Influence of TMAO as co-solvent on the gelation of silica-PNIPAm core-shell nanogels at intermediate volume fractions

In situ aggregation and early states of gelation of gold nanoparticle dispersions

The aggregation and onset of gelation of PEGylated gold nanoparticles dispersed in a glycerol-water mixture is studied by small-angle X-ray scattering and X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. Tracking structural dynamics with sub-ms time resolution over a total experimental time of 8 hours corresponding to a time windows larger than 108 Brownian times and varying the temperature between 298 K and 266 K we can identify three regimes. First, while cooling to 275 K the particles show Brownian motion that slows down due to the increasing viscosity. Second, upon further cooling the static structure changes significantly, indicated by a broad structure factor peak. We attribute this to the formation of aggregates while the dynamics are still dominated by single-particle diffusion. Finally, the relaxation functions become more and more stretched accompanied by an increased slow down of the dynamics. At the same time the structure changes continuously indicating the onset of gelation. Our observations further suggest that the colloidal aggregation and gelation is characterized first by structural changes with a subsequent slowing down of the systems dynamics. The analysis also reveals that the details of the gelation process and the gel structure strongly depend on the thickness of the PEG-coating of the gold nanoparticles.

Exploring non-equilibrium processes and spatio-temporal scaling laws in heated egg yolk using coherent X-rays

The soft-grainy microstructure of cooked egg yolk is the result of a series of out-of-equilibrium processes of its protein-lipid contents; however, it is unclear how egg yolk constituents contribute to these processes to create the desired microstructure. By employing X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy, we investigate the functional contribution of egg yolk constituents: proteins, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and yolk-granules to the development of grainy-gel microstructure and microscopic dynamics during cooking. We find that the viscosity of the heated egg yolk is solely determined by the degree of protein gelation, whereas the grainy-gel microstructure is controlled by the extent of LDL aggregation. Overall, protein denaturation-aggregation-gelation and LDL-aggregation follows Arrhenius-type time-temperature superposition (TTS), indicating an identical mechanism with a temperature-dependent reaction rate. However, above 75 °C TTS breaks down and temperature-independent gelation dynamics is observed, demonstrating that the temperature can no longer accelerate certain non-equilibrium processes above a threshold value.

Thermo-active Smart Electrospun Nanofibers

The recent burst of research on smart materials is a clear evidence of the growing interest of the scientific community, industry, and society in the field. The exploitation of the great potential of stimuli-responsive materials for sensing, actuation, logic, and control applications is favored and supported by new manufacturing technologies, such as electrospinning, that allows to endow smart materials with micro- and nano-structuration, thus opening up additional and unprecedented prospects. In this wide and lively scenario, this article systematically reviews the current advances in the development of thermo-active electrospun fibers and textiles, sorting them, according to their response to the thermal stimulus. Hence, several platforms including thermo-responsive systems, shape memory polymers, thermo-optically responsive systems, phase change materials, thermoelectric materials, and pyroelectric materials, have been described and critically discussed. The difference in active species and outputs of the aforementioned categories has been highlighted, evidencing the transversal nature of temperature stimulus. Moreover, the potential of novel thermo-active materials has been pointed out, revealing how their development could take to utmost interesting achievements. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Glass-liquid and glass-gel transitions of soft-shell particles

We study the structure and dynamics of colloidal particles with a spherical hard core and a thermo-responsive soft shell over the whole phase diagram by means of small-angle x-ray scattering and x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. By changing the effective volume fraction by temperature and particle concentration, liquid, repulsive glass. and attractive gel phases are observed. The dynamics slow down with increasing volume fraction in the liquid phase and reflect a Vogel-Fulcher-Tamann behavior known for fragile glass formers. We find a liquid-glass transition above 50 vol.% that is independent of the particles' concentration and temperature. In an overpacked state at effective volume fractions above 1, the dispersion does not show a liquid phase but undergoes a gel-glass transition at an effective volume fraction of 34 vol.%. At the same concentration, extrema of subdiffusive dynamics are found in the liquid phase at lower weight fractions. We interpret this as dynamic precursors of the glass-gel transition.

From Femtoseconds to Hours—Measuring Dynamics over 18 Orders of Magnitude with Coherent X-rays

X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) enables the study of sample dynamics between micrometer and atomic length scales. As a coherent scattering technique, it benefits from the increased brilliance of the next-generation synchrotron radiation and Free-Electron Laser (FEL) sources. In this article, we will introduce the XPCS concepts and review the latest developments of XPCS with special attention on the extension of accessible time scales to sub-μs and the application of XPCS at FELs. Furthermore, we will discuss future opportunities of XPCS and the related technique X-ray speckle visibility spectroscopy (XSVS) at new X-ray sources. Due to its particular signal-to-noise ratio, the time scales accessible by XPCS scale with the square of the coherent flux, allowing to dramatically extend its applications. This will soon enable studies over more than 18 orders of magnitude in time by XPCS and XSVS.

Influence of TMAO as co-solvent on the gelation of silica-PNIPAm core-shell nanogels at intermediate volume fractions

We study the structure and dynamics of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) core-shell nanogels dispersed in aqueous trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) solutions by means of small-angle X-ray scattering and X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS). Upon increasing the temperature above the lower critical solution temperature of PNIPAm at 33 °C, a colloidal gel is formed as identified by an increase of I(q) at small q as well as a slowing down of sample dynamics by various orders of magnitude. With increasing TMAO concentration the gelation transition shifts linearly to lower temperatures. Above a TMAO concentration of approximately 0.40 mol/L corresponding to a 1 : 1 ratio of TMAO and NIPAm groups, collapsed PNIPAm states are found for all temperatures without any gelation transition. This suggests that reduction of PNIPAm-water hydrogen bonds due to the presence of TMAO results in a stabilisation of the collapsed PNIPAm state and suppresses gelation of the nanogel.