Surfaces and Interfaces, 6 credits

Ytor och gränsskikt, 6 hp

TFYA47

Main field of study

Engineering Biology Applied Physics Physics

Course level

Second cycle

Course type

Programme course

Examiner

Thomas Ederth

Director of studies or equivalent

Magnus Boman

Education components

Preliminary scheduled hours: 48 h
Recommended self-study hours: 112 h

Available for exchange students

Yes
ECV = Elective / Compulsory / Voluntary
Course offered for Semester Period Timetable module Language Campus ECV
6CMED Biomedical Engineering, M Sc in Engineering 9 (Autumn 2020) 1 2 Swedish/English Linköping, Valla E
6CMED Biomedical Engineering, M Sc in Engineering (Biomedical Engineering Materials) 9 (Autumn 2020) 1 2 Swedish/English Linköping, Valla C
6CKEB Chemical Biology, M Sc in Engineering (Industrial biotechnology and Production) 9 (Autumn 2020) 1 2 Swedish/English Linköping, Valla E
6CTBI Engineering Biology, M Sc in Engineering (Devices and Materials in Biomedicine) 7 (Autumn 2020) 1 2 Swedish/English Linköping, Valla C
6CTBI Engineering Biology, M Sc in Engineering (Industrial biotechnology and production) 9 (Autumn 2020) 1 2 Swedish/English Linköping, Valla E

Main field of study

Engineering Biology, Applied Physics, Physics

Course level

Second cycle

Advancement level

A1X

Course offered for

  • Engineering Biology, M Sc in Engineering
  • Chemical Biology, M Sc in Engineering
  • Biomedical Engineering, M Sc in Engineering

Entry requirements

Note: Admission requirements for non-programme students usually also include admission requirements for the programme and threshold requirements for progression within the programme, or corresponding.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of calculus in many variables, probability and statistics, classical physics, general chemistry, physical chemistry and quantum mechanics.

Intended learning outcomes

The course gives a general introduction to surfaces; their structure and physical-chemical properties, and interfaces between solids and organic materials or liquids. This includes hard surfaces (crystalline and amorphous), soft matter surfaces (polymers and molecular films), free liquid surfaces and their interfaces, and colloidal systems. The course introduces analytical techniques for studies of surfaces, interfaces,  thin films and colloids. After the course the student should be able to:

  • Understand and describe properties of free liquid surfaces, such as surface tension, capillarity, wetting and spreading.
  • Understand and describe electrical phenomena at surfaces, such as surface charge, surface potential, the electrical double layer, and basic electrochemical concepts.
  • Describe the phase behaviour and aggregation of amphiphiles in solution and at interfaces.
  • Desribe intermolecular forces, forces acting between molecules and surfaces, and surface forces.
  • Describe common crystal structures of solid materials and understand the arrangement of atoms in surfaces made from such crystals.
  • Describe the mechanisms that control the formation of overlayer structures on single crystal surfaces and classify such overlayer structures.
  • Describe the shape and properties of common adsorption isoterms, and apply them for extraction of termodynamic or physicochemical data.
  • Desribe the function and principles for common methods and instruments for surface and thin film analysis, as well as explain and interpret the information that can be obtained from these techniques.
  • Desribe methods for the preparation and characterization of thin organic films on surfaces, in particular self-assembled monolayers.
  • Describe and understand fundamental properties of colloidal systems, and methods for studies of such systems.

Course content

Surface phases, surface energy, surface tension, surface excess. Free liquid surfaces, capillarity, Laplace' and Kelvin's equations. Wetting, contact angles, Young's equation. Surface charge, electrical double layer, Zeta potential. Amphiphilic aggregation and phase behaviour. Adsorption to liquid interfaces, Gibb's isotherm. Forces between molecules and between molecular systems and surfaces. Colloids and colloidal stability. The structure and properties of molecular films; preparation strategies, thermodynamically and kinetically controlled processes, surface modification, self-assembled monolayers.
Hard materials and surfaces, the structure of surfaces, the surface chemical bond, physisorption, chemisorption. Adsorption, adsorption kinetics and isotherms, surface reactions. Analytical methods for analysis of surfaces, interfaces and colloids.

Teaching and working methods

The material is presented in lectures, as well as classroom and laboratory exercises.

Examination

LAB1Laboratory course1.5 creditsU, G
TEN2Written examination4.5 creditsU, 3, 4, 5

Grades

Four-grade scale, LiU, U, 3, 4, 5

Other information

Supplementary courses: Surface science, Biosensor technology, Microsystems and Nanobiology, Biomedical materials.

