Polymer Surfaces and Interfaces

Catalog description

This course introduces the students to surface phenomena related to polymers. Topics covered are: Statistical Nature of Polymers, Polydis-persity & Branching; Molecular Weight and its Distribution; Flexibility; Global versus Local Properties; Average Dimensions of Polymer; Poly-mer Structure and Physical Properties; Diffusion Modes-Reconfiguration and Center of Mass Transport; Interfacial Thermodynamics; Molecular Interactions in Polymers (Van der Waals Forces, Additivity and Fractional Contributions of Various Types of Molecular Forces, Introduction to Mean-field and Monte Carlo approximation to polymer molecular config-urations); Surface Energetics of Polymers (Measurement of Surface Tension, Calculation of Surface tension, Measurement of Solubility, Calculation of Solubility); Polymer-Liquid Interactions (Equilibrium Spreading Pressure, Polarity of Liquids, Contact Angle, Measurement and Prediction); Polymer-Polymer Interactions (Solubility of Polymers, Measurement of Solubility, Calculation of Solubility, Prediction of Interfa-cial Tension of Polymers, in the melt and solid state); Applications (Ad-hesion, Blending, Adsorption, Permeation).