Surfactants and Polymers in Aqueous Solutions

The course is given every second year, next time autumn 2008.
Course description, English: This course covers the properties of concentrated surfactant systems, simple polymer (including protein) systems, and the properties of mixed surfactant-surfactant and surfactant-polymer systems. For simple surfactant systems, topics covered include mechanisms of self-assembly, interfacial behaviour (including adsorption at solid surfaces), phase behaviour of concentrated surfactant systems – including binary and ternary phase diagrams, novel surfactants, and microemulsions. For simple polymer solutions, topics such as molecular weight, phase separation, the solubility parameter, theta temperature and Flory-Huggins theory for the phase behaviour of polymer solutions are covered. The main emphasis of this course is given to the properties of mixed systems – surfactant-surfactant systems and surfactant polymer (including surfactant-protein) systems, including surfactant-polymer interactions, critical association concentrations, phase behaviour and rheology of mixed systems, and technical applications. Examples from current research are provided throughout the course.

This course provides a link between the contents of TKP4130 Plymer Chemistry and TKP4115 Surface and Colloid Chemistry, thus contributing to the fundamental knowledge of how polymers and surfactants interact in technical applications.

Seminars