Surface and Colloid Chemistry

Objectives:

The course aims to provide basic knowledge of surface- and colloid chemistry from a physical-chemical perspective.

Content:

The course contains a thorough description of interfacial phenomenon in which the central themes are surface tension, interfacial tension, adsorption, capillarity, wetting, contact angle and electrostatic characteristics of the interfaces. Colloidal systems are thoroughly described and mechanism for colloidal stability and interactions between colloidal particles are reviewed. Furthermore, the course deals with structure and characteristics of the self-associated amphiphilic molecules, so-called surfactants.

After completing the course the student will be have the following learning outcomes defined as knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can define and explain surface- and interfacial phenomena.
• can describe and explain different types of colloidal systems.
• can describe interactions between colloidal particles and explain colloidal stability and instability.
• can describe structure and properties of self-associating systems.
• can perform numeric calculations of physical-chemical quantities.

Skills:

The student

• can provide a graphical representation of experimental data.
• can evaluate experimental data in relation to relevant theory.
• can use relevant theory to analyze practical problems.

General competence:

The student

• can reflect on the different solutions for a specific problem.
• can express oneself in a scientifically correct manner.