UE Soft Matter II : statistical physics aspects; polymers

Goal: To introduce the basic thermodynamics concepts to address the equilibrium and evolution properties of nano-scale systems.

Content: The course will start from a thermodynamic view of materials, justified by microscopic models. It will explore the rich physics and physical-chemistry that governs the formation of complex nanostructured materials, from metallic alloys to polymers and other self-organized soft matter systems. The extension to biological systems will provide examples  in which these notions can be extended to non-equilibrium situations.

 -  Equilibrium and non-equilibrium effects in materials and nanomaterials
-Thermodynamics and phase diagrams
-Thermodynamics of heterogeneous systems and interfaces
-Heat and mass transport  in condensed systems
-Dynamics of phase transitions: nucleation and growth, spinodal decomposition
-Notions on numerical models: particle based models, PDEs
-Elements of stochastic thermodynamics