Complex Fluids with Extended, Rigid Components
Paul S. Russo, Louisiana State University, DMR-0075810
Gold nanoparticles formed in PNIPAM gel
Graduate student Jirun Sun
Bootstrap DLS analysis
Postdoctoral associate Grigor Bantchev
UV-vis absorbance follows particle growth.
Absorbance /a.u.
3 hour
1.5 hour
1 hour
0.5 hour
0.1
0.0
400
500
600
700
800
Wavelength /nm
Pink gel at right contains nanogold.
For the first time, the gold
nanoparticles are formed
inside a standing gel by
reduction of a selfassembled, temporary
scaffold.
1000
-1
At ~ 525 nm the surface
plasmon band of the gold
nanoparticles shows that
formation is finished in
about 3 hours. The average
diameter of the gold
nanoparticles is 20 nm.
25
MA / s
0.2
Our uniquely efficient,
multi-angle, multicorrelator DLS device
compares well with a
conventional instrument,
down to a very low 6 Hz.
1500
20
15
500
10
5
0
4 points
0
0
0
500
1000
5
10
15
20
25
1500
-1
Conv / s
D trans
D rot
kT
4
3 D trans
6R

 R2 R 
kT
3
4 D rot
8R 3
kT
kT
 

8R 3D rot 6RD trans
Something new in Stokes-Einstein: the size of optically anisotropic
particles can be determined without prior knowledge of the
viscosity! Once size is in hand, the Stokes-Einstein relations can be
inverted to estimate the viscosity. This can be useful to size
particles in aggregating systems, or to obtain the viscosity of
complex fluids or polymers in supercritical fluids.
Complex Fluids with Extended, Rigid Components
Paul S. Russo, Louisiana State University, DMR-0075810
Education
Ph.D. Degree & Current Career Choice
Jirun Sun (postdoc at NIST)
Graduate Students This Grant Supports
Erick Soto-Cantu (Mexico); Jian Qiu (China);
Derek Dorman (Mississippi)
Undergrads & Current Location
Pavan Bellamkonda (graduate chemistry at Northwestern)
Katie Vance (graduate pharmacy at Emory)
Outreach
Synergistic Activities, Paul S. Russo
Graduate student Erick Soto-Cantu
(left) judging an engineering project at
a science & engineering fair at
McKinley High School in Baton Rouge.
LSU Polymer Analysis
•Co-founder and member, Board of Directors, Louisiana
Applied Polymer Technology Extension Consortium (APTEC),
an inter-university one-stop-shopping economic development
tool. Current interest: streamlining intellectual property to
stem the tide of research being sent Europe and Asia.
•Member, Program Committee, Chemical Education
Foundation (Arlington, VA). Only academic on this panel.
•Co-advisor (with R. Strongin) of Student Affiliates of the
American Chemical Society. Their achievements include the
first-ever Louisiana chemistry summer day camp for high
school students, solidified bylaws, an invited article in in
Chemistry, the ACS magazine for undergraduates, and a
student-authored website (http://macro.lsu.edu/saacs ), all
culminating in designation as an Outstanding Chapter (the
only one of 32 nationwide at a large university).