Internship and thesis proposals
Colloidal suspensions: study of solvent dynamics using a combination of NMR and molecular dynamics

Domaines
Condensed matter
Statistical physics
Soft matter
Physics of liquids

Type of internship
Expérimental et théorique
Description
Interactions between dispersed colloidal objects, for example between nanoparticles, polymers, and/or ions, modify the dynamic properties of all species in the mixture. In particular, it has been established that the dynamics of the solvent, most often water, are altered when one species adsorbs onto another. Thus, the dynamics of the solvent can indirectly provide information about this adsorption. The study of NMR relaxation of water has even been successfully proposed as a method for studying this phenomenon. Nevertheless, the mechanism behind the modification of water dynamics remains poorly understood and is the subject of this research project, which combines two complementary methods, experimental, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and theoretical, molecular dynamics (MD). This internship will involve conducting a simultaneous analysis of the dynamic properties of water using experimental NMR methods (diffusion and relaxation) and modeling them using molecular dynamics (MD). The properties measurable by these NMR methods are related to correlation functions that can be calculated by molecular dynamics. While the focus is on the properties of the solvent, both NMR and MD provide information on the behavior of other species, which will help to understand the microscopic mechanisms involved.

Contact
Guillaume Mériguet
Laboratory : PHENIX - UMR8234
Team : PHENIX : MEM
Team Website
/ Thesis :    Funding :