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Interfacial and Colloid Science

The book is done! After a major push, Prof. Berg's new textbook: "An Introduction to Interfaces and Colloids: The Bridge to Nanoscience" was finished Oct. 1, 2009, and is currently available in the US from Amazon.com and elsewhere. The cover design, Preface, and Table of Contents are given below.

PREFACE

The importance of Interfacial and Colloid Science across the spectrum from industrial manufacturing to energy development to biomedical research to everyday activities from cooking to cleaning is beyond dispute. Still, it is to be found in relatively few courses, particularly required courses, in science and engineering curricula in our colleges and universities. More often, it is that chapter in one's physics or chemistry text that is never assigned. The early stirrings of a shift in curricula to include this material is underway, however, particularly as new tools and insights are rapidly emerging and it is recognized as the bridge to the new era of nanoscience and nanotechnology. This text is addressed to both undergraduate and graduate students in science and engineering programs as well as to practitioners, although even high school students should enjoy parts of it. Its evolving versions have been used, I believe successfully, in both undergraduate and graduate elective courses in Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington, as well as in a variety of industrial short courses since the mid 1980's. It is now used as the text for a course in Interfacial and Colloid Science, with a significant laboratory component, that has just become required for undergraduate Chemical Engineering students at Washington as the Department embraces a shift toward molecular engineering and nanoscience.

The text is an Introduction in that it assumes the reader to have no more than the background common to third-year university students in science and engineering and to have no prior experience with the subject. An over-arching goal in preparing the book has been to keep it User-Friendly, but in the end, it seeks to bring the reader to a level permitting comfortable entry into the current scientific literature.

Part of the joy of learning science, I believe, comes from its tangibility and its relationship to everyday experience. Therefore, at the end of each chapter, after the Introduction, are described "some fun things to do," i.e., simple experiments to illustrate some of the concepts of the chapter. They require essentially no instrumentation or expensive, hard-to-get materials, and most are suitable for "Mr. Science" type classroom demonstrations.

Learning does not take place as it did even a decade ago. Now, as soon as students become familiar with the basic concepts and terminology of a topic, their next step is a visit to the Internet. A Google request, using the correct key words, for "images" or "videos" for example, instantly opens a world of information. It also, unfortunately, often produces a world of extraneous material, which only a degree of prior knowledge can sort out.

I must include here a pre-emptive apology for three things: first, the number of topics there wasn't space to cover; second, for the enormous amount of important work that has not been cited, and lastly, for the inevitable number of typographical and other errors the manuscript is sure to contain despite all attempts to minimize them.

The subject of Interfacial and Colloid Science is still one of awe and wonder to me, and it is hoped that this text will help at least in some way to convey this feeling to the reader.

John C. Berg
Seattle, WA
August, 2009

Table of Contents

The Interfacial and Colloid Science Group at the University of Washington Dept. of Chemical Engineering is headed by Prof. John C. Berg.

The Group presently has 3 graduate students and 7 undergraduate researchers. Meet them below!

Interfacial and colloid science deals with the behavior of fine-particle dispersions, fibers and thin films, and other systems strongly influenced by the properties of their interfaces. Our group engages in research attempting to acquire fundamental understanding of systems of this type and their application to situations of current practical interest. RECENT AND CURRENT RESEARCH THRUSTS INCLUDE:

  • Dynamic surface tension and interaction of surfactant solutions with print media. The success of ink-jet printing lies in the appropriate interaction of the ink with the print medium over the time involved in the printing process. Ink-jet inks are complex formulations of dyes and surfactants in a carrier medium, while printing surfaces may be various types of treated or untreated paper or porous or swellable layers coated onto various backings. The dynamic interaction, inlcuding diffusion, adsorption, wicking and spreading as a function of system composition and morphology is under investigation.
  • Mixed colloids. Here we are investigating the aggregation stability behavior of and floc structure evolution in colloids which consist of more than one dispersed species. One focus is on systems containing mineral pigments together with emulsion droplets (representative of resin binder) in aqueous media. These systems represent one type of water-based coatings which may ultimately replace solvent-based coatings, with both environmental and economic advantages.
  • Gel-trapping of colloidal dispersions. The behavior of colloidal and supra-colloidal dispersions in visco-elastic media is under investigation. The objectives are to observe and predict sedimentation, diffusion and aggregation behavior in terms of dispersion type and the rheological properties of the medium.
  • Surface energetics and adhesion. Surface energy characterization, in particular acid-base characteristics, of solids is being conducted through capillary measurements, inverse gas chromatography and atomic force microscopy. In particular, micro- and nano-patterned primer layers are being produced and characterized using the pulsed-force mode of AFM. The objective is to produce primers which produce strong adhesion between polymers and mineral surfaces while simultaneously promoting moisture resistance and corrosion inhibition. The data characterizing the primer surfaces are being used to correlate with adhesive performance and the mechanical properties.
  • Particle-filled and fiber-reinforced composites. We are examining the properties of composite materials as they are influenced by the type, size, dispersion, and loading of different types of particles (and nanoparticles) and fibers in both thermoplastic and thermoset polymeric matrices as well as sol-gel coating systems. Both mechanical and optical properties are being examined. Novel schemes are being devised for reinforcement, including the development of new core-shell nanoparticulate reinforcements, and the development of new methods for the control of stress transfer at the particle- or fiber-matrix interface. 

    • Members of the group

    Current Quarter Group Meetings

    Recent News from the group

    The Short Course in Surface and Colloid Science

    Recent Publications

    J. Berg

    Email -- berg@cheme.washington.edu
    Web -- http://depts.washington.edu/chemeng/general/faculty.html

  • Berg Presentation for Chem E 515