Aggregation And Self-Assembly

Timetable

Lectures: Mondays, 11:30-13:00, room 4.30, building: Collegium Chemicum

First lecture: Monday, 9 Oct.

Module aim (aims)

This course will introduce and discuss the basic qualitative and quantitative understanding of aggregation and self-assembly. The goal is to provide the corresponding vocabulary and concepts and to illustrate them with examples of aggregation and self-assembly of surfactants, (bio-)polymers and nano-particles.

At the end of the course you will:
- be able to characterize the morphology of self-assembled structures,
- understand general driving forces and mechanisms of aggregation and self-assembly,
- know selected applications of aggregation and self-assembly phenomena,
- be exposed to a research/application topic by participation in the course project.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

Basic understanding of physical chemistry is expected.

Syllabus

Week 1: Course Introduction: overview of self-assembled structures and their thermodynamic and kinetic origins; introduction to the course project.
Week 2: Surfactants: mechanisms of aggregation and self-assembly.
Week 3: (Bio-)Polymers: mechanisms of aggregation and self-assembly.
Week 4: Nano-particles: mechanisms of aggregation and self-assembly.
Week 5: In class initial project presentations and project assignments.
Week 6: Aggregation and self-assembly: selected issues and applications.
Week 7: Aggregation and self-assembly: selected issues and applications.
Week 8: In class project evaluations.

Reading list

1. Atkins P., de Paula J., Physical Chemistry, 10th Ed, OUP, 2014.
2. Israelachvili J. N., Intermolecular and Surface Forces, 3rd Ed., Elsevier (2011).