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Stabilization of anisotropic pigment particles: SANS
We wish to determine the effect of various stabilisers on anisotropic pigment particles that are being developed for use in liquid crystal composites. The SANS method uses the... -
Confinement and Liquid Crystal Films
Liquid crystals (LCs) are known to act as good lubricants, however, the reason for this remains unclear. One contributing factor is thought to be the formation of ordered layers... -
The interpenetration of two poly(ethylene oxide) polymer brushes under confin...
Coating two surfaces with polymer brushes has been shown on many occasions to reduce friction by orders of magnitude. These ultra-low frictions are believed to stem from be the... -
Quantum and thermal critical scaling in XY-dipolar antiferromagnet LiErF4
We have established the material LiErF4 as a dipolar antiferromagnet with planar anisotropy, exhibiting both classical and quantum phase transitions. Where, thermal transition... -
Characterisation of novel, sequence specific protein/protein and protein/DNA ...
Gene (nucleic acid) delivery to the cytosol or nucleus of a cell is, without the aid of a suitable delivery system, an inefficient process. Here the interaction of a defined... -
Interfacial Adsorbtion from Nematic Mixtures
The aim is to determine the amount of absorbtion of the one component of a mixture at the nemtic/air interface using neutron reflection. The host material in the mixture will be... -
Adsorbtion from nematic mixtures
The aim is to measure the preferential adsorption of one component in a nematic mixture. The base is 4-pentyl 4¿- cyanobiphenyl (5CB) and it is doped with 4-pentyl 4¿-... -
Anomalous Layer at a Nematic-Air Interface using Thin Films
The aim is to establish the nature of the surface layer of 8CB at the nematic-air interface by measuring neutron reflection from the n=8, 10 and 12 homologues of the nCB series... -
Surface structures of polycations in confined geometries
A second-generation surface force style apparatus has been developed to probe the inter-surface and near-surface structures under compressive forces. Systems of current academic... -
Nano-scale free volume and encapsulation properties of biopolymers: opening i...
Edible biopolymers are routinely used in the encapsulation and controlled release of bioactive ingredients (e.g. medicines, nutrients, flavours). Common encapsulants are in... -
Confinement Effects on Fluorinated Liquid Crystal Adsorption
The adsorption of a liquid crystal dopant to a surface can have a significant impact on its properties such as electro-optic response and lubrication. The interesting adsorption... -
Compositional analysis and working technique determination of five Japanese T...
The Pitt Rivers is Oxford University¿s museum of anthropology and world archaeology. The Japanese material includes a large number of items of metalwork. Amongst these, the... -
Surface Smectic Layers in difluoroterphenyls
The proposal is to use previous established neutron reflection methods to observe the smectic layers that form at the surface of a nematic liquid crystal. In this proposal we... -
Can surfactants be pushed out of polymer layers by applying compression?
For many applications such as paints, foods and drug formulations, aggregation of colloidal particles is prevented by combining polymer and surfactant adsorption. Key to this... -
Measuring the structure of a poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) gel layer under compress...
Polymers adsorbed or otherwise attached to interfaces provide an extremely powerful tool to control the forces that act between interfaces. The functionality of these attached... -
Fluorination Effects at Liquid Crystal Surfaces
The adsorption of a liquid crystal dopant to a surface can have a significant impact on its properties such as electro-optic response and lubrication. Both the interesting... -
Stabilization of anisotropic pigment particles: Reflectivity
We wish to determine the effect of various stabilisers on anisotropic pigment particles that are being developed for use in liquid crystal composites. We will investigate the... -
Surface Smectic Layers in difluoroterphenyls
The proposal is to use previous established neutron reflection methods to observe the smectic layers that form at the surface of a nematic liquid crystal. In this proposal we... -
Anomalous Layer at a Nematic-Air Interface
The aim is to establish the nature of the surface layer of 8CB at the nematic-air interface by measuring neutron reflection from three differently deuterated versions of 8CB.... -
Confinement and Lubrication in Liquid Crystal Films
Liquid crystals (LCs) are known to act as good lubricants, however, the reason for this remains unclear. One contributing factor is thought to be the formation of ordered layers...