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Related Concept Videos

Adhesion01:14

Adhesion

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Adhesion occurs when one type of molecule is attracted to a different molecule. Water exhibits adhesive properties in the presence of polar surfaces, such as glass or cellulose in plants. For instance, when water is poured into a glass, the positively charged hydrogen molecules of water are more attracted to the negatively charged oxygen molecules in the silica than to the oxygen in neighboring water molecules.
Capillary action is a result of water’s adhesive tendencies. When a narrow...
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Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity02:57

Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity

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Surface Tension
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
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Cohesion01:07

Cohesion

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Cohesion is the attraction between molecules of the same type, such as water molecules. Water molecules have an overall neutral charge but are polar molecule. An oxygen atom in one water molecule has a partial negative charge that can bind to a hydrogen atom with a partial positive charge in a second water molecule, forming a hydrogen bond. Each water molecule can form up to four hydrogen bonds with other water molecules. Hydrogen bonds are responsible for water's cohesive nature.
On a...
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Surface Tension of Fluid01:22

Surface Tension of Fluid

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Surface tension is a fundamental property of fluids, occurring at the boundary between a liquid and a gas or between two immiscible liquids. This phenomenon arises from the cohesive forces between molecules at the fluid's surface, creating an effect similar to a stretched elastic membrane. Inside each fluid, molecules are equally attracted in all directions by neighboring molecules, but surface molecules experience a net inward force, resulting in surface tension.
Surface tension varies...
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Theories of Dissolution: The Danckwerts' Model and Interfacial Barrier Model01:09

Theories of Dissolution: The Danckwerts' Model and Interfacial Barrier Model

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Various dissolution theories provide insight into the factors that influence the dissolution rate. Danckwerts' Model suggests that turbulence, rather than a stagnant layer, characterizes the dissolution medium at the solid-liquid interface. In this model, the agitated solvent contains macroscopic packets that move to the interface via eddy currents, facilitating the absorption and delivery of the drug to the bulk solution. The regular replenishment of solvent packets maintains the...
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Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation01:31

Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation

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Cells migrating in response to external stimuli form lamellipodia, which are thin membrane protrusions supported by a mesh of linked, branched, or unbranched actin filaments. These actin filaments interact with myosin motor proteins, creating the dynamic actomyosin complex within the cytoskeleton. Contractility, or the ability to generate contractile stress, is inherent to the actomyosin complex. It helps cells detect the stiffness of the surrounding ECM and exert contractile force for...
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Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers
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Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

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Wetting and phase separation in soft adhesion.

Katharine E Jensen1, Raphael Sarfati1, Robert W Style2

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511;

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|November 11, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Soft adhesion involves surface energy and elasticity. New findings show surface stress influences soft material deformation, leading to phase separation and unique contact line behavior in silicone gels.

Keywords:
adhesionphase separationsoft mattersurface tensionwetting

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Investigating Single Molecule Adhesion by Atomic Force Spectroscopy
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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Surface Chemistry

Background:

  • Classic adhesion theory balances surface energy and bulk elasticity.
  • Solid surface stress is increasingly recognized as crucial for soft material deformation.
  • Liquid droplet wetting principles suggest similar behavior for soft solids.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the role of surface stress in soft adhesion.
  • Determine the contact line behavior of soft silicone substrates on rigid surfaces.
  • Explore the implications of surface stress on wetting phenomena in soft materials.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental observation of silicone substrate contact angles on silica spheres.
  • Analysis of contact line geometry and phase separation.
  • Varying surface functionalization and sphere size to study effects.

Main Results:

  • Observed contact angles dependent on surface functionalization, not sphere size.
  • Discovered phase separation of the gel from its solvent near the contact line.
  • Identified a four-phase contact zone with hidden subsurface contact lines.
  • Phase-separated volume correlated with indentation volume, not sphere size.

Conclusions:

  • Soft adhesion phenomena can mimic liquid droplet wetting.
  • Phase separation is a critical mechanism for satisfying wetting conditions in soft gels.
  • Adhesion theories for soft gels must incorporate network compressibility and gel-solvent surface stress.