The mechanical response and the fluid-solid transitions of colloidal and polymer materials
Event details
| Date | 15.06.2012 |
| Hour | 14:15 |
| Speaker | Dr. Alessio Zaccone, University of Cambridge, Dept. of Physics |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Colloids and polymers are the most common building blocks in the synthesis of organic materials and they play an important role in a variety of natural and physiological processes (blood is a colloidal fluid, while proteins, DNA etc are all natural polymers). Recently, colloidal nanoparticles and polymers have been combined in various ways to form functional materials with enhanced mechanical and electronic properties, such as e.g. ultra-strong nanofilled elastomers or nanocomposite solar cells with enhanced efficiency. In all these contexts, it is necessary to understand how the structure and the macroscopic response of the material originate from the microscopic interactions between the building blocks (i.e. the interactions between pairs of colloidal or polymer molecules in a given environment). Solving this complex many-body problem, even approximately, is vital for the rational processing and design of any kind of organic and composite materials. In the first part, I will focus on colloidal suspensions and explain the microscopic mechanism by which these liquid-like materials turn into solid either in a quiescent fluid or under the action of an externally imposed flow. In the second part, I will report on recent progress in the understanding and theoretical description of how the elastic response (rigidity) arises in structurally disordered systems (glass, granular materials, etc). This new theory is able to account for the subtle effects of structural disorder on the mechanical response. Further, it provides new answers at the molecular-level to fundamental unsolved problems such as the glass transition of polymers. Relevant industrial applications will also be touched on.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Contact
- Menamkat Erika <[email protected]>