Université de Fribourg

Relationship between rheology and structure of interpenetrating, deforming and compressing microgels

Conley, Gaurasundar M. ; Zhang, Chi ; Aebischer, Philippe ; Harden, James L. ; Scheffold, Frank

In: Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 2436

Thermosensitive microgels are widely studied hybrid systems combining properties of polymers and colloidal particles in a unique way. Due to their complex morphology, their interactions and packing, and consequentially the viscoelasticity of suspensions made from microgels, are still not fully understood, in particular under dense packing conditions. Here we study the frequency-dependent...

Université de Fribourg

Jamming and overpacking fuzzy microgels: Deformation, interpenetration, and compression

Conley, Gaurasundar M. ; Aebischer, Philippe ; Nöjd, Sofi ; Schurtenberger, Peter ; Scheffold, Frank

In: Science Advances, 2017, vol. 3, no. 10, p. e1700969

Tuning the solubility of fuzzy polymer microgels by external triggers, such as temperature or pH, provides a unique mechanism for controlling the porosity and size of colloidal particles on the nanoscale. As a consequence, these smart microgel particles are being considered for applications ranging from viscosity modifiers and sensing to drug delivery and as models for the glass and the...