Structure, dynamics and solvation in heterogeneous environments

科罗拉多州立大学的布兰卡·拉丹尼是由理论和计算化学项目的一个奖项资助的，该项目利用理论和计算机模拟来研究界面和纳米受限流体。这些主题密切相关，因为界面在影响受限流体的性质方面起着重要作用。拉丹尼和她的研究小组正在更好地了解水在延伸的疏水和亲水表面附近的分子尺度特性。他们还在探索液/液界面的介观性质，以表征毛细管波及其对界面结构的影响，并模拟和分析在X射线反射率实验中获得的实验数据。此外，他们还研究纳米尺度内的流体。由于降维和界面效应，这类流体的性质与相应的块体相有很大的不同。理解液体界面和纳米受限流体的性质影响到许多领域。疏水液体和表面活性剂存在于蛋白质和膜等生物系统中。了解受限液体的性质与散体有何不同，对于包括催化、纳米颗粒合成、润滑、层析、石油回收、细胞动力学和微流体在内的许多技术应用都是重要的。

Branka Ladanyi of Colorado State University is funded by an award from the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry program to study, using theory and computer simulation, interfacial and nanoconfined fluids. These topics are closely related, given that interfaces play an important role in influencing the properties of confined fluids. Ladanyi and her research group study are gaining a better understanding of the molecular-scale properties of water near extended hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. They are also exploring the mesoscopic properties of liquid/liquid interfaces in order to characterize capillary waves and their effects on the interfacial structure as well as to model and analyze experimental data obtained in X-ray reflectivity experiments. Additionally, they study fluids confined in nanoscale dimensions. Such fluids possess properties that differ considerably from the corresponding bulk phases due to reduced dimensionality and interfacial effects.Understanding the properties of liquid interfaces and nanoconfined fluids impacts many areas. Hydrophobic liquids and surfactants occur in biological systems such as proteins and membranes. Understanding how the properties of confined liquids differ from the bulk is important for numerous technological applications, including catalysis, nanoparticle synthesis, lubrication, chromatography, oil recovery, cellular dynamics and microfluidics.