Themed collection Electrostatics and Soft Matter

Christos N. Likos and Joakim Stenhammar introduce this themed collection in Soft Matter on electrostatics and soft matter, in memory of Per Linse.

We review efforts to realise so-called mermaid (or short-ranged attraction/long ranged repulsion) interactions in 3d real space.

We report an analytical theory and coarse-grained simulations of electro-osmotic equilibria of uniformly charged soft permeable particles immersed in electrolyte solutions.

The simultaneous monotonic and oscillatory decay modes for interactions in ionic liquids and electrolyte solutions are analysed and physically explained.

We study the behavior of negatively charged colloids with two positively charged polar caps close to a planar patterned surface.

In a simple patchy particle model for proteins with floating bonds, self and collective diffusion exhibits two time scales when approaching the critical point.

In reverse actuation, a voltage/electrical-current signal can be generated from applying a mechanical force to an electroactuator.

Two complementary self-consistent field theoretical approaches are used to analyze the equilibrium structure of binary and ternary brushes of polyions with different degrees of polymerization.

We study the ion-specific counterion condensation behavior around charged polymers in distinct solvents. Our findings reveal the importance of ion solvation behavior in order to rationalize deviations from electrostatic mean field theories.

We revisit the charge-regulation mechanism of macro-ions and apply it to mobile macro-ions in a bathing salt solution.

The osmotic pressure of polyelectrolyte solutions as a function of concentration has been calculated by simulations of a spherical cell model and by simulations with periodic boundary conditions.

The problem of electrostatic interactions between colloidal particles in an electrolyte solution has been solved within the Debye–Hückel approximation using the boundary condition of constant potential.

After addition of poly(ethylene glycol) to a solution of poly(sodium methacrylate), the slow-mode dynamic light scattering signal reappears.

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the self-assembly of a coarse-grained binary system of oppositely charged microgels, symmetric in size and concentration.

The entropic repulsion between strongly overlapping electrical double-layers from two parallel amphoteric plates is described via the Donnan equilibrium in the limit of zero electric field.

The statistical mechanics of classical fluids can be approached from the particle perspective, where the focus is on the positions of the particles, or from the field perspective, where the focus is on the form of the interaction fields generated by the particles. These two perspectives can be combined through the variational perturbation method.

Self-organization of charged soft matter is of crucial importance in biology.

The field induced anisotropic interactions between like-charged colloidal particles is studied using direct numerical simulations, where the polarization of the electric double layer is explicitly computed under external AC electric fields.

Swelling and structural properties of ionic microgel suspensions are described by a coarse-grained model that includes elastic and electrostatic interactions.

Macromolecules based on dendritic or hyperbranched polyelectrolytes have been emerging as high potential candidates for biomedical applications.

MD-simulations and experimental investigations on uptake and release of anionic polyelectrolytes by cationic microgels surrounded by a soft anionic shell.

Computer simulations provide a unique insight into the microscopic details, molecular interactions and dynamic behavior responsible for many distinct physicochemical properties of ionic liquids.

The swelling of ionic microgel particles is measured at a wide range of concentrations using a combination of light, X-ray and neutron scattering techniques. Theoretical modeling as well as simulations are used to interpret the data.

We study thermal equilibrium of classical pointlike counterions confined between symmetrically charged walls at distance d.

Fluid density profiles sensitively depend on the type of interaction and on the lateral structure and distribution of interaction sites.

Computer simulations of hard-core Yukawa systems confined between hard walls reveal pre-melting and pre-freezing transitions across the BCC–fluid coexistence.

We investigated the complexation of thermoresponsive anionic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNiPAM) microgels and cationic ε-polylysine chains. We show that the volume phase transition of the microgels triggers polyion adsorption and gives rise to a thermosensitive microgel overcharging and reentrant condensation.

We study the phase behavior of charged particles in electrolyte solutions wherein non-adsorbing polymers are added to provide an attractive depletion interaction.

The high polarizability of neutral metal nanoparticles dictates their electrostatic character in electrolyte solutions.

Incorporation of pH-sensitive gold nanoparticles in an inert polymer brush triggers a pH-sensitive response.

We consider a one-dimensional model of short range attraction and long range repulsion interactions whose simplicity enables detailed analysis.

A Monte Carlo study of the pH-dependent ionization and swelling behavior of weak polyelectrolyte microgels.

The physical principles underlying expansion of a single-chain polyelectrolyte coil caused by Coulomb repulsions among its ionized groups, and the expansion of a cross-linked polyelectrolyte gel, are probably the same.

We present a method to efficiently simulate nano-patterned charged surfaces inside an electrolyte solution.