The course provides a broad overview of the field of polymers, including aspects of chemistry, physics, material properties and processing. We will appreciate the wide range of applications and properties of polymers and understand that these properties can be tailored by their molecular properties, such as the chemical identity of the monomer(s), the chain length, conformation as well as the interaction between individual segments and chains. We will introduce fundamental techniques to synthesize macromolecules and discuss their differences in reaction mechanism and kinetics and discuss suitable strategies for different monomers and desired polymer architectures. We will move into advanced polymerization techniques such as living polymerization and will see how such techniques offer more control over the polymer composition and architecture. We will discuss properties of special polymer architectures such as stimuli-resonsponsive and block-copolymers. We will then move into technological aspects of polymer synthesis and discuss homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis for the formation of polymers as well as emulsion polymerization techniques. Finally, we will get an overview of different possibilities to process polymers in industrial settings and discuss different fields of applications.

This course gives a broad overview on the self-assembly of building blocks into complex materials. We start with molecular self-assembly and learn how surfactants form micelles, why block copolymers create nanoscale patterns and what a liquid crystal is. We then continue to discuss the self-assembly of particles that can form ordered structures in two- and three dimensional systems. We highlight how such materials occur in nature and find applications in technology before discussing active systems able to form out-of-equilibrium structures.

This course focuses on interfaces in materials and process technologies. With examples from nature and technology, we will learn that a lot of phenomena and properties are governed by the interfaces of materials. We start with a discussion of liquid interfaces with a focus on surface tension, surfactants, wetting phenomena and capillary effects. We continue with solid interfaces, their characterization, functionalization and properties. We then proceed into the fundamental forces acting between molecules and macroscopic objects. Finally, we focus on particulate systems and discuss nucleation and growths of such particles as well as the forces acting between them.

This course focuses on interfaces in materials and process technologies. With examples from various life science disciplines, we will learn that a lot of phenomena and properties are governed by the interfaces of materials. The topics covered are: liquid interfaces with a focus on surface tension, surfactants, wetting phenomena and capillary effects, solid interfaces, their characterization, functionalization and properties, the fundamental forces acting between molecules and macroscopic objects, particulate systems and discuss nucleation and growths of such particles as well as the forces acting between them.

Students who participate in this course will become familiar with the different aspects of thin films, from physical principles governing the formation of thin films to their resulting properties. Students who successfully participate in this module will understand the physical principles of thin film formation, correlate the properties of colloidal dispersions and liquid interfaces with the resulting film formation properties, control the film structure via the evaporation profile, select and explain different industrial coating processes to control film formation and assess and explain the optical, electronic and mechanical properties of thin films.