Extensibility governs the flow-induced alignment of polymers and rod-like colloids

Vincenzo Calabrese, Tatiana Porto Santos, Carlos G. Lopez, Minne Paul Lettinga, Simon J. Haward, Amy Q. Shen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Polymers and rod-like colloids (PaRC) adopt a favorable orientation under sufficiently strong flows. However, how the flow kinematics affect the alignment of such nanostructures according to their extensibility remains unclear. By analyzing the shear- and extension-induced alignment of chemically and structurally different PaRC, we show that extensibility is a key determinant of the structural response to the imposed kinematics. We propose a unified description of the effectiveness of extensional flow, compared to shearing flow, at aligning PaRC of different extensibility.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberL012042
JournalPhysical Review Research
Volume6
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2024

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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