# Microgels Adsorbed at Liquid-Liquid Interfaces: A Joint Numerical and Experimental Study

## TL;DR

This study combines advanced modeling, molecular dynamics, and microscopy to understand how microgels deform and behave at liquid-liquid interfaces, aiding their application in emulsions and surface patterning.

## Contribution

It introduces a realistic microscopic model of microgels at fluid interfaces, validated by experiments, enabling systematic investigation of their morphology and behavior.

## Key findings

- Model accurately reproduces microgel shape at interfaces
- Experimental validation with cryo-EM and AFM imaging
- Systematic analysis of cross-linking effects on morphology

## Abstract

Soft particles display highly versatile properties with respect to hard colloids, even more so at fluid-fluid interfaces. In particular, microgels, consisting of a cross-linked polymer network, are able to deform and flatten upon adsorption at the interface due to the balance between surface tension and internal elasticity. Despite the existence of experimental results, a detailed theoretical understanding of this phenomenon is still lacking due to the absence of appropriate microscopic models. In this work, we propose an advanced modelling of microgels at a flat water/oil interface. The model builds on a realistic description of the internal polymeric architecture and single-particle properties of the microgel and is able to reproduce its experimentally observed shape at the interface. Complementing molecular dynamics simulations with in-situ cryo-electron microscopy experiments and atomic force microscopy imaging after Langmuir-Blodgett deposition, we compare the morphology of the microgels for different values of the cross-linking ratios. Our model allows for a systematic microscopic investigation of soft particles at fluid interfaces, which is essential to develop predictive power for the use of microgels in a broad range of applications, including the stabilization of smart emulsions and the versatile patterning of surfaces.