Materials Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry

Almost all engineering processes involve the transport of material across an interface. These interfacial regions are characterized by changes of composition or density over length scales comparable to molecular dimensions. Similarly, the composition and structure of a single phase can vary markedly over small distances. Examples are liquid crystals, microemulsions and micelles, some polymeric solutions, vesicles, emulsions, and protein dispersions. The physical properties of such complex fluids make them useful in a multitude of applications. The best use of these materials, however, requires knowledge of the arrangement of the material structure on a molecular scale. With the goal of developing such an understanding, we are studying several microemulsions, micelles, and vesicular dispersions as well as concentrated colloidal suspensions. The main focus of our work is experimental, but substantial theoretical and computational efforts are also underway."

1. S. Liu, K. D. Hermanson, and E. W. Kaler, "Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization in Micoremulsion", Macromolecules 39, 4345, (2006)
2. Z. Zhu, Y. I. Gonzalez, H. Xu, and E. W. Kaler, "Polymerization of Anionic Worm-like Micelles", Langmuir 22, 949, (2006)
3. Y. Lapitsky and E. W. Kaler, "Formation and Structural Control of Surfactant and Polyelectrolyte Gels", Colloids and Surfaces A 282-283, 118, (2006)
4. Y. Lapitsky, W. J. Eskuchen, and E. W. Kaler, "Surfactant and Polyelectrolyte Gel Particles that Swell Reversibly", Langmuir 22, 6375, (2006)
5. Y. Lapitsky and E. W. Kaler, "Surfactant and Polyelectrolyte Gel Particles for Encapsulation and Release of Aromatic Oils", Soft Matter 2, 779, (2006)
6. Z. Zhu, H. Xu, H. Liu, Y. I. Gonzalez, E. W. Kaler, and S. Liu, "Stabilization of Catanionic Vesicles via Polymerization", J. Phys. Chem. B 110, 16309, (2006)
7. D. Vivares, E. W. Kaler, A.M. Lenhoff, "Quantitative Imaging by Confocal Scanning Fluorescence Microscopy of Protein Crystallization via Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation", Acta Cryst. D 61, 819, (2005)
8. B. W. Berger, C. M. Gendron, C. R. Robinson, E. W. Kaler, A. M. Lenhoff, "The Role of Protein and Surfactant Interactions in Membrane Protein Crystallization", Acta Crystallographica 61, 724, (2005)
9. B.W. Berger, R. Y. Garcia, A. M. Lenhoff, E. W. Kaler, C. R. Robinson, "Relating Surfactant Properties to Activity and Solubilization of the Human Adenosine A3 Receptor", Biophysics J. 89, 452, (2005)
10. S. Liu, Y. Gonzalez, D. Danino and E. Kaler, "Polymerization of Worm-like Micelles Induced by Hydrotropic Salt", Macrmolecules 38, 2482, (2005)