Electrostatics-Driven Hierarchical Buckling of Charged Flexible Ribbons.
We investigate the rich morphologies of an electrically charged flexible ribbon, which is a prototype for many beltlike structures in biology and nanomaterials. Long-range electrostatic repulsion is found to govern the hierarchical buckling of the ribbon from its initially flat shape to its undulated and out-of-plane twisted conformations. In this process, the screening length is the key controlling parameter, suggesting that a convenient way to manipulate the ribbon morphology is simply to change the salt concentration. We find that these shapes originate from the geometric effect of the electrostatic interaction, which fundamentally changes the metric over the ribbon surface. We also identify the basic modes by which the ribbon reshapes itself in order to lower the energy. The geometric effect of the physical interaction revealed in this Letter has implications for the shape design of extensive ribbonlike materials in nano- and biomaterials.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3108, USA and Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Institute of Natural Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Zhenwei
Z
Yao
Departments of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Physics, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3108, USA.
Monica
M
Olvera de la Cruz
D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D055672:Static Electricity; D013816:Thermodynamics
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D046911:Macromolecular Substances