New study on diffusio-phoretic membranes published in Journal of Fluid Mechanics

I’m glad to share our recent publication in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics: “Effective flows across diffusio-phoretic membranes.” Congratulations to Kevin Wittkowski for leading this study — I’m proud to have contributed to this work. In this paper, we introduce a macroscopic boundary condition to describe effective flows across microstructured diffusio-phoretic membranes. By upscaling microscale chemical interactions, we identify new contributions that extend classical permeability and diffusivity models. The approach is then applied to design minimal phoretic pumps, showcasing its relevance for the optimization and engineering of microfluidic systems. https://lnkd.in/dMKjiP8Q

Mine and my co-authors recent work, "Optimizing microfluidic flow cell geometry for in situ resonant soft X-ray characterization of molecular nanostructures," has been published in the RSC Journal: Lab on a Chip. This work directly characterizes the deformation of silicon nitride (SiN) membranes used as windows under experimental conditions for various cell configurations. The resulting measured deformation was then used to develop a predictive model that combines transmission effects of SiN bowing, incident X-ray beam profiles, and material-dependent resonant scattering cross sections to simulate the effective scattering intensity at the detector across the carbon K-edge. The results overturn the assumption that corner regions dominate the scattering signal, offering explicit design guidelines for maximizing LP-RSoXS signals and significantly advancing the quantitative application of this technique to the characterization of molecular and hybrid nanostructured materials in liquids.   Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gCRaG7cZ Co-Authors: Terry McAfee, Cheng Wang, Matthew A. Marcus & Brian Collins, Advanced Light Source (BL5.3.2(STXM) & BL11.0.1.2(RSoXS)) #Xrays #Synchrotron #Nanoscience #RSoXS #Physics #MaterialScience #AdvancedLightSource #SAXS #PolymerPhysics #Nanoparticles

Droplets and capsules are everywhere, from raindrops and emulsions to red blood cells flowing through our capillaries. Understanding how they move and deform is key to fields as diverse as biomedicine, filtration, and industrial processing. Together with Danilo Silva, Rodrigo C. V. Coelho, and Margarida Telo da Gama, at Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa in collaboration with Naomi Oppenheimer and her group (Ariel Dvir and Noa Zana) at Tel Aviv University, we explored how droplets and soft capsules deform as they sediment through confined environments. Combining experiments, simulations, and analytical modeling, we uncovered a universal shape transition: as confinement increases, soft particles change from oblate to bullet-like shapes: a transition that occurs at a critical confinement threshold, independent of their elasticity. We show that this behavior stems from a hydrodynamic crossover between viscous- and pressure-dominated drag regimes, revealing how confinement alone can dictate particle geometry and dynamics. Beyond the fundamental physics, these findings shed light on processes ranging from cell transport in microcapillaries to filtration and industrial sedimentation. [Physics of Fluids 37, 101708 (2025)] https://lnkd.in/dM55Mbmb

Finally, my first patent was granted: On a novel method to get unprecedented control over electron beam statistics. This may improve high-precision electron metrology and lithography by using countable electrons, thus eliminating the impact of shot noise. Together with Rudolf Haindl and Claus Ropers, we describe how energy or spatial filtering can select electron number states in femtosecond photoemission, based on our recent paper "Coulomb-correlated electron number states in a transmission electron microscope beam" (R. Haindl et al., Nat. Phys. 19, 1410–1417 (2023)). This was a truly exciting process, even if it took almost 3 years from the first filing to it being granted... If you are interested in our work or the applications of our invention, just get in contact! check out our invention: https://lnkd.in/eD_EBgy7 #innovation #science #electronmicroscopy #metrology #patent Ultrafast Dynamics at Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences Max-Planck-Innovation GmbH

Statistical Mechanics Approaches for Studying Temperature and Rate Effects in Multistable Systems ✏️ Andrea Cannizzo and Stefano Giordano 🔗 https://brnw.ch/21wWv79 Systems with a multistable energy landscape are widespread in physics, biophysics, technology, and materials science. They are strongly influenced by thermal fluctuations and external mechanical actions that can be applied at different rates, moving the system from equilibrium to non-equilibrium regimes. In this paper, we focus on a simple system involving a single breaking phenomenon to describe the various theoretical approaches used to study these problems. To begin with, we propose the exact solution at thermodynamic equilibrium based on the calculation of the partition function without approximations. We then introduce the technique of spin variables, which is able to simplify the treatment even for systems with a large number of coordinates. We then analyze the energy balance of the system to better understand its underlying physics... Université de Lille CNRS Viewed: 2289; Cited: 3 #mdpisymmetry #statisticalmechanics

