A Quantum of Matter – 25 June 2021, 16.00
Topological soft materials:
joining the ends of polymers to obtain novel supramolecular architectures
Luca Tubiana
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trento
Abstract
Topological entanglements, such as knots and links, are frequent in synthetic and bio- polymeric systems, and affect their global properties in interesting ways. In nature, topological properties are often evolutionarily selected for. Now, recent advancements in chemical synthesis offer the possibility to produce topological soft materials, particularly systems composed of rings, in which topological constraints can be used to enforce smart responses to external stimuli. In this talk, I will introduce the main concepts and techniques used in the computational studies of topologically entangled polymers and will show how joining the ends of a chain of rings (catenane) allows one to control their physical properties.
Who is Luca Tubiana?
Luca Tubiana is Rita Levi Montalcini researcher at the department of Physics since September 2019. His main interest is the application of statistical mechanics, computational physics, and machine learning to model the behaviour of complex systems.
