Symposium SM06—Nano- and Microgels
Nano- and microgels are cross-linked molecular networks swollen by the solvent, in which they are dissolved. Their dimensions range from several hundreds of nanometers to several micrometers. The unique property of the nano- and microgels is their ability to dramatically change shape and volume in response to external stimuli such as temperature, pressure and ionic strength. For a nano- or microgel with a complex shape placed in the gradient of a stimulus field, the volume change is coupled to complex deformation patterns and provides the opportunity to reversibly tune the physical and chemical properties of the nano- or microscalar gel.
Due to the microscopic length scale intrinsic to nano- and microgels, these changes are taking place at the sub-microsecond time scale making them distinct from macroscopic hydrogels. Nano- and microgels provide a combination of structural integrity, high molecular porosity and soft deformability that sets them apart distinctly from other commonplace colloids. These features offer unique combinations of architectural diversity in nano- and microgels enabling integration and compartmentalization of otherwise incompatible chemical functionalities. From a physics point of view, nano- and microgels are particularly intriguing and challenging, since their molecular properties are intimately linked with their surface behavior and inter-colloidal interactions. Their unique properties render nano- and microgels relevant in applications as mediating materials for catalysis, as sensors, as building blocks in micro-robotics and for separation process technology.
This symposium will broadly cover current and emerging questions related to the physical, chemical and material properties of nano- and microgels. The symposium seeks to provide a general overview of recent advances in new design concepts, modelling tools, fabrication techniques and promising applications enabled by these new developments.
Topics will include:
- Novel nano- and microgel architectures
- Fabrication of nano- and microgels
- Physical and chemical properties
- Characterisation techniques
- Theoretical and numerical models
- Applications of nano- and microgels
Invited Speakers:
-
Cecile Monteux
(ESPCI, France)
-
Esther Amstad
(Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland)
-
Anna C. Balazs
(University of Pittsburgh, USA)
-
Michel Cloitre
(Ecole Superieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles, France)
-
Nicholas X. Fang
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
-
Shi Feng
(Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China)
-
Mark Grinstaff
(Boston University, USA)
-
Yu Hoshino
(Kyushu University, Japan)
-
Shin-Hyun Kim
(Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea)
-
Thomas Kodger
(Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands)
-
Eugenia Kumacheva
(University of Toronto, Canada)
-
Christos N. Likos
(University of Vienna, Austria)
-
Martin Möller
(DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Germany)
-
To Ngai
(Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
-
Igor Potemkin
(Moscow State University, Russian Federation)
-
Walter Richtering
(RWTH Aachen University, Germany)
-
Brian Saunders
(University of Manchester, United Kingdom)
-
Orlin D. Velev
(North Carolina State University, USA)
-
Dimitris Vlassopoulos
(FORTH Crete, Greece)
-
Regine von Klitzing
(Technischen Universitaet Darmstadt, Germany)
-
Andreas Walther
(Freiburg University, Germany)
-
Roland G. Winkler
(Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany)
Symposium Organizers
Dmitry N. Chigrin
RWTH Aachen University
Institute of Physics (1A)
Germany
Alexander J. C. Kuehne
DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials
Germany
Valérie Ravaine
University of Bordeaux
Institute of Molecular Sciences
France
Joris Sprakel
Wageningen University and Research
Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter
Netherlands