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Nanomaterials
Special Issues
Nano- and Micro-Particles Interacting with Soft Interfaces
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Nano- and Micro-Particles Interacting with Soft Interfaces

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Synthesis, Interfaces and Nanostructures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 7952

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Antonio Stocco

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mcube Team, Institute Charles Sadron, CNRS UPR22, 67034 Strasbourg, France
Interests: colloids; nanoparticles; wetting; fluid interfaces; particle motion; membranes; soft matter; active matter

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nano- and micro-particles play important roles in many chemical, biological, physical, and industrial processes. They impart new properties to the medium in which they are dispersed or perform precise tasks such as adsorb on interfaces, self-assemble in complex structures, transport cargo, or even decontaminate water by interacting with pollutants. Hard and soft colloidal particles designed with different surface functions, morphologies, porosities, shape asymmetries, and Janus geometries may also impact the static and dynamic properties of soft interfaces. Interfaces composed of simple or complex fluids, surfactants, polymers, and membranes can be stabilized or destabilized by these particles. In these particle/interface systems, equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena lead to original static and dynamic features, which differ from the ones observed in the bulk. Structure and dynamics of particles at soft interfaces result both from the particle-interface interaction and the interface-mediated interaction between particles.

We invite authors to contribute original research articles or comprehensive review articles covering recent theoretical and experimental investigations on nano- and micro-particles interacting with soft interfaces in or out of thermodynamic equilibrium. These investigations may cover aspects related to single interfaces, films, foams, emulsions, bijels, polymer composites, and lipid membranes. This Special Issue aims to cover a broad range of subjects, from fundamental studies on the interaction between a particle and a soft interface to functional materials made of nano-/micro-particles. We welcome full papers, communications, and reviews for submission. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Nano- and micro-particles for interfacial materials (emulsions, foams, bijels, polymer composites);
  • Interaction and motion of particles close to and at soft interfaces;
  • Adsorption and wetting phenomena of systems containing nano- and micro-particles;
  • Interaction of nano- and micro-particles with biomimetic or biological membranes;
  • Non-equilibrium phenomena in particulate media;
  • Nano- and micro-particles for sustainability and environmental issues;
  • Fabrication of responsive and active nano- and micro-particles.

Dr. Antonio Stocco
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Soft interfaces
  • Nanoparticles
  • Microparticles
  • Wetting
  • Membrane
  • Non-equilibrium systems

