Book dossier

Structure and dynamics of polymer and colloidal systems

by NATO Advanced Study Institute on Structure and Dynamics of Polymer and Colloidal Systems (1999 Les Houches, Haute-Savoie, France)

This timely review of work at the forefront of the polymer-colloid field includes an introduction to interactions in colloidal systems and introductions to scattering techniques (light, X-ray and neutron), including discussion of the two-colour light scattering technique. Recent advances in the following areas are included: dynamics in polymer colloid composite liquids, dispersions of microgel nanoparticles and dendrimers, dynamics of latexes, theory of colloid dynamics, diblock copolymers, polyelectrolytes, shear thickening in colloid and polymer suspensions, the concept of the critical gel and rheometry near the gel-point, and surface rheology and its relations to the stability of soft colloids. The emphasis is on the close connection between the polymer and colloid fields. Dendrimers, for instance, represent an intermediate system between a strongly fluctuating linear polymer and a solid, dense colloidal particle. Colloidal charged spherical microgels are used to illuminate and test fundamental ideas of polyelectrolyte physics. The articles are accessible to graduate students, postdoctoral workers and research scientists.