Renewal Proposal for Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Studies in Novel Surfactants

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Surfactants and polymers are used today in every major industry including household and personal care, imaging, printing, advanced mineral and ceramics, petroleum and fuel, micro-electronics, pharmaceuticals, food processing, paints and coating, and environmental control. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Studies in Novel Surfactants (IUCS) at Columbia University was established in 1998 to elucidate the behavior of different surface active molecules and their mixtures and to develop new processing schemes that depend critically on the structure and function of conventional and novel surfactants. The major aim of the center is to develop a knowledge base on the relationship between the structure of different surfactants and their performance in various industrial processes, characterize their solution and interfacial behavior and identify suitable industrial applications. It is also an aim to develop novel specialty surfactants that are "environmentally benign" for specific applications in the chemical industry.