Imaging the dynamics of soft materials at microscale and nanoscale
Xu, Cong
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/108705
Description
Title
Imaging the dynamics of soft materials at microscale and nanoscale
Author(s)
Xu, Cong
Issue Date
2020-07-16
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Granick, Steve
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Chen, Qian
Committee Member(s)
Zuo, Jian-Min
Statt, Antonia
Department of Study
Materials Science & Engineerng
Discipline
Materials Science & Engr
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Soft Materials
Janus Colloids
Active Matter
Nanobubble
Abstract
Soft materials are materials that are soft. They can usually be deformed easily by thermal stresses or thermal fluctuations at about room temperature, which makes their dynamic behaviors of great interest and importance. In this thesis, imaging tools such as bright-field and dark-field optical microscopes and liquid-phase transmission electron microscope, have been utilized to capture the dynamics of three distinct yet typical soft materials in situ at different length scales: colloids, polymeric chains, and nanobubbles. While conventional interests have been focused on the equilibrium structures and properties of soft materials, we explore their non-equilibrium dynamics under external driving forces or agitations, such as electric fields, chemical gradients, and electron beam irradiation. Image processing, single particle tracking, and statistical analysis are combined to study the rich phenomena we observed.
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