The course has as its primary objective to learn the self-assembly phenomena involving the main classes of soft matter, the physico-chemical parameters governing their structure and the main techniques for the morphological and structural characterization of soft matter.
More specifically, the course's aim is the development of the following skills:
The course will consist of 5 credits provided through lectures and 1 credit of exercises.
Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.
Physical chemistry of polymers
Flexibility of the polymer chain, carrier and end-to-end distance. Models of ideal and real chains. Entropic elasticity. Polymer solutions and excluding volume. Polymeric gels and networks. Polymers responding to stimuli. Phase separation in polymer blends. Phase separation in block copolymers. Semi-crystalline polymers. Melting and glass transition.
Physical chemistry of surfactants
Surface tension. Self-organization of surfactants in "bulk". Self-organization of surfactants on surfaces and interfaces. Emulsions and foams.
Physical chemistry of colloidal and nanocolloidal systems
Interaction forces in colloids. Differences between "hard" and "soft" colloids. Phase transition and self-organization in colloids. Colloidal crystals and glasses. DLVO theory and its limits.
Thin films and monolayers of soft matter
Techniques of preparation of thin and monolayer films at solid and liquid interfaces. Self-organization of soft matter at solid and liquid interfaces. Anisotropy of soft matter films and energy factors. Two-dimensional confinement and influence on soft matter properties. Deformation of thin films of soft matter.
Structural and dynamic characterization of soft matter
Scattering of waves. Static scattering. Form factor. Structure factor. Grazing angle scattering. X-ray and neutron scattering. The contrast in X-ray and neutron scattering. Dynamic scattering.
Morphological characterization of soft matter
Scanning Probe Microscopy. Tunnel effect microscopy. Atomic force microscopy. Force curves.
Soft matter in nanotechnology
Nanoparticles, structure and properties. Semiconductor nanoparticles. Magnetic nanoparticles. Polymer nanoparticles. Surface functionalization of nanoparticles. Interaction of nanoparticles / membranes. Self-organization of functional nanoparticles.
Polymer Physics (M. Rubinstein – Oxford University Press)
Soft Condensed Matter (E. Terentjev, D. WeitzBruckner – Oxford University Press)
Fluids, Colloids and Soft Materials: An Introduction to Soft Matter Physics (A.Fernandez-Nieves, A. Puertas – Wiley)
Soft Matter Nanotechnology (X. Chen, H. Fuchs – Wiley)
Scattering Methods and their Application in Colloid and Interface Science (O. Glatter – Elsevier)
The Colloidal Domain (D. Fennel Evans, H. Wennerstroem - Wiley)