infocus #16 December 2009 Imaging Delicate Coatings Under Water Using AFM

DOI: 10.22443/rms.inf.1.50

Atomic Force Microscopy has revolutionised our understanding of coatings consisting of adsorbed surface-active molecules or colloidal particles at the solid-liquid interface. These delicate structures may be present wherever the solution contacts a solid material.

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Author

Erica Wanless

Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Newcastle, Australia

Dr. Wanless graduated with a Bachelor of Science with first class honours in chemistry from the Australian National University in Canberra in 1990. She then continued at the Australian National University, graduating with her PhD in surface science in 1995. Subsequently she completed a two year postdoctoral fellowship with William Ducker at the University of Otago, New Zealand. The underlying theme of Erica’s research is the understanding of solid-liquid interfacial structure on the nanoscale. This theme commenced at Otago where her pioneering work used AFM to reveal detail of the lateral structure of adsorbed surfactant layers on the molecular scale. At Newcastle she has applied these methods and others to the detailed investigation of the adsorption of water-soluble pHresponsive diblock copolymers. This research has been a very fruitful collaboration with Steven Armes at the University of Sheffield. In 2009, Erica Wanless was elected a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute for which she currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Colloid and Surface Science Division