Physical Chemistry of Colloids

Dear Colleagues,

Colloidal materials, i.e., assemblies of mesoscopic building units, can be found in many commercial and industrial applications, including paints and inks, concrete, pharmaceutical products, food and healthcare, crude oil emulsions, and soft body armours. Nonetheless, their appeal is not limited to materials engineering and applied science, but also spreads out across more fundamental disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, and biology. One reason lies in the fact that materials made of micro- or nanoparticles (e.g., polymer beads, droplets, bubbles etc.) have unique properties; they are easily deformable (i.e. ‘soft’) and behave either as liquid or solids, depending on external conditions such as applied loads and temperature. On the other hand, colloids are versatile model playgrounds to mimic the properties of atomic and molecular structures. Although colloidal particles are much larger than atoms, the thermodynamic properties, fluctuations, and responses to external stimuli are strikingly similar.

I am delighted to invite you to submit works that advance the field of fabrication and characterization of colloidal materials for this Special Issue. The search for new colloidal materials starts from the synthesis of novel microscopic and nanoscopic building blocks. For instance, particles of complex geometries and surface functionalities may self-assemble into fascinating two- and three-dimensional architectures, whereas their material composition might be used to introduce responsiveness to external fields (e.g., magnetic fields). Then, it is paramount to characterize the structural properties of the colloidal assemblies using numerical models or experimental techniques, such as microscopy or light scattering. The next step is to investigate, and eventually control, the dynamical and mechanical response to external fields, local forces, and shear flows. Finally, the last two decades have witnessed a growing demand for active soft materials which can sustain their own motion without manpower due to the self-propulsion of the colloidal units.

 I look forward to receiving your manuscript. Full papers, communications, and mini reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Ivo Buttinoni
Guest Editor

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