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.
The University of Antwerp and CIC biomaGUNE have come up with a promising method for understanding the role of surface molecules in the formation of nanoparticles. The groundbreaking research, published in Nature Chemistry, ...
Nanomaterials
Jun 27, 2024
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133
Most of us are familiar with the classic example of a liquid-gas moving contact line on a solid surface: a raindrop, sheared by the wind, creeps along a glass windscreen. The contact line's movements depend on the interplay ...
Soft Matter
Jun 26, 2024
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104
Using a special wafer-thin gold membrane, ETH researchers have made it significantly easier to study surfaces. The membrane makes it possible to measure properties of surfaces that are inaccessible to conventional methods.
Nanophysics
Jun 25, 2024
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106
Imagine a close basketball game that comes down to the final shot. The probability of the ball going through the hoop might be fairly low, but it would dramatically increase if the player were afforded the opportunity to ...
Nanomaterials
Jun 21, 2024
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110
Researchers led by Prof. Luo Guangnan from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have made an important discovery about how materials break down and mix on the surfaces inside the experimental ...
Plasma Physics
Jun 19, 2024
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162
Fingerprint detection is one of the most important techniques in forensic investigation. When fingerprints are dusted with a carbon-based powder, the material will adhere to the moisture and grease left behind by the unique ...
Nanomaterials
Jun 17, 2024
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140
A team of physicists affiliated with several institutions in China has uncovered the reason behind the slipperiness of ice. In their study, published in the journal Nature, the group used atomic force microscopy to get a ...
From the rain drops rolling down your window, to the fluid running through a COVID rapid test, we cannot go a day without observing the world of fluid dynamics. Naturally, how liquids traverse across, and through, surfaces ...
Soft Matter
May 20, 2024
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121
A new study has been led by Prof. Xing-Hua Xia (State Key Lab of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University). While analyzing the infrared photoinduced force response ...
Nanophysics
May 6, 2024
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83
The interest in antimicrobial solutions for personal and multi-user touch screens, such as tablets and mobile devices, has grown in recent years. Traditional methods like sprayable alcohols or wipes are not ideal for these ...
Nanomaterials
May 3, 2024
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159
