Emily J. Cooper, Matthew Reynolds, Thomas Raistrick, Stuart R. Berrow, Ethan I. L. Jull, Victor Reshetnyak, Devesh Mistry, and Helen F. Gleeson Link to read Determining the tunability of the optical coefficients, order parameter, and transition temperatures in optically transparent auxetic liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) is vital for applications, including impact-resistant glass laminates. Here, we...
Are you an influential academic with a proven ability to carry out teaching and research in Theoretical Soft Matter Physics and/or Theoretical Biological Physics? Do you have the ability to provide academic leadership, to carry out high quality research, and teaching in Physics? Do you have an excellent research record and proven success of obtaining funding? Are you passionate about delivering an exceptional student experience in a research-intensive Russell Group University?
After a year-long procurement process the Soft Matter Group has finally received its Anton Paar SAXSPoint 5.0 system for Small- and Wide-Angle X-Ray Scattering analysis. This £400,000 equipment is one of a handful of similar systems in the UK and provides the University of Leeds with access to an on-site laboratory-scale equivalent to a National...
Drs Mamatha Nagaraj and Richard Mandle (both Soft Matter Physics) are seeking applicants for their competition-funded PhD project. For further details, and to apply see here: High performance liquid crystals and liquid crystal polymers for organic electronics devices Organic electronics offer numerous advantages and capabilities for the next generation of electronic devices. Devices integrated with...
Drs Devesh Mistry, Johan Mattsson (both Soft Matter Physics) and Dr Arwen Tyler (School of Food Science) are seeking applicants for their competition-funded PhD project which will centre on using the latest SAXS/WAXS equipment acquired by the SMP group to study the structure and flow characteristics of reprocessible 3D printable materials used for soft robotic technologies.
SMP achieved Silver award for the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) in October 2023. LEAF is a sustainable labs accreditation framework developed by UCL, which has been rolled out across campus over the last year to help labs assess the efficiency of their lab spaces. Many labs across UoL are now participating and achieving Bronze,...
Victoria, A., Hine, P.J., Ward, K. et al. Design of experiments in the optimization of all-cellulose composites. Cellulose (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05535-8 Link to read In this work, statistical design of experiments (DoE) was applied to the optimization of all cellulose composites (ACCs) using cotton textile and interleaf films under applied heat and pressure. The...
J. Hobbs, M. Reynolds, M.K. Srinatha, G. Shanker, J. Mattsson, M. Nagaraj. The relaxation dynamics and dielectric properties of cyanobiphenyl based nematic tripod liquid crystals. Journal of Molecular Liquids 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2023.123069 Link to read Liquid crystal tripods combine properties of low molecular weight liquid crystals and liquid crystal polymers. There is significant interest in better...
Alrefaei, N.S., Hine, P.J. & Ries, M.E. Dissolution of hemp yarns by 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate studied with time-temperature superposition. Cellulose (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05534-9. This study examined the dissolution of hemp yarns in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate. Yarns were immersed in the liquid at different temperatures and times, then coagulated in water, forming a composite yarn....
Our own Alex Gresty has won the Gold medal in the Physics category for her work on cellulosic films for the 21st century!
