Applied Colloid and Surface Chemistry

Colloidal systems are everywhere, from personal care products to industrial formulations and food. The course introduces the student to the phenomena that govern the behavior and reactivity of surfaces and colloidal systems. Students will familiarize themselves with the main experimental techniques used to characterize interfaces and colloids, both from a theoretical perspective and via exercises on real-life examples.

At the end of the course, the student should be able to:

- Describe the main phenomena that govern the behavior of interfaces (surface tension, adsorption, wettability, adhesion, surface electrification...) and the relative theoretical models

- Identify approaches to modify the surface properties of materials and the stability of colloidal systems

- Identify characterization techniques that can be used to study specific properties of colloids and surfaces; make comparisons with other similar techniques in relation to the merits and limitations of each method

- Read critically the experimental reports of some of the characterization techniques seen during the course (BET, DLS, etc.) and apply simple models to analyze the experimental data