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Module Title
LM Soft Matter
School
Chemistry
Department
Chemistry
Module Code
03 28081
Module Lead
Dr Melanie Britton
Level
Masters Level
Credits
10
Semester
Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions
The module is available to all students on the above programmes and is offered to suitably qualified occasional students. For the latter, enrolment is determined on a case-by-case basis using academic transcripts.
This soft matter course will cover a diverse range of soft structures, which include colloids, polymers, liquid crystals, surfactants and micelles. While these structures are indispensable in our everyday life and widely used in many consumer products, the science of soft matter is also critical to the understanding of living matter. The first part of the course will provide a brief overview of two of the most important classes of soft matter: colloids and liquid crystals. The interactions that determine the phase behaviour of these materials will be discussed, along with the experimental techniques that are commonly used to investigate soft matter. Specific examples of phase transitions in soft matter will be considered to discuss their thermodynamics and kinetics. The second part of the course will focus on surfactants, micelles and microemulsions. The factors that influence their structure and dynamics will be reviewed, along with the experimental techniques used to characterise these complex systems.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Understand and explain soft matter, focusing on a few specific classes of materials and emphasising their unifying features;
Understand and explain the physical principles that govern the structures and properties of soft matter;
Discuss the importance of soft materials in a range of applications;
Describe and explain relevant theoretical foundations and experimental techniques in the context of the study of soft matter;
Apply this knowledge and understanding to the solution of unfamiliar problems;
Demonstrate an ability to work independently, i.e. adopt student-centred study modes.