Objective
"With the rising application of microfluidics in a wide variety of fields, full control over fluid interfacial properties, especially at small length scales, is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, a deep understanding of the interfacial dynamics is needed, not only in isotropic fluids with Newtonian flow properties, but also in anisotropic systems and in fluids that exhibit non-Newtonian behavior. Colloidal suspensions have proven an ideal model system for complex fluids, as due to their high tunability and the relatively slow interfacial dynamics they allow study of interfacial phenomena in great detail.
We propose to study the interfacial and droplet dynamics in colloid-polymer mixtures using optical trapping techniques. Preliminary experiments have shown that it is possible to manipulate the colloidal liquid-gas interface in a phase separated colloid-polymer mixture with optical tweezers. We aim to systematically study the interfacial dynamics by distorting the interface in a controlled way. Both the static structure and dynamic relaxation behavior will be analyzed using optical microscopy. We furthermore envisage to use optical tweezing to coalesce and break droplets of colloidal liquid. This will shine detailed light on the forces at play, which will yield valuable and quantitative insight in these complex and rich hydrodynamic processes. We will extend our experiments to study the interfacial and droplet phenomena in suspensions of anisometric colloids and polymers, which exhibit isotropic-nematic phase coexistence. The anisotropic nature of the isotropic-nematic interface and the nematic phase itself will strongly influence the interfacial dynamics as well as droplet coalescence and breakup. We expect that combining advanced optical trapping techniques with highly concentrated colloidal liquid crystalline suspensions will lead to a host of new and exciting phenomena."
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences classical mechanics fluid mechanics microfluidics
- natural sciences physical sciences condensed matter physics soft matter physics
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.