About teaching and examination language

The teaching language is presented in the Overview tab for each course. The examination language relates to the teaching language as follows: 

  • If teaching language is Swedish, the course as a whole or in large parts, is taught in Swedish. Please note that although teaching language is Swedish, parts of the course could be given in English. Examination language is Swedish. 
  • If teaching language is Swedish/English, the course as a whole will be taught in English if students without prior knowledge of the Swedish language participate. Examination language is Swedish or English (depending on teaching language). 
  • If teaching language is English, the course as a whole is taught in English. Examination language is English. 

Other

The course is conducted in a manner where both men's and women's experience and knowledge are made visible and developed. 

The planning and implementation of a course should correspond to the course syllabus. The course evaluation should therefore be conducted with the course syllabus as a starting point.  

Department

Institutionen för fysik, kemi och biologi

Director of Studies or equivalent

Magnus Boman

Examiner

Thomas Ederth

Course website and other links

https://www.ifm.liu.se/edu/coursescms/tfya47/

Education components

Preliminary scheduled hours: 48 h
Recommended self-study hours: 112 h

Course literature

Books

  • Attard, Gary, Barnes, Colin, (1998) Surfaces Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998
    ISBN: 0198556861, 9780198556862
  • Barnes, Geoffrey, Gentle, Ian, (2011) Interfacial science : an introduction 2nd ed. Oxford : Oxford University Press, c2011
    ISBN: 9780199571185, 019957118x

Other

  • Course literature

    The literature consists of the two books listed below, and additional material on electrochemistry and cyclic voltammetry, which is available from the course webpage under "Lab exercises".

    • G.T. Barnes & I.R. Gentle, Interfacial science: An introduction, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press 2011, ISBN 9780199571185.
    • G. Attard & C. Barnes, Surfaces, Oxford University Press 1998, ISBN 9780198556862.
       

    Other literature

    As far as I am aware, there are no single books covering the whole course contents, but here is one which almost does, and which could be good alternative reading:

    • H.-J. Butt, K. Graf, M. Kappl, Physics and Chemistry of Interfaces, 3 uppl., Wiley-VCH 2013, ISBN 9783527412167.

    Other literature for further reading:

    • J.C. Berg, An Introduction to Interfaces and Colloids, World Scientific 2009, ISBN 9789814299824 (emphasis on surface and colloid chemistry, liquid interfaces).
    • J.N. Israelachvili, Intermolecular and surface forces, 3 uppl., Academic Press, 2011, ISBN 9780123751829 (stand literature on intermolecular and surface forces).
    • A.W. Adamson and A.P. Gast, Physical chemistry of surfaces, 6 uppl., Wiley 1997, ISBN 0471148733 (A classic in the field, with both fundamentals and applications).
    • H.Y. Erbil, Surface Chemistry of Solid and Liquid Interfaces, John Wiley & Sons 2006, ISBN 9781405119689 (some emphasis on thermodynamic aspects).
Code Name Scope Grading scale
LAB1 Laboratory course 1.5 credits U, G
TEN2 Written examination 4.5 credits U, 3, 4, 5

Course syllabus

A syllabus must be established for each course. The syllabus specifies the aim and contents of the course, and the prior knowledge that a student must have in order to be able to benefit from the course.

Timetabling

Courses are timetabled after a decision has been made for this course concerning its assignment to a timetable module. 

Interrupting a course

The vice-chancellor’s decision concerning regulations for registration, deregistration and reporting results (Dnr LiU-2015-01241) states that interruptions in study are to be recorded in Ladok. Thus, all students who do not participate in a course for which they have registered must record the interruption, such that the registration on the course can be removed. Deregistration from a course is carried out using a web-based form: https://www.lith.liu.se/for-studenter/kurskomplettering?l=en. 

Cancelled courses

Courses with few participants (fewer than 10) may be cancelled or organised in a manner that differs from that stated in the course syllabus. The Dean is to deliberate and decide whether a course is to be cancelled or changed from the course syllabus. 

Guidelines relating to examinations and examiners 

For details, see Guidelines for education and examination for first-cycle and second-cycle education at Linköping University, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592.

An examiner must be employed as a teacher at LiU according to the LiU Regulations for Appointments (https://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/622784). For courses in second-cycle, the following teachers can be appointed as examiner: Professor (including Adjunct and Visiting Professor), Associate Professor (including Adjunct), Senior Lecturer (including Adjunct and Visiting Senior Lecturer), Research Fellow, or Postdoc. For courses in first-cycle, Assistant Lecturer (including Adjunct and Visiting Assistant Lecturer) can also be appointed as examiner in addition to those listed for second-cycle courses. In exceptional cases, a Part-time Lecturer can also be appointed as an examiner at both first- and second cycle, see Delegation of authority for the Board of Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Forms of examination

Examination

Written and oral examinations are held at least three times a year: once immediately after the end of the course, once in August, and once (usually) in one of the re-examination periods. Examinations held at other times are to follow a decision of the board of studies.

