Soft Matter in Confinement
Soft matter thin films with a thickness of several molecular length scales often exhibit significantly different structural and dynamical properties compared to bulk. Recently, we developed a surface forces apparatus for X-ray experiments (X-SFA) in collaboration with the group of M. Valtiner. Our novel device is optimized for in-situ investigations of liquids in slit pore confinement under compressive forces and lateral shear rates. First experiments on liquid crystals and complex electrolytes confirm the great potential of this experimental approach. Planned and current research projects include questions on the wetting dynamics of surfactants as well as on the structure and dynamics of polymer melts, colloids and self-assembled aggregates in confined geometries.
Publications
- H. Weiss, H.-W. Cheng, J. Mars, H. Li, C. Merola, F.U. Renner, V. Honkimäki, M. Valtiner and M. Mezger; Structure and Dynamics of Confined Liquids – Challenges and Perspectives for the X-Ray Surface Force Apparatus. Langmuir, DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b01215 (2019).
Contact
Mezger, Markus
Währinger Straße 38-42
1090
Wien
Room: 3309A
Email
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+43-1-4277-73805