SYLLABUS: POLYMER PHYSICS (MSE: 20-261-753)

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Quarter: Winter, 1999: 5:00 - 6:15 TR 413 Rhodes Hall

Phone Registration Code is 60129 for this class

Instructor: Prof. Greg Beaucage
gbeaucag@uceng.uc.edu

556-3063(Office)/-5152 (Lab)/-9305(Lab)

540 ERC/410B Rhodes

Textbook:

1) "Introduction to Polymer Physics" M. Doi, Clarendon Press 1996.

2) Class Notes Posted on the Web at:

http://www.eng.uc.edu/~gbeaucag/BeaucageResearchGroup.html

3) "Scaling concepts in polymer physics" P. G. de Gennes 1979.

4) "The theory of polymer dynamics" Oxford University Press, 1986.

5) "Principles of polymer chemistry." P. J. Flory, 1953.

Level: Graduate (Undergraduate by petition)

Synopsis of Course: This course is aimed at equipping students with a basic level of knowledge of the terminology and mathematics involved in the physical understanding of polymers. Most of the topics deal with post 1970 concepts involving the statics and dynamics of polymeric materials. The course is intended for graduate students who would like to gain an understanding of modern approaches to polymer physics. The course will closely follow the recent books of Strobl and Doi. Doi's intent is similar to that of this course, "...to present a framework to graduate students in a concise and self-contained manner..." Prerequisite is "...a knowledge of undergraduate-level statistical mechanics..." Courses in polymers and thermodynamics are a necessary preparation for the course. The syllabus follows Strobl's Chapters 1-2 the Appendix on RPA and Scattering and Chapter 7 as well as Doi's 5 chapters.

1.) Properties of an isolated polymer molecule.

(Chapter1.html)

Ideal chain

Segmental distribution

Non-ideal chains

Scaling laws

2.) Concentrated solutions and melts

(Chapter2.html)

Thermodynamics of polymer solutions

Concentration fluctuations in polymer solutions

Blends

Block copolymers

3.) Polymer gels.

(Chapter3.html)

Elasticity

The stress optical law

Interactions between partial chains

Swelling of gels

4.) Molecular motion of polymers in dilute solution.

(Chapter4.html)

Brownian motion

Bead-spring model

Dynamic light scattering

5.) Molecular motion in entangled polymer systems.

(Chapter5.html)

Dynamics of concentration fluctuations

Reptation

Viscoelasticity of polymers

Course requirements:

Quizzes (Equal Weight)

8 to 10 Weekly Quizzes
End of each Wednesday Class, 1 problem (usually with 5 parts)
20 minutes

Final Exam
During Finals Week. (3 Quizes)