Interactions among colloids, polymers and polyelectrolytes

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Objective: To increase our understanding of interactions between colloids and polymers and polyelectrolytes and the association complexation of polymers, polyelectrolytes and other water-soluble substances. These interactions play a key role in many industrial processes and the scientific understanding of these phenomena is at the forefront of colloid and surface science.Scientific approach: the proposed research can be divided into three related topics, discussed below.1. Self-assembling polymers, 2. Dissolved cellulose derivatives, 3. Electrokinetics and electroacoustics. We will be extending the self-assembling observed for alternating copolymers to other molecules, such as alternating polypeptides and cellulose derivatives, which are molecules all having the same chirality, for which we expect complete association. Another class of self-assembling polymers are copolymers. We will study the transition between spherical micelles and nanorods (both consisting of a PCL core and a PEO corona) in more detail in able to predict and control the nanorod formation. The use of cellulose is likely to increase, because of its unique biodegradable and biorenewable properties. Many cellulose derivatives can be made in aqueous or non-polar solvents, such as dialdehyde cellulose, di-and tricarboxycellulose, alkylated cellulose, etc. It is proposed to study and characterize these polymers in detail. Cellulose gels will be characterized by electroacoustics. Novelty and expected significance of the research: The work on self-assembly will increase our understanding of self assembly solely governed by pi-stacking, and nanotubes and nanorods can be used as templates for conducting nanostructures. The work on cellulose derivatives can lead to a number of interesting applications, such as e.g. biodegradable superabsorbents and superhydrophobic surfaces, whereas the work on electrokinetics and electroacoustics will increase our understanding of biodegradable cellulose gels, which are likely to find many medical and industrial applications.