CLASS · Complex Liquids At Structured Surfaces

Complex Liquids At Structured Surfaces

The CLASS – Complex Liquids At Structured Surfaces – exchange scheme aimed at a basic understanding, through theoretical modelling, numerical simulations, and state-of-the-art experimental characterisation, of the effects of submicron surface features on both the static and dynamic properties of simple and complex fluids which are in contact with them. To reach the project objectives, a multidisciplinary team of scientists specialised in theoretical, computational and experimental physics was built. The CLASS project comprised four partners: three European (from Germany, Portugal and Ukraine) and one from the USA, with a broad range of expertise: phase transitions and fluctuations at surfaces, wetting and dewetting dynamics, non-Newtonian fluids, colloids, surface chemistry, modification and characterisation of surfaces, and microfluidics. This multidisciplinary team of scientists was selected in order to tackle challenging problems for which mesoscale surface inhomogeneities (patterns, patches or tunable equilibrium defects) play a dominant role in the structure and properties of adsorbed complex fluids. Germany was represented by the Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart (MPI-IS Stuttgart); Portugal was represented by the Centre for Theoretical and Computational Physics (CFCT Lisbon) which is a part of the University of Lisbon; Ukraine – by the Department of Theoretical Physics of Taras Shevchenko National University, Kyiv; and the USA – by the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL Brookhaven). The staff exchanges included both a collaborative research work on specific projects which reinforced pre-existing collaborations and provided opportunities to forge new ones, and a transfer of knowledge component based upon the organization of international workshops which promoted the faster dissemination of progress and interaction between the members of the consortium, and fostered interactions among early stage researchers. The joint exchange programme was built upon the requirements of the scientific research projects which were structured into four inter-linked Work Packages (WP): 1. Superhydrophobic surfaces and flows over heterogeneous solids 2. Patterned surfaces and complex liquids 3. Colloidal self-assembly and interactions with interfaces 4. Dissemination of Results and Network Training which, in turn, were composed of a number of Tasks. Each of WP1, WP2, and WP3 was subdivided into two the following tasks: WP1 • Design of superhydrophobic surfaces and characterisation of their wetting properties (Task 1.1) • Capillary or pressure driven flows over substrates with varying topography and/or wettability (Task 1.2) WP2 • Patterned surfaces and ionic-liquids (Task 2.1) • Patterned surfaces and nematics (Task 2.2) WP3 • Self-assembly of colloidal particles at fluid-fluid interfaces (Task 3.1) • Surface-guided assembly of nematic colloids (Task 3.2) The objectives of Work Package 4 were to promote the faster dissemination of results and progress as well as to provide an efficient platform for face-to-face interaction between the members of the partnership. To meet these goals four international workshop were organized, with the participation of invited scientists from other groups, and with the attendance by a significant number of PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. The duration of the CLASS project was 48 months.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз