title: Elasticity of polymeric nanocolloidal particles.
abstract: Softness is an essential mechanical feature of macromolecular particles such as polymer-grafted nanocolloids, polyelectrolyte networks, cross-linked microgels as well as block copolymer and dendrimer micelles. Elasticity of individual particles directly controls their swelling, wetting, and adsorption behaviour, their aggregation and self-assembly as well as structural and rheological properties of suspensions. Here we use numerical simulations and self-consistent field theory to study the deformation behaviour of a single spherical polymer brush upon diametral compression. We observe a universal response, which is rationalised using scaling arguments and interpreted in terms of two coarse-grained models. At small and intermediate compressions the deformation can be accurately reproduced by modelling the brush as a liquid drop, whereas at large compressions the brush behaves as a soft ball. Applicable far beyond the pairwise-additive small-strain regime, the models may be used to describe microelasticity of nanocolloids in severe confinement including dense disordered and crystalline phases.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.|Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, ICS-3-Soft Condensed Matter, Leo-Brandt-Straße, D-52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Riest
authors.affiliation: Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Labrini
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Athanasopoulou
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, McCormick Road, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4319, USA.
authors.forename: Sergei A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Egorov
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Christos N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Likos
authors.affiliation: Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.|Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.|Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematical Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 9, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Primož
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ziherl