Ryan Sayko, Zhen Cao, Heyi Liang, and Andrey V. Dobrynin Nanoparticles have been recently shown to be able to act as effective adhesives capable of binding two soft materials together. We performed coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to study contact mechanics … Read more

Yuan Tian, Maria Ina, Zhen Cao, Sergei S. Sheiko, and Andrey V. Dobrynin Knowledge of the work of adhesion and surface tension directs the design of new materials for coatings, adhesives, and lubricants. We develop an approach to determine both … Read more

Maria Ina, Zhen Cao, Mohammad Vatankhah-Varnoosfaderani, Matthew H. Everhart, William F. M. Daniel, Andrey V. Dobrynin, and Sergei S. Sheiko Fundamental understanding of rigid particle indentation into soft elastic substrates has been elusive for decades. In conventional heterogeneous and multicomponent … Read more

Zhen Cao and Andrey V. Dobrynin The ability of nanoparticles to remain adsorbed at an interface between two soft materials makes it possible to use them as efficient adhesives. Using a combination of the molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical calculations, … Read more

Zhen Cao and Andrey V. Dobrynin Detachment of rigid nanoparticles from soft, gel-like polymeric surfaces is studied by using a combination of the molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical calculations. Simulations show that detachment of nanoparticles from soft surfaces proceeds through … Read more

Zhen Cao, Mark J. Stevens, Jan-Michael Y. Carrillo, and Andrey V. Dobrynin We use a combination of the molecular dynamics simulations and scaling analysis to study interactions between gel-like nanoparticles and substrates covered with rectangular shape posts. Our simulations have … Read more

Zhen Cao and Andrey V. Dobrynin Shape deformation of polymeric droplets on gel-like surfaces is studied by using a combination of the molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical calculations. On the basis of the results of molecular dynamics simulations, we have … Read more

Zhen Cao, Mark J. Stevens, and Andrey V. Dobrynin We have developed a generalized model of particle-substrate interactions describing both adhesion and wetting behavior. Using a combination of the molecular dynamics simulations and scaling analysis we have shown that the … Read more

Zhen Cao, Mark J. Stevens, and Andrey V. Dobrynin We study adhesion of spherical and cylindrical nanoparticles on soft (gel-like) substrates using a combination of the molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical calculations. The substrate deformation is obtained as a function … Read more