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.
If you have ever warped a cheap plastic cup by pouring coffee into it, then you have witnessed thermoplasticity in action. Thermoplasticity is the ability of a material to become pliable under heating. In industry, thermoplasticity ...
Nanophysics
May 15, 2026
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How do sea squirts stay attached to rocks amid crashing waves and strong currents? Recent research has revealed that sea squirts do not simply secrete adhesive substances. Instead, they possess a unique system where they ...
Bio & Medicine
May 15, 2026
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12
As modern technologies shrink to the nanoscale, surfaces increasingly dictate how materials deform, yield, and fail. Yet probing this regime has long been hindered by the challenge of preparing and controlling surfaces with ...
Nanomaterials
May 13, 2026
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When inorganic nanoparticles come together, their optical, electronic, and magnetic properties depend strongly on how they are arranged. Being able to reorganize these arrangements in a controlled way could therefore provide ...
Nanophysics
May 13, 2026
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42
A water-based formulation developed at the University of Waterloo using nanotechnology is both greener and more effective than conventional methods for delivering agricultural pesticides.
Biotechnology
May 12, 2026
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12
For more than a decade, a fundamental mystery has surrounded graphene—the one-atom-thick "wonder material" known for its exceptional strength, conductivity, and transparency. Despite its seemingly simple structure, one basic ...
Nanophysics
May 11, 2026
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29
Your phone warms up after a 20-minute FaceTime call. Your laptop hums loudly while editing a large video file. Heat is a by-product of modern electronics—from everyday gadgets to the high-resolution screens and processors ...
Nanophysics
May 8, 2026
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Water droplets might seem simple at first. But when nearing evaporation, a desperate power struggle of competing physical forces can emerge, with explosive effects. In a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences publication, ...
General Physics
May 1, 2026
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97
Researchers from the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute and Freie Universität Berlin have revealed the arrangement of water molecules at the interface between liquid water and air. Their findings ...
Nanophysics
Apr 30, 2026
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34
Rocks can bind carbon dioxide—and much faster than previously thought. For a long time, it was assumed that the transformation of CO2 into carbonate rock depends on very slow, time-consuming processes. According to that view, ...
Nanophysics
Apr 29, 2026
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