Structure and Behaviour of Surface-Water and Polymer Water Mixtures

The structure and phase behaviour of concentrated surfactantwater and polymer water mixtures which form lyotropic liquid crystal mesophases are being studied.


In particular, work on intermediate phases (bilayers disrupted by water filled pores) with minimal curvature surfaces and the effects of molecular additives including oils, and anaesthetics. Experimental and coarse grained molecular simulation studies of the interaction of molecules including anaesthetics and peptides with lipid membranes and biological cell membrane models. Dissipative Particle Dynamics computer simulation has been used to investigate the ability of small oil molecules (hexane, dodecane and octadecane) to control phase structures in non-ionic surfactant-water systems. The model was successfully tested against the experimental results for binary and ternary systems where the third components are “swelling” and “penetrating” oils. The experimentally observed phases present in such systems were successfully modelled. In addition the simulations show the locations of the oil molecules within the bilayer and the surfactant chain conformation. Whilst the simulations confirm much of what is expected from experiment and theoretical models, evidence is found for the terminal methyl end of the surfactant molecules being located slightly closer to the interfacial region than other groups in the same chain.


Related Publications


  • Computational Physics

    2011

    • Pinna M., Zvelindovsky A. V. M.,  Guo X.,  Stokes Ch. L. “Diblock copolymer sphere morphology in ultra thin films under shear”, Soft Matter  7 (2011) 6991-6997.
    • Sevink G. J. A.,  Pinna M.,  Langner K. M.,   Zvelindovsky A. V. “Selective disordering of lamella-forming diblock copolymers under an electric field”, Soft Matter  7 (2011) 5161-5170.
    • Denham N.,  Holmes M.C., Zvelindovsky A.V., “The Phases in a Non-Ionic Surfactant (C12E6) – Water Ternary System: A Coarse-Grained Computer Simulation”,  J. Phys. Chem. B 115 (2011) 1385–1393.
    • Pinna M.,  Pagonabarraga I., Zvelindovsky A. V.,  ”Modelling of hybrid block copolymer-nanoparticle composite materials”, Macromolecular Theory & Simulations (2011)
      http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mats.201100047

    2010

    • Pinna M., Hiltl S., Guo X., Böker A., Zvelindovsky A. V., “Block Copolymer Nanocontainers”, ACS Nano 4 (2010) 2845-2855
    • Pinna M., “Modelling of Block Copolymer Systems with Cell Dynamics”, Institute of Physics Computational Physics Group Newsletter (Autumn 2010) 1-14.
    • Pinna M., Zvelindovsky A.V., Pagonabarraga I. “Nano-Particle/Block Copolymer Hybrid Materials”, HPC-Europa2: Science and Supercomputing in Europe. Reserrach highlights 2010 (CINECA, 2010) p.173.

    2009

    • Pinna M., Guo X., Zvelindovsky A. V., “Diblock copolymer in a cylindrical pore”, J. Chem. Phys. 131 214902
    • Ly D. Q., Honda T., Kawakatsu T., Zvelindovsky A. V., “Electric field-induced transitions in perforated lamella of ABA triblock copolymer thin film”, Soft Matter 5 4814-4822
    • Sevink G. J. A., Zvelindovsky A. V. “Confined spheres-forming diblock copolymers: phase behaviour and the role of chain architecture”, Macromolecules 42 8500-8512
    • Pinna M., Schreier L., Zvelindovsky A. V. “Mechanisms of electric-field-induced alignment of block copolymer lamellae”, Soft Matter 5  970-973

     2008

    • Pinna M., Zvelindovsky A. V. “Kinetic pathways of gyroid-to-cylinder transitions in diblock copolymers under external fields: cell dynamics simulation”, Soft Matter 4  316-327
    • Sevink G. J. A., Zvelindovsky A. V. “Block copolymers confined in a nanopore: Pathfinding in a curving and frustrating flatland”, J. Chem. Phys.  128  084901
    • Ly D. Q., Honda T., Kawakatsu T, Zvelindovsky A. V. “Hexagonally perforated lamellae-to-cylinder transition in a diblock copolymer thin film under an electric field”, Macromolecules 41 4501-4505
    • Horvat A., Sevink G. J. A., Zvelindovksy A. V., Krekhov A., Tsarkova L. “Specific featues of defect structure and dynamics in the cylinder phase of block copolymers”, ACS Nano 2  1143-1152Pinna M., Guo X., Zvelindovsky A. V. “Block copolymer nanoshells”, Polymer 49  2797-2800
    • Pinna M., Guo X., Zvelindovsky A.V., Pagonabarraga I. “Simulation of Block Copolymer-Colloid Nano-Composite Materials”, HPC-Europa++: Science and Supercomputing in Europe. Report 2008 (CINECA, 2008) 556-559.

    2007

    • Horvat A., Knoll A., Kraush G., Tsarkova L., Lyakhova K. S., Sevink G. J. A., Zvelindovsky A. V., Magerle R. “Time evolution of surface relief structures in thin diblock copolymer films” Macromolecules 40  6930-6939
    • Guo X., Pinna M., Zvelindovsky A.V. “Parallel algorithm for Cell Dynamics Simulation of block copolymers” Macromol. Theory Simul. 16  779-784, Rapid Communication. & Cover
    • Ratushnaya V.I., Bedeaux D., Kulinskii V.L., Zvelindovsky A.V. “Collective behavior of self propelling particles with kinematic constraints; the relation between the discrete and the continuous description” Physica A 381 39-46
    • Ly D.Q., Honda T., Kawakatsu T., Zvelindovsky A.V. “Kinetic pathway of gyroid-to-cylinder transition in diblock copolymer melt under electric field” Macromolecules 40 2928-2935
    • Ratushnaya V.I., Bedeaux D., Kulinskii V.L., Zvelindovsky A.V. “Stability properties of the collective stationary motion of self-propelling particles with conservative kinematic constraints” J. of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical 40 2573-2581
    • Schmidt K., Schoberth H.G., Schubert F., Hänsel H., Fischer F., Weiss T. M., Sevink G. J. A., Zvelindovsky A.V., Böker A., Krausch G. “Scaling behavior of the reorientation kinetics of block copolymers exposed to electric fields” Soft Matter 3 448-453
    • Sevink G. J. A., Zvelindovsky A. V. “Mesoscopic dynamics of complex vesicle formation: kinetic versus thermodynamic factors” Molecular Simulation 33 405-415
    • Pinna M., Zvelindovsky A., ”Simulation of Nanostructured Soft Matter”, HPC-Europa: Science and Supercomputing in Europe. Report 2007 (CINECA, 2007) 1060-1063.

     



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Computational Physics Group


  • Distinguished visitor from Singapore

    Associate Professor Johan van der Maarel from the National University of Singapore visits UCLan as a Distinguished visitor on 11-16 May 2013. He delivers a public lecture on Monday and a seminar on Tuesday.

  • Visits to Dr Alexander Korobko

    Andrei visits Dr Alexander Korobko from the Delft University in The Netherlands.

  • Happy Easter !

    In countries like Russia, Ukraine and others where live people following Orthodox Christianity, this week of 2013 is the Easter week. Our group is rather multinational and multicultural, and we try to learn each other traditions. So happy Easter !