This thesis deals with the adhesion and friction properties of densely grafted and covalently bound fluoropolymer brushes on silicon surfaces with varying thickness and fluorine content. A novel surface-functionalizing method is described using the thiol-yne click (TYC) reaction. The TYC reaction is highly useful for the attachment of functional (...
This thesis deals with spherical microparticles trapped at liquid interfaces. It focuses on two aspects of their behavior: firstly, the effect of the curvature of a liquid interface on interparticle interactions and their organization; secondly, the mobility of particles at visco-elastic interfaces. In Chapter 2of this thesis we showed that it is p...
The possibility of preparing 2D stable emulsions through mixing of homopolymers in a Langmuir monolayer is the core topic of this thesis. While colloid science has achieved well established results in the study of bulk dispersed systems, accounts on properties of mixed monomolecular films are fewer, and seldom systematic. The aim of this investigat...
Silicon-rich silicon nitride (SixN4, x > 3) is a robust insulating material widely used for the coating of microdevices: its high chemical and mechanical inertness make it a material of choice for the reinforcement of fragile microstructures (e.g. suspended microcantilevers, micro-fabricated membranes-“microsieves”) or for the coating of the expose...
cum laude graduation (with distinction)
KEYWORDS:protein, polysaccharide,b‑lactoglobulin, pectin, electrostatic interaction, complex coacervation, adsorption, air/water interface, oil/water interface, surface pressure, surface rheology, spectroscopyProteins are often used to create and stabilise foams and emulsions and therefore their adsorption behaviour to air/water and oil/water inter...
cum laude graduation (with distinction)
This thesis has collated one review chapter and five experiments concerned with addressing the question, 'how successful is the scintillometer method in determining the surface fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum and under what circumstances does it appear to fail?' Answering this question is important as a workable scintillation method provides ...
