We studied spreading of drops of water and dilute alcohol on multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) depositions. These deposits consisted of individual arc-discharge synthesized MWNTs and irregular amorphous carbon nanoparticles on hydrophilically rendered silicon substrates. The mobile circular contact line of a spreading drop created an annular shape on the deposit, where some of the MWNTs and the amorphous nanoparticles in particular were largely depleted. The effect was strongly dependent on the hydrophilicity of the substrate. Most of the MWNTs were not only left within the annuli, but were also apparently reoriented by their interaction with the passing contact line. Our results im…
Effect of block copolymer architecture on the interfacial tension between immiscible polymers
2007
The effect of block copolymer additives on the interfacial tension (σ) is studied for the systems polydimethylsiloxane/polyethyleneoxide (A/B) and polyethylmethylsiloxane/polypropyleneoxide by means of a sessile-drop and a pendant-drop-apparatus. Diblockcopolymers (A-block-B), triblockcopolymers (A-block-B-block-A) and “tooth-brush” like copolymers (A backbone, B brushes) served as additives.
Physicochemical Surface Properties of Various Intraocular Lenses
2001
<i>Purpose:</i> It is of major interest to understand how intraocular lens (IOL) surfaces interact with aqueous humor or tissues after implantation. Important parameters to describe the physicochemical surface properties are the contact angle and critical surface tension. Therefore, we performed measurements of the contact angle and critical surface tension of several commercially available IOLs. <i>Setting:</i> Department of Ophthalmology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, University Eye Hospital, Tübingen, and Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany. <i>Methods:</i> A total of 17 commercially available standard quality IOL types (6…
Molecular association of cryptand 221D in NaCl-water solutions. A small-angle neutron scattering study
1993
Molecules of 5-Decyl-4,7,13,16,21-pentaoxa-1,10-diaza-bicyclo-[8.8.5.]tricosan (221D) and its sodium complex, with both a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic portion, are expected to form aggregates in water solutions. This was confirmed by surface tension measurements. The aggregation behaviour was studied by small-angle neutron scattering at two different [NaCl]/[221D] molar ratios, such as to obtain, in one case, aggregates entirely made up of ionic monomers, and in the other, mixed micelles constituted by both ionic and non-ionic units. The variation of the aggregation number and number of aggregates indicated that, in the former case, smaller micelles were formed, as a consequence of repulsi…
Characterization of poly(4-vinylpyridine 1-oxide) by free-solution capillary electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography
2008
The migration characteristics of poly(4-vinylpyridine 1-oxide) (PVP-NO) in phosphate buffers of acidic pH (20 mM H 3 PO 4 or NaH 2 PO 4 ) have been studied using both free-solution capillary electrophoresis (FSCE) and MEKC. To inhibit adsorption, 250 mM o-phosphoethanolamine (2-aminoethyl dihydrogen phosphate) was used. In FSCE, PVP-NO showed a narrow peak and a broader band, both having anionic behavior. These peak and band were attributed to the free and aggregated or micellized PVP-NO forms, respectively. According to surface tension measurements, the CMC of SDS in the BGE was 1.8 and 0.48 mM in the absence and in the presence of 1000 μpg/mL PVP-NO, respectively, and the association of t…