Thermogelling aqueous fluids containing low concentrations of Pluronic F127 and laponite nanoparticles.

Self-assembled Photoresponsive and Thermoresponsive Nanostructures

Title of dissertation: Self-Assembled Photoresponsive and Thermoresponsive Nanostructures Kunshan Sun, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Diessertation directed by: Professor Srinivasa R. Raghavan, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Responsive complex fluids based on nanostructures (e.g., micelles, vesicles and nanoparticles) have received considerable attention recently. The ability o...

Phase transfer of highly monodisperse iron oxide nanocrystals with Pluronic F127 for biomedical applications

Iron oxide nanoparticles made from the thermal decomposition method are highly uniform in all respects (size, shape, composition and crystallography), making them ideal candidates for many bioapplications. The surfactant coating on the as-synthesized nanoparticles renders the nanoparticles insoluble in aqueous solutions. For biological applications nanoparticles must be water soluble. Here we d...

Mechanically Tough Pluronic F127/Laponite Nanocomposite Hydrogels from Covalently and Physically Cross-Linked Networks

Exploring self-assembly behavior of elastin-like polypeptides

Aqueous solutions of commercial poly(oxyethylene) – poly(oxypropylene) – poly(oxyethylene), triblock co-polymers (PEOx – PPOy – PEOx, Pluronics©) undergo both micellization and structural arrangement as a function of increasing temperature. In the case of Pluronic F127 (PEO100 – PPO65 – PEO100), this structural arrangement is observed macroscopically as a liquid to gel transition for polymer co...

Stability and Rheological Behavior of Sulfonated Polyacrylamide/ Laponite Nanoparticles Dispersions in Electrolyte Media

Due to the importance of nanoparticles stability in industrial applications, in this research, stability of laponite nanoparticles dispersions containing different concentrations of sodium sulfonated polyacrylamide (SPA) was investigated in electrolyte media for oil reservoirs applications. In this regard, effect of parameters such as polymer concentration, temperature, and ionic strength were ...