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Updated: Jan 19, 2026

Self-Assembly of Hybrid Lipid Membranes Doped with Hydrophobic Organic Molecules at the Water/Air Interface
Published on: May 1, 2020
Interfacial Viscoelasticity of Self-Assembled Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Particles at an Air/Water Interface
Syed Ehsanur Rahman1, Nader Laal-Dehghani2, Gordon F Christopher1
1Department of Mechanical Engineering , Texas Tech University , Lubbock , Texas 79409 , United States.
Abstract:
Hydrophobic/hydrophilic mixtures of latex particles at an air/water interface self-assemble, creating space filling, interconnected aggregates as the relative surface fractions of the dissimilar particles approach 0.5, which is reflected both in qualitative observation and fractal dimension of the microstructure. It is hypothesized that this change in microstructure occurs due to an asymmetry in the electrostatic interaction between similar and dissimilar particles caused by polarization of hydrophilic particles by hydrophobic particles. The changes in both microstructure and interparticle interactions significantly impact the interfacial viscoelasticity. As greater shape complexity is observed, interfacial complex moduli can increase by as much as 3 orders of magnitude and interfaces become more elastic.
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