Introduction to Colloids and Surfaces. Experimental techniques for Soft Condensed Matter investigation. Stability of colloidal solutions. Polymer solutions. Surface tension and wetting. Adsorption to interfaces and amphiphilic self-assembly. Emulsions and microemulsions. Soft Matter in Biology.
1)Richard A.L. Jones. Soft Condensed Matter. Oxford University Press 2006. 2)Ian W. Hamley Introduction to Soft Matter. Wiley 2007. 3)Terence Cosgrove Ed. Colloid Sciente. Blackwell 2005. 4)Julian Eastoe. Surfactant Chemistry. Wuhan University Press 2005.
Learning Objectives
General aim of this course is to provide a sound fundamental knowledge of Soft Matter Science, in terms of the physico-chemical mechanisms underpinning the formation, stability and dynamics of self-assembled micro and nanosystems. Students will acquire a comprehensive knowledge on the peculiar behavior of disperse phases with extended interfacial regions, necessary to understand the most diverse phenomena of fundamental and applicative interest. Moreover, this course provides the basic scientific toolbox to understand the properties of nanosystems, of ordered molecular systems and formulation physical chemistry.
Students will acquire the skill to frame seemingly different fundamental and applicative issues (e.g. conceptual bases of Nanoscience or surfactant/polymer based formulations for industrial applications) in the general framework of Soft Matter Science.
Prerequisites
Courses required: none
Courses recommmended: Physical Chemsitry I, Physical Chemistry II
Teaching Methods
Contact hours for: Lectures (hours): 48
Type of Assessment
Oral test.
Course program
Introduction to disperse phases and colloids (Soft Matter). Polydispersity, size and shape, specific surface area. Structure of the interphase.Colloidal dispersion, preparation through nucleation and growth of nanoparticles. Main properties of diluted and concentrated solutions. Surface tension and wetting , surface energy, contact angle, cohesion and adhesion, spreading. Adsorption at the interface, amphiphilic aggregation. Surfactants: properties and thermodynamics of adsorption and self-association. Solution properties (Krafft and Cloud points), micelles, self-assemby theories, liquid-crystalline mesophases. Emuslions and microemulsions: definition and historical outline, physico-chemical properties. Formation, stability and technological relevance. Some applicative examples in food science (e.g. molecular cuisine), pharmaceutical (drug delivery and targeting) cosmetic, paints. Micro and macroemulsions as templates for mesophases and nanoparticles. Experimental techniques for the study of Soft Matter: Light, X-ray and Neutron Scattering. Stability of colloidal dispersions. Interaction energy and lengthscales in Soft Matter. Interparticle interaction potentials, stability criteria (DLVO theory). Polymeric solutions, dilute and semidilute regimes, microstructure (contour length, persistence length, radius of gyration), excluded volume, Flory-Huggins theory and scaling laws.
Soft Matter in Biology: lipid membranes, DNA, proteins, polysaccharides, macromolecules. Examples from diagnostic and biomedical fields.