Polyampholyte microgels for stimuli-responsive assembly (A03)

• Subject Area: Preparatory and Physical Chemistry of Polymers
• Term: from 2012 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 191948804

The project will focus on the colloidal superstructures designed from polyampholyte and temperature-responsive aqueous microgels. The aim is to learn how single microgels will behave within the supracolloidal network in order to understand the macroscopic properties of such systems. This is pivotal to achieve the possibility to tailor on the properties of the colloidal superstructure on demand. The experimental work will focus on the fabrication of supracolloidal structures by microgel assembly in solution and emulsion droplets. The characterization of their structure and properties will be carried out by means of different techniques (light, X-ray and neutron scattering, confocal, cryo-transmission electron microscopy) and further supported by computer simulations.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 985: Functional Microgels and Microgel Systems
• Applicant Institution: Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Andrij Pich; Professor Dr. Igor Potemkin; Professor Dr. Walter Richtering, until 6/2020; Dr. Andrea Scotti