Principles for examination scheduling for courses that follow the study periods:

  • courses given in VT1 are examined for the first time in March, with re-examination in June and August
  • courses given in VT2 are examined for the first time in May, with re-examination in August and October
  • courses given in HT1 are examined for the first time in October, with re-examination in January and August
  • courses given in HT2 are examined for the first time in January, with re-examination in March and in August.

The examination schedule is based on the structure of timetable modules, but there may be deviations from this, mainly in the case of courses that are studied and examined for several programmes and in lower grades (i.e. 1 and 2). 

Examinations for courses that the board of studies has decided are to be held in alternate years are held three times during the school year in which the course is given according to the principles stated above.

Examinations for courses that are cancelled or rescheduled such that they are not given in one or several years are held three times during the year that immediately follows the course, with examination scheduling that corresponds to the scheduling that was in force before the course was cancelled or rescheduled.

When a course is given for the last time, the regular examination and two re-examinations will be offered. Thereafter, examinations are phased out by offering three examinations during the following academic year at the same times as the examinations in any substitute course. If there is no substitute course, three examinations will be offered during re-examination periods during the following academic year. Other examination times are decided by the board of studies. In all cases above, the examination is also offered one more time during the academic year after the following, unless the board of studies decides otherwise.

If a course is given during several periods of the year (for programmes, or on different occasions for different programmes) the board or boards of studies determine together the scheduling and frequency of re-examination occasions.

Registration for examination

In order to take an examination, a student must register in advance at the Student Portal during the registration period, which opens 30 days before the date of the examination and closes 10 days before it. Candidates are informed of the location of the examination by email, four days in advance. Students who have not registered for an examination run the risk of being refused admittance to the examination, if space is not available.

Symbols used in the examination registration system:

  ** denotes that the examination is being given for the penultimate time.

  * denotes that the examination is being given for the last time.

Code of conduct for students during examinations

Details are given in a decision in the university’s rule book: http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/622682.

Retakes for higher grade

Students at the Institute of Technology at LiU have the right to retake written examinations and computer-based examinations in an attempt to achieve a higher grade. This is valid for all examination components with code “TEN” and "DAT". The same right may not be exercised for other examination components, unless otherwise specified in the course syllabus.

A retake is not possible on courses that are included in an issued degree diploma. 

Retakes of other forms of examination

Regulations concerning retakes of other forms of examination than written examinations and computer-based examinations are given in the LiU guidelines for examinations and examiners, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592.

Plagiarism

For examinations that involve the writing of reports, in cases in which it can be assumed that the student has had access to other sources (such as during project work, writing essays, etc.), the material submitted must be prepared in accordance with principles for acceptable practice when referring to sources (references or quotations for which the source is specified) when the text, images, ideas, data, etc. of other people are used. It is also to be made clear whether the author has reused his or her own text, images, ideas, data, etc. from previous examinations, such as degree projects, project reports, etc. (this is sometimes known as “self-plagiarism”).

A failure to specify such sources may be regarded as attempted deception during examination.

Attempts to cheat

In the event of a suspected attempt by a student to cheat during an examination, or when study performance is to be assessed as specified in Chapter 10 of the Higher Education Ordinance, the examiner is to report this to the disciplinary board of the university. Possible consequences for the student are suspension from study and a formal warning. More information is available at https://www.student.liu.se/studenttjanster/lagar-regler-rattigheter?l=en.

Grades

The grades that are preferably to be used are Fail (U), Pass (3), Pass not without distinction (4) and Pass with distinction (5). 

  1. Grades U, 3, 4, 5 are to be awarded for courses that have written examinations.
  2. Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) may be awarded for courses with a large degree of practical components such as laboratory work, project work and group work.
  3. Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) are to be used for degree projects and other independent work.

Examination components

  1. Grades U, 3, 4, 5 are to be awarded for written examinations (TEN).
  2. Examination components for which the grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) may be awarded are laboratory work (LAB), project work (PRA), preparatory written examination (KTR), oral examination (MUN), computer-based examination (DAT), home assignment (HEM), and assignment (UPG).
  3. Students receive grades either Fail (U) or Pass (G) for other examination components in which the examination criteria are satisfied principally through active attendance such as other examination (ANN), tutorial group (BAS) or examination item (MOM).
  4. Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) are to be used for the examination components Opposition (OPPO) and Attendance at thesis presentation (AUSK) (i.e. part of the degree project).

For mandatory components, the following applies: If special circumstances prevail, and if it is possible with consideration of the nature of the compulsory component, the examiner may decide to replace the compulsory component with another equivalent component. (In accordance with the LiU Guidelines for education and examination for first-cycle and second-cycle education at Linköping University, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592). 