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4528 KiB  
Article
Particle Size and Rheology of Silica Particle Networks at the Air–Water Interface
by Siddharth Thakur and Sepideh Razavi
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(14), 2114; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13142114 - 20 Jul 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1139
Abstract
Silica nanoparticles find utility in different roles within the commercial domain. They are either employed in bulk within pharmaceutical formulations or at interfaces in anti-coalescing agents. Thus, studying the particle attributes contributing to the characteristics of silica particle-laden interfaces is of interest. The [...] Read more.
Silica nanoparticles find utility in different roles within the commercial domain. They are either employed in bulk within pharmaceutical formulations or at interfaces in anti-coalescing agents. Thus, studying the particle attributes contributing to the characteristics of silica particle-laden interfaces is of interest. The present work highlights the impact of particle size (i.e., 250 nm vs. 1000 nm) on the rheological properties of interfacial networks formed by hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticles at the air–water interface. The particle surface properties were examined using mobility measurements, Langmuir trough studies, and interfacial rheology techniques. Optical microscopy imaging along with Langmuir trough studies revealed the microstructure associated with various surface pressures and corresponding surface coverages (ϕ). The 1000 nm silica particle networks gave rise to a higher surface pressure at the same coverage compared to 250 nm particles on account of the stronger attractive capillary interactions. Interfacial rheological characterization revealed that networks with 1000 nm particles possess higher surface modulus and yield stress in comparison to the network obtained with 250 nm particles at the same surface pressure. These findings highlight the effect of particle size on the rheological characteristics of particle-laden interfaces, which is of importance in determining the stability and flow response of formulations comprising particle-stabilized emulsions and foams. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano- and Micro-Particles Interacting with Soft Interfaces)
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15 pages, 2509 KiB  
Article
Field-Pulse-Induced Annealing of 2D Colloidal Polycrystals
by José Martín-Roca, Manuel Horcajo-Fernández, Chantal Valeriani, Francisco Gámez and Fernando Martínez-Pedrero
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(3), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13030397 - 18 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1069
Abstract
Two-dimensional colloidal crystals are of considerable fundamental and practical importance. However, their quality is often low due to the widespread presence of domain walls and defects. In this work, we explored the annealing process undergone by monolayers of superparamagnetic colloids adsorbed onto fluid [...] Read more.
Two-dimensional colloidal crystals are of considerable fundamental and practical importance. However, their quality is often low due to the widespread presence of domain walls and defects. In this work, we explored the annealing process undergone by monolayers of superparamagnetic colloids adsorbed onto fluid interfaces in the presence of magnetic field pulses. These systems present the extraordinary peculiarity that both the extent and the character of interparticle interactions can be adjusted at will by simply varying the strength and orientation of the applied field so that the application of field pulses results in a sudden input of energy. Specifically, we have studied the effect of polycrystal size, pulse duration, slope and frequency on the efficiency of the annealing process and found that (i) this strategy is only effective when the polycrystal consists of less than approximately 10 domains; (ii) that the pulse duration should be of the order of magnitude of the time required for the outer particles to travel one diameter during the heating step; (iii) that the quality of larger polycrystals can be slightly improved by applying tilted pulses. The experimental results were corroborated by Brownian dynamics simulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano- and Micro-Particles Interacting with Soft Interfaces)
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10 pages, 2066 KiB  
Article
Evaporation Caused Invaginations of Acoustically Levitated Colloidal Droplets
by Hongyue Chen, Yongjian Zhang, Heyi Wang, Xin Dong and Duyang Zang
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(1), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13010133 - 27 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1454
Abstract
Controlled buckling of colloidal droplets via acoustic levitation plays an important role in pharmaceutical, coating, and material self-assembly. In this study, the evaporation process of PTFE colloidal droplets with two particle concentrations (60 wt% and 20 wt%) was investigated under acoustic levitation. We [...] Read more.
Controlled buckling of colloidal droplets via acoustic levitation plays an important role in pharmaceutical, coating, and material self-assembly. In this study, the evaporation process of PTFE colloidal droplets with two particle concentrations (60 wt% and 20 wt%) was investigated under acoustic levitation. We report the occurrence of surface invagination caused by evaporation. For the high particle concentration droplet, the upper surface was invaginated, eventually forming a bowl-shaped structure. While for the low particle concentration droplet, both the upper and lower surfaces of the droplet were invaginated, resulting in a doughnut-like structure. For the acoustically levitated oblate spherical droplet, the dispersant loss at the equatorial area of the droplet is greater than that at the two poles. Therefore, the thickness of the solid shell on the surface of the droplet was not uniform, resulting in invagination at the weaker pole area. Moreover, once the droplet surface was buckling, the hollow cavity on the droplet surface would absorb the sound energy and results in strong positive acoustic radiation pressure at bottom of the invagination, thus further prompting the invagination process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano- and Micro-Particles Interacting with Soft Interfaces)
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15 pages, 5341 KiB  
Article
Maximum Incorporation of Soft Microgel at Interfaces of Water in Oil Emulsion Droplets Stabilized by Solid Silica Spheres
by Sebastian Stock, Susanne Röhl, Luca Mirau, Matthias Kraume and Regine von Klitzing
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(15), 2649; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12152649 - 01 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1698
Abstract
The incorporation of soft hydrophilic particles at the interface of water in non-polar oil emulsion droplets is crucial for several applications. However, the stabilization of water in non-polar oil emulsions with hydrophilic soft material alone is, besides certain exceptions, not possible. In our [...] Read more.
The incorporation of soft hydrophilic particles at the interface of water in non-polar oil emulsion droplets is crucial for several applications. However, the stabilization of water in non-polar oil emulsions with hydrophilic soft material alone is, besides certain exceptions, not possible. In our previous works, we showed that stabilizing the emulsions with well-characterized spherical hydrophobic silica nanospheres (SNs) and soft equally charged microgel particles (MGs) is a robust strategy to stabilize w/o emulsions while still incorporating a large amount of MGs at the interface. In the present study, we address the question of what the maximum amount of MGs at the interface in these kinds of emulsion droplets can be. By using well-characterized mono-disperse SNs, we are able to calculate the fraction of interface covered by the SNs and complementary that of the present MG. We found that it is not possible to decrease the SN coverage below 56% irrespective of MG softness and SN size. The findings elucidate new perspectives to the broader topic of soft/solid stabilized emulsions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano- and Micro-Particles Interacting with Soft Interfaces)
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12 pages, 3145 KiB  
Article
Driven Engulfment of Janus Particles by Giant Vesicles in and out of Thermal Equilibrium
by Vaibhav Sharma, Carlos M. Marques and Antonio Stocco
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(9), 1434; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12091434 - 22 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1907
Abstract
The interaction between Janus colloids and giant lipid vesicles was experimentally investigated to elucidate the dynamics and mechanisms related to microparticle engulfment by lipid vesicles. Janus (Pt–SiO2 and Pt–MF, where MF is melamine formaldehyde) colloids do not spontaneously adhere to POPC or [...] Read more.
The interaction between Janus colloids and giant lipid vesicles was experimentally investigated to elucidate the dynamics and mechanisms related to microparticle engulfment by lipid vesicles. Janus (Pt–SiO2 and Pt–MF, where MF is melamine formaldehyde) colloids do not spontaneously adhere to POPC or DOPC bilayers, but by applying external forces via centrifugation we were able to force the contact between the particles and the membranes, which may result in a partial engulfment state of the particle. Surface properties of the Janus colloids play a crucial role in the driven particle engulfment by vesicles. Engulfment of the silica and platinum regions of the Janus particles can be observed, whereas the polymer (MF) region does not show any affinity towards the lipid bilayer. By using fluorescence microscopy, we were able to monitor the particle orientation and measure the rotational dynamics of a single Janus particle engulfed by a vesicle. By adding hydrogen peroxide to the solution, particle self-propulsion was used to perform an active transport of a giant vesicle by a single active particle. Finally, we observe that partially engulfed particles experience a membrane curvature-induced force, which pushes the colloids towards the bottom where the membrane curvature is the lowest. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano- and Micro-Particles Interacting with Soft Interfaces)
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