Chemistry Weekly Seminar - Greg van Anders, Queen's University
Greg van Anders, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Queen's University, will present a seminar at 1:30 pm in HLTH GB06.
Title
Chemistry's West Side Story
Abstract
Our textbook picture of chemistry is one where electrons in atoms rearrange so that atoms can bond to form metals or molecules. If we regard this picture of chemistry as a story, then electrons, atoms, and molecules are the characters and setting, and bonding is the plot. However, we know that universal stories embody a truth that extends beyond their characters. For chemistry, we know that electrons, atoms, and molecules have to bond, i.e. do chemistry. But, can chemistry happen with other characters? In other words, can a different set of objects and a different form of mediation enact a "bond"? In this talk, I will argue that colloids with interactions mediated solely by entropy provide the minimal ingredients to enact a form of bonding. I will show example systems where entropic bonds show quantitative similarity with conventional hydrogen bonds. I will show how treating colloids like "big atoms" that bond can give us new leverage to design materials at the microscale. I will argue that, in aggregate, these results tell us that chemistry is a universal story and that the "central science" provides a conceptual framework that is as useful for understanding matter at the microscale as it is for understanding molecules.
Date: Friday, January 27
Time: 1:30 pm
Place: HLTH GB06