Soft matter @ LARMOR

Dr. Ilja Voets

Scientific use of LARMOR

magnetism materials science

soft matter

Using neutrons to study soft matter

Good statistics

In situ, non-destructive experiments Access to:

o Structure • size • shape • molar mass

o Thermodynamic quantities • osmotic pressure

o Interactions o Dynamics

• local motion within macromolecules, polymer reptation

Soft matter @ LARMOR

Neutrons in soft matter research Colloids

Complex molecular systems

Food materials

Neutrons in soft matter research

Example 1: complex molecular systems

• intramolecular self-assembly of supramolecular motifs folds polymers into ‘single-chain polymer nanoparticles’ (SCPNs)

Functional foldable polymers

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

3

4

5

6

R G /

nm

φIPA / -ϕ

IPA

60 o C 50 o C 25 o C 20 o C 10 o C

PEGMA90-BTAMA10

Neutrons in soft matter research

Example 2: complex molecular systems

• multi-component assemblies of hydrocolloids

low cp / high cp

Lemmers SM 2011

Polymer micelles

PAA42-PAAm417 + PDMAEMA45-PGMA90

PAA42-PAAm417 + P2MVP42-PEO446

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

-2.125 -1.7 -1.275 -0.85

0

6

12

18

24

q [A−1]

Voets ACIE 2006

Neutrons in soft matter research

Example 3: complex molecular systems

• bio-hybrid polymer systems

Comellas-Aragones SM 2011

Bio-hybrid polymer systems

Comellas-Aragones SM 2011

What are your needs? (1) Sample environment

• sample size • sample temperature • pressure • controlled humidity • shear

(2) Access

• allocation procedure • amount of allocated time

(3) Support

• Technical support before, during, after the experiment • Data reduction, treatment, analysis

Soft matter @ LARMOR

Dr. Ilja Voets