PhD position: Flow-structure-properties relations for Pickering emulsions

For many applications, polymers have substantial advantages as compared to other materials, e.g. they are light-weight, flexible, easy to process and corrosion-resistant. Additional functionality can be introduced by the addition of conductive or magnetic particles. Thereby, materials can be developed for energy harvesting, electric discharge protection, electromagnetic shielding or soft robotics. However, the resulting properties are strongly dependent on the dispersion and distribution of the nanoparticles whereby multiphasic structures are of particular importance since the microstructure can act as a template to tailor the particle distribution by means of selective localization at the interface. The network formation of the particles at the interface will govern the dynamics of the interface as well as its dielectric and electromagnetic properties. This will in turn determine the development of the bulk microstructure and therefore the bulk dielectric and electromagnetic properties. In the proposed research project, the relations between on the one hand flow conditions and material properties and on the other hand the properties of the particle-covered interface will first be investigated. Subsequently, these interfacial properties will be related to the developed microstructure in the bulk system. Thereto, various in-situ and time-resolved techniques such as bulk and interfacial rheology as well as microfluidics, will be used. Finally, the dielectric and electromagnetic properties of the generated pickering emulsions will be studied to develop rational design strategies for the generation of functional multiphasic materials.