🚀 Another Publication Accepted! We are pleased to announce that our latest research article has been accepted for publication in PARTICUOLOGY: “Pre-shear and compression phenomena of spherical and cubic particles during DEM simulation of ring shear test.” 🔍 The study explores how particle shape (spherical, multi-sphere, polyhedral) and contact force models (Hertz-Mindlin, Linear Spring) affect DEM calibration using a Schulze Ring Shear Tester. 📊 Our findings highlight the importance of including not only shear forces but also compression behaviour when calibrating DEM models. The analysis of shear lid position proved to be a valuable indicator of particle deformation and displacement during the pre-shear process. 💡 These insights will help DEM modellers to better select parameters, optimize calibration time, and improve model accuracy — with applications in both industry and academia. 👏 Big thanks to my co-authors and colleagues who contributed to this work! https://lnkd.in/eY5wMudx #DEM #granularmaterials #simulation #research #publication #bulksolids

"From Interface Dynamics to Darcy Scale Description of Multiphase Flow in Porous Media", an invited submission to a special issue in Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, authored by Steffen Berg, Ryan Armstrong, Maja Rücker, Alex Hansen, Signe Kjelstrup and Dick Bedeaux was just released as preprint on https://lnkd.in/eGBVwfwV In this review, we compare novel concepts which have been largely motivated by experimental insights, enabled by significant advances in pore-scale imaging and modeling over the last decade. The novel approaches are deeply rooted in non-equilibrium and statistical thermodynamics and cover the three dominant flow regimes. They naturally include the spatio-temporal dynamics of fluctuations which have been observed experimentally from pore to Darcy scale. This review outlines some recent achievements but also emphasizes the many open questions and invites the community for future work on the topic.

Excited to share our latest publication! “Influence of Fe/Mo Stoichiometry on Structural and Magnetic Properties in Sr₂FeₓMo₂₋ₓO₆” 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dJF_ZzgZ We explored how small changes in Fe/Mo ratios affect the structure and magnetic properties of the double perovskite Sr₂FeMoO₆ a key material for spintronic applications. Using a mix of experiments and first-principles modeling, we reveal how stoichiometry and disorder tune the Curie temperature and magnetic interactions. Key insights: • Fe excess raises T₍C₎ but lowers magnetization due to spin disorder. • Fe deficiency weakens ferromagnetism via antiparallel Fe moments. • Anti-site disorder (Fe/Mo swapping) plays a major role in magnetic coupling. These findings help understand and control magnetic behavior in SFMO paving the way for improved spintronic materials. #MaterialsScience #SFMO #Magnetism #Spintronics #DFT #Research #PhDLife

Here is our last work in ACS Nano. Collaboration with University of Basel, Technical University of Munich and Czech Technical University in Prague to study triological properties of borophene and hBN using lateral interface.

Highly Doped Cerium and Zirconium Dioxide at Room Temperature – Progress for Future Energy Storage and Chemotronics ⚡ A joint #Research team from Helmholtz-Institut Münster, RWTH Aachen University, and the Weizmann Institute of Science has achieved a breakthrough: for the first time, they gained detailed insights into charge transport in highly acceptor-doped #Cerium and #ZirconiumDioxide #Materials. 🔋 Traditionally known for applications above 500 °C, these materials have now shown ionic conductivity at room temperature – opening new opportunities for #SolidState #Chemotronics and on-chip #MicroBatteries. 🔬 Combining advanced methods such as X-ray diffraction, #RamanSpectroscopy, X-ray pair distribution function analysis, and Kelvin probe force microscopy (#KPFM), the researchers were able to precisely characterise the structures and reveal how air humidity influences charge transport. 💡 Because of their compatibility with sputtering techniques, these ceramic materials could pave the way for integrated, #EnergyEfficient solid-state components in the future. 📰 Read more: https://lnkd.in/ea9HX-tG Patrick Mowe, Dr Felix Pfeiffer, Dr. Oliver Maus, Prof. Dr Wolfgang Zeier, Prof. Dr Martin Winter, Dr Kerstin Neuhaus