PEOPLE

Research Summary:

Our research is concerned with the investigation of soft condensed matter, particularly soft interfaces of interest in physics, chemistry and biology: colloids, biopolymers, membranes, nanomaterials etc. One essential characteristic of these systems is their ability to self organise in complex structures. In our group we develop and apply computational methods and theoretical approaches to understand and interpret the behaviour of soft interfaces. Our current research focuses on three main topics: 1) interactions between nanoparticles and biomolecules at liquid-liquid and liquid-vapour interfaces, and how these interactions can be exploited to design interfacial molecular devices that can respond to external perturbations (e.g. external fields). 2) Structure and phase behaviour of soft materials (polyelectrolytes and membranes), with particular emphasis on the role of the solvent in determining their properties and 3) Non equilibrium phenomena at nanoscale interfaces, in particular, the investigation of energy transfer processes across interfaces of relevance in high performance materials (e.g. nanofluids).

Keywords:

Energy Conversion, Water, Colloids, Capillarity, Conductivity (Thermal), Foams, Hydrophobicity, Interfaces, Phase Transitions, Soft Condensed Matter, Biomolecular Systems, Nanofluids, Nanoparticles, Quantum Dots, Surfactants, Thin Films, Colloids, Biomolecular Systems, Nanofluids, Nanoparticles, Quantum Dots, Surfactants, Thin Films

Group: