TYC Seminar: Ion-Specific Interactions in Nanoconfinement: Insights from Clay-like Materials

TYC Highlight Seminar: Ion-Specific Interactions in Nanoconfinement: Insights from Clay-like Materials Share on X

Dr Katerina Ioannidou, CNRS & University of Montpellier

Clays provide an archetypal example of matter under extreme confinement, where charged surfaces, hydration layers and ion-specific interactions create forces that cannot be captured by continuum theories. In this talk, I will use clays and clay-like systems as a model to explore how molecular interactions shape mesoscale structure and macroscopic behavior in charged disordered materials.

I will show how potentials of mean force extracted from atomistic simulations reveal the subtle role of hydration structure, dielectric response and counter-ion identity in controlling swelling forces and aggregation. Using imogolite nanotubes and layered aluminosilicates as case studies, I will demonstrate how nanoscale mechanisms translate into mesoscale cohesion, network formation and mechanical response. Finally, I will discuss how similar ideas underpin other reactive or confined materials such as cement hydrates, nanoporous carbons and cohesive granular assemblies, providing a unified physical framework for ion-mediated interactions in disordered solids.

The goal is to illustrate how multiscale modelling—from molecular simulations to coarse-grained descriptions—can reveal the physics of confined electrolytes and emergent cohesion in a broad class of soft and porous materials.

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