Soft is the new cool!

Physics of polymers in Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES)

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are an emerging class of non-volatile and low-toxicity solvents based on extensive hydrogen bonding (as opposed to ionic liquids where the interactions are primarily electrostatic). Coming in a wide variety of physico-chemical properties (density, polarity, etc.), DES are promising environments for the synthesis and formulation of polymer materials. However, little is known about how polymers behave in these solvents (interactions, concentration regimes, etc.). Our group is particularly interested in elucidating the physics (i.e. scaling laws) of polymer solutions and gels prepared in DES.