The Utrecht Colloid Course:

Introduction to Soft Condensed Matter & Advanced Colloid Science

Utrecht University, 16 - 27 April, 2007

Scope

Program

Registration

Accommodation and Travel

Course Contents

In this lecture series an introduction will be given into the science of soft condensed matter (SCM), which includes systems such as polymers, surfactants, liquid crystals, and colloids. These systems behave like viscous fluids or soft solids and are also called complex fluids. They require insights and methods from both chemistry and physics. In the first lectures the foundations of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics (ensemble theory, liquid state theory) are reviewed, as they form the basis for a theoretical description of SCM. This formalism is applied to Debye-Hückel theory, pair distribution functions, and to the description of phase transitions in SCM systems (liquid-gas, hard-sphere crystallization, isotropic-nematic liquid crystal). The lecture series will also include an introduction to computer simulation methods, which form an important means of investigating these complex systems. Interparticle interactions are treated: electrical double layers, Van der Waals forces, DLVO theory and depletion forces. Experimental methods that are used in the study of SCM are explained: scattering methods (using light, x-rays or neutrons), microscopy and direct methods to measure forces. Using the concepts thus introduced, a more in-depth treatment is then given to the properties of concentrated dispersions, which include systems consisting of polymers, emulsions and quantum dots. In a few more advanced lectures the dynamics of colloidal dispersions will be addressed. This will include Brownian motion, rheology (flow and deformation properties), and behaviour in external fields. The lecture series will include lectures on the synthesis of colloidal dispersions, and on the use of colloidal building blocks for the fabrication of advanced nanoscale materials such as photonic crystals.

Participants

The course is intended for interested masters or PhD students, although any interested postdoc is welcome as well. The first week gives a general introduction to soft condensed matter (20 hour of lectures; 15 hours problem assignment classes with teaching assistants). Week two gives a more advanced course on colloids (20 hours of lectures).

Level

The participants are expected to have mastered on an introductory (Bachelor) level: statistical mechanics, classical mechanics and electrostatics.