Assembling materials using charged polymers

Soft matter can be found in many everyday materials, such as food, cosmetics, and the cells in the human body. The structure of these tiny, soft materials is determined by various interactions, one of which is electrostatic interaction. For his PhD
research, Christian Sproncken used electrostatic interactions to assemble soft materials into various structures consisting of charged polymer chains. These materials could be used in responsive coatings for photonic microchips, or in materials to stop ice growth on car windshields or airplane wings. Sproncken completed his research at the Laboratory of Self-Organizing Soft Matter under the supervision of Ilja Voets. On October 26, he defended his dissertation at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at Eindhoven University of Technology.

(Innovative Materials 6 2021)