We review direct force measurements on a broad class of hydrophobic and hydrophilic
surfaces. These measurements have enabled the development of a general interaction …

Cement is the most produced material in the world. A major player in greenhouse gas
emissions, it is the main binding agent in concrete, providing a cohesive strength that rapidly …

Gelation and densification of calcium–silicate–hydrate take place during cement hydration.
Both processes are crucial for the development of cement strength, and for the long-term …

When two oppositely charged macroions are brought into contact, a large fraction of the
mobile counterions that previously surrounded each isolated macromolecule is released …

In the study of colloidal, biological and electrochemical systems, it is customary to treat
surfaces, macromolecules and electrodes as homogeneously charged. This simplified …

We investigate the development of gels under out-of-equilibrium conditions, such as calcium–
silicate–hydrate (C–S–H) gels that form during cement hydration and are the major factor …

Low molecular weight chitosan (LMW chitosan,∼ 5 kDa) potentially has many desirable
biomedical applications such as anti-microbial, anti-tumor, and anti-diabetes. Unlike high …

Two oppositely charged surfaces separated by a dielectric medium attract each other. In
contrast we observe a strong repulsion between two plates of a capacitor that is filled with an …

Interactions in aqueous media between uniformly charged surfaces are well understood, but
most real surfaces are heterogeneous and disordered. Here we show that two such …

We study the distribution of multivalent counterions next to a dielectric slab, bearing a
quenched, random distribution of charges on one of its solution interfaces, with a given …