Time: 12:45, Monday. October 18th 2021 (Time zone UTC+2) 

Zoom link: https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/66804732319

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Short biography

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Brijitta Joseph is currently working as an Associate Professor in the Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Sathyabama University, Chennai, India. She leads a small team of budding researchers and is actively engaged in developing polymer-based materials for heavy metal removal, pollutant removal and oil-spill clean-up. From 2017-2019, she was on deputation to Lund University, Sweden as a postdoctoral researcher. Here she was involved in understanding the phase behaviour of neutral and ionic thermo/pH-responsive microgels from dilute to over-crowded conditions. Before joining Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology (2012), she was a research associate in the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, India (2010-2012), she also completed her PhD from the same institute (2011). Her PhD was on the “Phase Behaviour of Thermoresponsive Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) Microgels: A Light Scattering and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopic Study”

 

Her research focuses on understanding the fundamentals of soft matter systems, in particular, Stimuli-Responsive Polymers. In her group, research is extensively carried out in the following areas: stimuli-responsive microgel etalons for making colour tunable devices, self-assembly of zwitterionic stimuli-responsive microgels and the role of surface charges, light scattering and rheological behaviour of stimuli-responsive block co-polymers, organogels, and application of block co-polymer and organogel systems for pollutant removal/adsorption. Much of her research relies on tools based on Scattering techniques and Microscopy, in particular, Static and Dynamic Light Scattering (SLS & DLS), Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM).

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Title

Block Co-polymer Organogels: Novel Polymers with Numerous Applications Materials

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Abstract

Gels can quickly and effectively adsorb dye molecules due to their three-dimensional network and associated porosity. Thus, gels are an ideal candidature for the removal of pollutants (dyes, heavy metal ions, bacteria, pesticides, oil molecules, etc.) from water sources through the adsorption process. Of late, there has been a growing interest in the preparation of organogels, which are polymeric networks swollen in an organic solvent. In this talk, I will present the preparation of organogels from quaternized poly(styrene-block-4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) diblock copolymer and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-block-4-vinylpyridine) (PNIPAM-b-P4VP) diblock copolymer, the mechanism of the block copolymer to organo-gelation, scattering and rheological studies to characterize these gels. The application of these organogels in pollutant removal is covered towards the end of the talk. I will also cover the facilities available in my research institute from a collaborative prospect.

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References:

1. ACS Langmuir, 37, 13 (2021): 3996-4006.

2. Materials Letters, 272, (2020): 127854.