Surface and interfacial phenomena as a research area encompass the study of physical, chemical, and physicochemical processes occurring at phase boundaries, including solid–liquid, solid–gas, liquid–gas, and liquid–liquid interfaces. This field investigates adsorption, wetting, adhesion, capillarity, surface tension, interfacial rheology, and related equilibrium and non-equilibrium behaviors. It integrates thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, spectroscopy, microscopy, and simulation to elucidate structure–property relationships at interfaces. Research in this area underpins advances in catalysis, colloid and dispersion stability, electrochemistry, nanomaterials, biomembranes, microfluidics, and advanced coatings, with emphasis on how interfacial structure, composition, and energetics govern macroscopic material performance and functionality.
Finding the right lubricant for the right purpose is a task that is often extremely important in industry. Not only to reduce friction, overheating and wear, but also to save energy. At TU Wien, the research groups of Prof ...
Nanomaterials
Feb 18, 2025
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70
Locomotion makes things move, and certain forms of locomotion make them move better than others. Those more effective types of locomotion change depending on the environment, which is even more true for space exploration. ...
Space Exploration
Feb 12, 2025
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40
A research group led by Prof. Yang Liangbao from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has enhanced localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) by studying Cu₂O₁₋ₓ superlattices with oxygen ...
Nanophysics
Feb 6, 2025
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43
A team of researchers from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) has developed an innovative technique that allows the production of regular oil lenses of uniform size on the surface of water in a simple and reproducible ...
Soft Matter
Jan 30, 2025
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30
The chemical composition of a material alone sometimes reveals little about its properties. The decisive factor is often the arrangement of the molecules in the atomic lattice structure or on the surface of the material. ...
Nanophysics
Jan 16, 2025
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31
A trio of physicists from the University of Rennes, Aoyama Gakuin University, and the University of Lyon have discovered, through experimentation, that it is friction between fibers that allows knitted fabrics to take on ...
The impact of a drop on a solid surface is an important phenomenon that has various applications. Especially when the drop splashes, it can cause deterioration of printing and paint qualities, erosion, and propagation of ...
Soft Matter
Dec 27, 2024
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35
Using a chemical reaction inspired by rocket fuel ignition, Cornell researchers have engineered a nanoporous carbon with the highest surface area ever reported, a breakthrough that is already proving beneficial for carbon-dioxide ...
Nanomaterials
Dec 18, 2024
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64
The surfaces that cells come into contact with can influence how the cells grow, function, and communicate—shaping metabolism and even cellular health. Now, engineering researchers at the University of California San Diego ...
Bio & Medicine
Dec 3, 2024
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23
A team of researchers has uncovered a previously unknown phenomenon that could improve the way we design materials at the molecular level. By unlocking a transformation between two types of structural defects on the surface ...
Soft Matter
Dec 2, 2024
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