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.
A research team led by Professor Nenad Miljkovic in The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has published a breakthrough study in Nature Physics. The work reports the first experimental ...
General Physics
Jun 3, 2026
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Whisky-inspired chemicals could help power a new generation of microscopic machines, according to researchers who have discovered a way to make tiny particles "swim" through liquid using compounds linked to the production ...
Nanophysics
Jun 3, 2026
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From sizzling bacon in the kitchen to wildfire smoke in the sky, cooking and pollution release microscopic particles that affect humans' health, the air they breathe, and even weather and climate. New research from Virginia ...
Environment
Jun 2, 2026
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A research team led by Professor Steven Wang, Associate Vice President (Resources Planning) and Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and School of Energy and Environment, has designed a revolutionary ...
General Physics
May 26, 2026
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30
When they reach the bottom of a soap dispenser, frugal handwashers might try adding water to the bottle to push out the last bit of soap. But usually, the water drills right through the soap and jets out an only slightly ...
Soft Matter
May 22, 2026
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467
A new chip-making technique exploits a material's crystal structure to create nanoscale patterns at room temperature directly onto hard materials used in devices, including silica. The method could make it easier to pattern ...
Nanophysics
May 22, 2026
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62
A research team in China has reported a significant piezoelectric effect in ultrathin and ultra-flexible polycrystalline diamond membranes. This pioneering discovery challenges a century-long scientific dogma that diamonds ...
Condensed Matter
May 21, 2026
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23
Cellular membranes not only constitute a barrier, but they also accommodate a plethora of different molecules for sensing and ensuring cellular function. These molecules often cluster together, forming condensates embedded ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 19, 2026
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5
Bacteria from the Middle East have caused precipitation all the way out in California. The same bacteria, which are known to attack plants, have also been found embedded within lumps of hail in West Africa.
Biotechnology
May 19, 2026
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11
Water molecules do not simply swirl around in complete disorder; they can form certain preferred structures. This scientific fact is often presented in entirely unscientific ways. For example, when people speak of an alleged ...
General Physics
May 18, 2026
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