| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/S43771/01 |
| Title: |
Rheology Control with Associating Polymers - Experiments and Polymer Solution Molecular Simulations |
| Principal Investigator: |
English, Dr R |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Department: |
Multidisciplinary Research Centre |
| Organisation: |
Glyndwr University |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 February 2004 |
Ends: |
31 January 2007 |
Value (£): |
150,469
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
Rheology |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Manufacturing |
Chemicals |
| Healthcare |
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Hydrophobically associating polymers are widely used to modify the rheology of water based insutrial and consumer products. These materials are also attracting increasing attention in biomedical applications, as separation media for DNA, in tissue engineering, wound care and in the controlled release of drugs. An associating polymer can control the rheological and transport properties of an aqueous formulation by forming a transient network that spans the system. Network formation arises as a consequence of the association of the hydrophobes into micelle-like junctions in a manner analogous to surfactants. Much of the recent experimental and theoretical work has focussed on telechelic polymers (linear chains with hydrophobic end caps ). We propose to focus specifically on more complex architectures - comb polymers in which the hydrophobes are pendant to the backbone. Such materials offer far greater latitude in terms of application properties. The Key to effective exploitaiton of these materials is to ascertain the key structure-property relationships linking molecular architecture with network topology. We propose to achieve this aim by use ofa combination of experiments on well-tailored polymers and simulations developed for solutions of polymers of similar architecture and molecular weight. Simulations will provide a useful means to verify relationships implicit in the experimental data and will be developed into a useful predictive tool that will facilitate the design of polymers with enhanced or specifically tailore properties.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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