Fundamental properties of the electronic excited state and of the use of this basic knowledge in different physical and physicochemical problems. - Intra- and intermolecular interactions in the electronic excited state. - Photochemistry and photophysics of ordered systems such as micelles, inverse micelles and membranes. Stabilization of ordered systems through polymerization. - Adsorption of organic molecules at surfaces and the influence on excited state properties. Formation and properties of Langmuir-Blodgett films. Adsorption at clay, silica and polymer surfaces. - Study of colloids. - Photo-electrochemistry and photophysics in and of liquid crystals. - Photoconduction. - Electroluminescence. - Laser induced surface changes. - Photochemistry and photophysics in small domains (scanning probe and confocal microscopy). - Femto second spectroscopy, laser trapping. - Scanning near field microscopy - Nanomanipulation - Scanning tunelling microscopy - Atomic force microscopy - Femto second transient spectroscopy - Space resolved photochemistry - Single molecule spectroscopy
Physical and physicochemical behavior of synthetic polymers and biopolymers in the solid state and in solution. Solid state : crystalline behavior of polymers: influence of chain composition, and crystallization conditions on crystal structure and morphology. Polymer blends Structure formation during processing Mechanical behavior. Solution behavior: - Thermoreversible gelation of solutions of synthetic polymers and biopolymers. - The use of different thermal transitions in solution in the preparation of interesting new materials: amorphous porous materials, crystalline porous materials, polymer blends, functionalized porous materials. - Thermodynamic treatment of the different transitions: application of fundamental theories. - Structure formation in chemical networks of stereoregular polymers. - Synthesis of polymer model compounds
The fundamental properties and dynamic behavior of supramolecular organization in chemistry as well as biology. The relation between supramolecular structure and functional behavior in biological systems. Molecular engineering processes, i.e. the construction and subsequent functionalization of supramolecular assemblies. The electric, dielectric and electro-optic properties of molecular monolayers and multilayers (Langmuir-Blodgett films). Local and global dynamic properties of micellar structures, polymers and (concentrated) polymer solutions.
