Polymer-brush lubricated surfaces with colloidal inclusions under shear inversion

We characterize the response of compressed, sheared polymer-brush bilayers with colloidal inclusions to highly nonstationary inversion processes by means of molecular dynamics simulations and scaling theory. Bilayers with a simple (dimeric) solvent reveal an overshoot for the shear stress, while sim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 106; no. 16; p. 168301
Main Authors Spirin, L, Galuschko, A, Kreer, T, Binder, K, Baschnagel, J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 22.04.2011
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Summary:We characterize the response of compressed, sheared polymer-brush bilayers with colloidal inclusions to highly nonstationary inversion processes by means of molecular dynamics simulations and scaling theory. Bilayers with a simple (dimeric) solvent reveal an overshoot for the shear stress, while simulations of dry brushes without explicit solvent molecules fail to display this effect. We demonstrate that mechanical instabilities can be controlled by the inclusion of macromolecular structures, such as colloids of varying softness. Based on a recently developed theory, we suggest a scaling approach to determine a characteristic time for conformational and collective responses.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.168301