Electrostatics-Driven Hierarchical Buckling of Charged Flexible Ribbons
- Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States); Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ. (China)
- Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
In this work, 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. Finally, 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.
- Research Organization:
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science (CBES)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0000989
- OSTI ID:
- 1371276
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1245334
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 116, Issue 14; Related Information: CBES partners with Northwestern University (lead); Harvard University; New York University; Pennsylvania State University; University of Michigan; University of Pittsburgh; ISSN 0031-9007
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Electrostatic shape control of a charged molecular membrane from ribbon to scroll
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journal | October 2019 |
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