Horst Complex

prof.dr. F.G. Mugele (Frieder)

Full Professor
TNW-CE-PCF
Horst Complex ME161
f.mugele@utwente.nl
+31534893094
Business card

Prof. Mugele studied physics at the University of Konstanz (Germany) and obtained his PhD there in 1997 with a work in surface science studying diffusion on metal surfaces in ultrahigh vacuum. During a postdoctoral research stay (1998/99) as a Humboldt Fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, CA (USA) he became interested in liquid-solid interfaces and confined liquids. As a research assistant at the University of Ulm (Germany; 1999-2004; habilitation 2003), he extended his work to wetting of functionalized surfaces, including in particular electrowetting. Since 2004, he has been full Professor of Physics of Complex Fluids at the University of Twente (The Netherlands). He is heading a group of approx. 25 researchers studying fundamental and applied aspects of fluids at interfaces from molecular to macroscopic scales at the interface between physics, chemistry, and technological applications. Prof. Mugele’s research interest include electrowetting, wetting of complex surfaces, dynamic wetting, drop dynamics, two-phase flow microfluidics, AFM spectroscopy in fluids, confined liquids, nanofluidics, optofluidics, colloids, (micro-)rheology. Application areas include inkjet printing, immersion lithography, lab-on-a-chip systems.

Expertise

  • Material Science

    • Surface
    • Particle
    • Contact Angle
    • Liquid

  • Chemistry

    • Wetting
    • Water Type
    • Oil

  • Physics

    • Liquids

Organisations

Ancillary activities

  • i-FITtraining fluid dynamics for engineers

Publications

2025

Boosting the Charge Output of Enclosed Liquid-Based Nanogenerators by Electrowetting-Assisted Charge Injection Approach (2025)Advanced science, 12(38). Article e06517. Zhao, Y., Wang, L., Li, G., Rao, C., Pan, Y., Chen, B., Xu, H., Mugele, F. & Wu, H.https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202506517Influence of anions on the formation of a passivating Fe-rich interfacial layer during olivine dissolution (2025)Geochimica et cosmochimica acta, 403, 152-165. Alagia, V. E., Mohanakumar, S., Duits, M. H. G. & Mugele, F.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2025.06.012Thermally Activated Swelling and Wetting Transition of Frozen Polymer Brushes:a New Concept for Surface Functionalization (2025)Advanced materials, 37(26). Article 2502173. Buonaiuto, L., Reuvekamp, S., Shakhayeva, B., Liu, E., Neuhaus, F., Braunschweig, B., de Beer, S. & Mugele, F.https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202502173Growth dynamics of capillary bridges (2025)Physics of Fluids, 37(7). Article 072117. Siekman, V. D., Mugele, F., Lugt, P. M. & van den Ende, D.https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0267643Emergence of repulsive viscoelastic forces at calcite surfaces in brines of variable salt content (2025)Colloids and surfaces A: Physicochemical and engineering aspects, 713. Article 136487. Kumar, S., Ayirala, S. C., Alotaibi, M. B., Yousef, A. A., Sîretanu, I. & Mugele, F.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.136487Cs-Bentonite Clay for Biogas Upgrading: A Numerical Assessment (2025)Industrial & engineering chemistry research. Mendel, N., Boon, J. J. P. J., Sîreţanu, I., Mugele, F. & Brilman, D. W. F. W.https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.4c04491CO2 Adsorption on Variably Hydrated Cation-Exchanged Montmorillonite-Rich Clays (2025)The Journal of physical chemistry C, 129(14), 6953–6966. Mendel, N., Sîreţanu, D., Sîreţanu, I., Brilman, D. W. F. W. & Mugele, F.https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c07731Temperature-driven wetting transition and localized oil entrapment in stimuli-responsive Poly-octadecylmethacrylate brushes (2025)[Contribution to conference › Abstract] NWO Physics 2025. Shakhayeva, B., Reuvekamp, S., Buonaiuto, L., de Beer, S., Braunschweig, B. & Mugele, F.

2024

Emergence of repulsive viscoelastic forces at calcite surfaces in brines of variable salt content (2024)[Working paper › Preprint]. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). Kumar, S., Ayirala, S. C., Alotaibi, M. B., Yousef, A. A., Sîretanu, I. & Mugele, F.Dynamics of drop-induced lubricant separation and depletion on oleophilic polymer brushes (2024)[Contribution to conference › Poster] MESA+ Day 2024. Liu, E., Siekman, V., Reuvekamp, S., van den Ende, D. & Mugele, F.

Research profiles

Courses academic year 2025/2026

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Courses academic year 2024/2025

Address

University of Twente

Horst Complex (building no. 20), room ME161
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands

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