SCC0571 - MICELLES, COLLOIDS AND SURFACES

courses

ID:

SCC0571

Duration (hours):

52

CFU:

SSD:

CHIMICA FISICA

Year:

2025

Date/time interval

Primo Semestre (22/09/2025 - 16/01/2026)

Course Objectives

• Knowledge of the key thermodynamic processes, of the key measurable quantities and of their physical and chemical meaning, both at the macroscopic and microscopic levels of detail; • Ability in selecting the appropriate concepts, formulae and equations to be employed while tackling quantitative questions and analyzing experimental data or the quantitative features of interfacial systems; ability in extrapolating or simplifying complicate interfacial systems to allow their rational analysis; • Understanding the differences in behavior between interfacial and bulk systems; • Appreciation for the scientific and technological applications of dispersed systems.

Course Prerequisites

Having attended the lecture courses on Chemical Thermodynamics and Physical Chemistry I.

Teaching Methods

Frontal lectures (40h): theoretical presentation of the main topics by means of overhead projections or schematics on the whiteboard; quantitative analysis of a few case studies. Practical experiences (12h): physico-chemical measurements on colloidal or interphase systems.

Assessment Methods

Viva voce exam: solving quantitative problems and verification of the ability in employing the taught material in practical cases.

Introduction to dispersed and discontinuous systems: scientific and technological importance; practical applications; experimental measures and theoretical predictions (4h) Fluid interfaces and capillarity: surface tension and its dependence on temperature and composition; molecular monolayers; intermolecular forces and origin of interphase tension; molecular characteristics and their impact on interface tension (6h). Static and dynamical effects of surface tension: Young-Laplace equation and its solutions; experimental determination of surface tension; surface curvature and impact on vapor pressure (Kelvin's effect); bubbles and droplets nucleation, statistical and classical description; supersaturation; thin liquid films and their properties; disjoining pressure (10h) Energetic of bulk systems and their interfaces; surface wetting and droplet curvature, multicomponent systems and interfacial adsorption; application of the "phase rule" and Gibbs' adsorption equation; physical and chemical characteristics of surfactants; surfactant self-assembly; protecting solid materials (12h). Dispersed systems: micelles and self-assembling systems, crystal mesophases; micell dynamics and time-evolution; micelles as drug vectors; polymeric micelles; lysosomes and vesicles (8h). Colloids: definition of colloidal systems and their classification; stability and preparation of colloidal systems; colloidal morphology (shape, size and related distributions); sedimentation, centrifugation and diffusion of colloids; experimental determination of size and its distribution (microscopy and Dynamic Light Scattering); interaction between colloidal particles and its consequences (DVLO theory, Hofmeister series, kinetics and dynamics of aggregation); polymer adsorption (strong and weak polyelectrolytes) on colloidal particles (8h).