Surfactants and Polymers in Aqueous Solutions

The course is given second every year. Next time autumn 2015.
Course description, English: This course covers the properties of concentrated surfactant systems, simple polymer 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, phase behaviour of concentrated surfactant systems – including binary and ternary phase diagrams, novel surfactants, and microemulsions. The main emphasis of this course is given to the properties of mixed systems – surfactant-surfactant systems and surfactant polymer systems, including surfactant-polymer interactions, critical association concentrations, phase behaviour and rheology of mixed systems, adsorption, and technical applications. Examples from current research are provided throughout the course.

Knowledge:
The students should have knowledge about the behavior of an aqueous system containing surfactants and polymers with respect to phase separation, aggregation state, adsorption and stability.

Skills:
After completing the course, the students should be able to:
* Understand surfactant behavior above and below the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and predict the effect of various additives on the state of the system
* Calculate CMC and critical association concentration (CAC) from a given dataset
* Interpret phase diagrams and determine phase separation as well as evaluate stability regions
* Describe routes for microemulsion-templated nanoparticle synthesis
* Use adsorption isotherms to determine surface coverage and -affinity
* Optimize the stability of a suspension or emulsion for a given application

General competence:
The student can assess the effect of addition of surface active agents
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Seminars