DesignofcomplexcolloidsMaster/InternshipprojectContact:Dr.L.RossiandProf.P.SchallSincecolloidalparticles(10-1000nm),justlikeatomsandmolecules,diffuseduetothermalmotion,theyareoftenusedtostudyatomicandmolecularphenomena.Tomimicverywellmolecularinteractions,however,colloidsmustinteractthroughanisotropicinteractions,forinstancebyusingcolloidswithanon-sphericalshape.Itisthereforeimportanttoworkonthedesignofcolloidswithveryspecificshapesthatcanbeusedasbuildingblocksforthepreparationofnovelmaterialswithpredefinedproperties.
Inthisprojectthestudentwillworkonthesynthesisofcolloidalparticles(buildingblocks)withdifferentdegreesofcomplexity.Severalsubprojectsareavailablewithfocusondifferentpreparationtechniques:
a. Inthissubprojectthestudentwilltrytodevelopasynthesisprocedureforthedevelopmentofpolymer-silicaand/orpolymer-polymercompositecolloids.Theaimoftheprojectistoobtainparticleswithasingle“bump”withtunablesurfaceproperties.
b. Inthissubprojectthestudentwillworkonasynthesisprocedureforthe
developmentofparticleswithoneormore“bumps”combiningemulsiondropletsandcolloidswithdifferentshapespreparedbyinorganicsynthesisandlithographythatwillbeperformedinthenearbyinstituteAMOLF.
c. Inthissubprojectthestudentisexpectedtoworkonthe
preparationofalibraryofdifferentlyshapedmagneticironoxideparticles.Thissubprojectwillalsoinvolvecharacterizationofthemagneticpropertiesoftheparticlesasafunctionofshape.
d. Inthissubprojectthestudentwillworkonthesynthesisofmagneticstimuli-responsivecolloids.Thesynthesisinvolvesthepreparationofinorganicmagneticcolloidsembeddedinapolymershellthatrespondtoexternalstimulisuchastemperatureand/orpH,thusallowingswitchingonandoffthemagneticinteraction.
Towardstheendofeachproject,thestudentwillbeabletotesttheassemblypropertiesoftheparticlesviatargetedexperimentswhichusuallyinvolvetheuseofopticaland/orconfocalmicroscopytechniques.Formoreinformation,pleasecontact:Dr.L.RossiorProf.P.SchallInstituteofPhysicsUniversityofAmsterdamScienceParkC4.243Tel.(0)[email protected],[email protected]
∆T/pH
