Lecturer
Recommended Reading
– “Textbook of Polymer Science”, Fred W. Billmeyer, Wiley
– “The Theory of Polymer Dynamics (International Series of Monographs on Physics)”, M. Doi, S. F. Edwards, Clarendon Press
– “Physical properties and applications of polymer nanocomposites”, S.C. Tjong and Y.-W. Mai (Eds.), Woodhead Publishing.
– “Liquid Crystals: Fundamentals”, Shri Singh, World Scientific, 2001.
Course Description
Basic concepts of polymer science. Classification of polymers. Degree of Polymerization, Molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. Polymerization mechanisms and macromolecular architecture. Molecular Structure, shape and conformations. Statistical mechanics of ideal polymer chains. Polymer solutions. Thermal properties-Phase transitions. Crystallinity. Mechanical properties Polymer composites. Liquid Crystals. Self-assembly and self-organization of amphiphilic molecules. Liquid crystalline state of matter and liquid crystal phases. Molecular organization and order parameters. Thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals. Electrical, optical, magnetic and mechanical properties of liquid crystals. Characterization methods of liquid crystalline materials. Supermolecular liquid crystals and liquid crystalline polymers. Applications of liquid crystals.