For written examinations, the following applies: If the LiU coordinator for students with disabilities has granted a student the right to an adapted examination for a written examination in an examination hall, the student has the right to it. If the coordinator has instead recommended for the student an adapted examination or alternative form of examination, the examiner may grant this if the examiner assesses that it is possible, based on consideration of the course objectives. (In accordance with the LiU Guidelines for education and examination for first-cycle and second-cycle education at Linköping University, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592).

The examination results for a student are reported at the relevant department.

Regulations (apply to LiU in its entirety)

The university is a government agency whose operations are regulated by legislation and ordinances, which include the Higher Education Act and the Higher Education Ordinance. In addition to legislation and ordinances, operations are subject to several policy documents. The Linköping University rule book collects currently valid decisions of a regulatory nature taken by the university board, the vice-chancellor and faculty/department boards.

LiU’s rule book for education at first-cycle and second-cycle levels is available at http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/Innehall/Utbildning_pa_grund-_och_avancerad_niva. 

Books

Attard, Gary, Barnes, Colin, (1998) Surfaces Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998

ISBN: 0198556861, 9780198556862

Barnes, Geoffrey, Gentle, Ian, (2011) Interfacial science : an introduction 2nd ed. Oxford : Oxford University Press, c2011

ISBN: 9780199571185, 019957118x

Other

Course literature

The literature consists of the two books listed below, and additional material on electrochemistry and cyclic voltammetry, which is available from the course webpage under "Lab exercises".

  • G.T. Barnes & I.R. Gentle, Interfacial science: An introduction, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press 2011, ISBN 9780199571185.
  • G. Attard & C. Barnes, Surfaces, Oxford University Press 1998, ISBN 9780198556862.
     

Other literature

As far as I am aware, there are no single books covering the whole course contents, but here is one which almost does, and which could be good alternative reading:

  • H.-J. Butt, K. Graf, M. Kappl, Physics and Chemistry of Interfaces, 3 uppl., Wiley-VCH 2013, ISBN 9783527412167.

Other literature for further reading:

  • J.C. Berg, An Introduction to Interfaces and Colloids, World Scientific 2009, ISBN 9789814299824 (emphasis on surface and colloid chemistry, liquid interfaces).
  • J.N. Israelachvili, Intermolecular and surface forces, 3 uppl., Academic Press, 2011, ISBN 9780123751829 (stand literature on intermolecular and surface forces).
  • A.W. Adamson and A.P. Gast, Physical chemistry of surfaces, 6 uppl., Wiley 1997, ISBN 0471148733 (A classic in the field, with both fundamentals and applications).
  • H.Y. Erbil, Surface Chemistry of Solid and Liquid Interfaces, John Wiley & Sons 2006, ISBN 9781405119689 (some emphasis on thermodynamic aspects).

Note: The course matrix might contain more information in Swedish.

I = Introduce, U = Teach, A = Utilize
I U A Modules Comment
1. DISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE AND REASONING
1.1 Knowledge of underlying mathematics and science (G1X level)
X
X
LAB1
TEN2

                            
1.2 Fundamental engineering knowledge (G1X level)
X
LAB1
TEN2

                            
1.3 Further knowledge, methods, and tools in one or several subjects in engineering or natural science (G2X level)
X
LAB1
TEN2

                            
1.4 Advanced knowledge, methods, and tools in one or several subjects in engineering or natural sciences (A1X level)

                            
1.5 Insight into current research and development work

                            
2. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES
2.1 Analytical reasoning and problem solving
X
X
LAB1
TEN2

                            
2.2 Experimentation, investigation, and knowledge discovery
X
X
LAB1

                            
2.3 System thinking
X
TEN2

                            
2.4 Attitudes, thought, and learning
X
LAB1
TEN2

                            
2.5 Ethics, equity, and other responsibilities

                            
3. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: TEAMWORK AND COMMUNICATION
3.1 Teamwork
X
X
LAB1

                            
3.2 Communications
X
X
LAB1

                            
3.3 Communication in foreign languages
X
LAB1

                            
4. CONCEIVING, DESIGNING, IMPLEMENTING AND OPERATING SYSTEMS IN THE ENTERPRISE, SOCIETAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT
4.1 External, societal, and environmental context
X
TEN2

                            
4.2 Enterprise and business context

                            
4.3 Conceiving, system engineering and management

                            
4.4 Designing

                            
4.5 Implementing

                            
4.6 Operating

                            
5. PLANNING, EXECUTION AND PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS WITH RESPECT TO SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIETAL NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS
5.1 Societal conditions, including economic, social, and ecological aspects of sustainable development for knowledge development

                            
5.2 Economic conditions for knowledge development

                            
5.3 Identification of needs, structuring and planning of research or development projects

                            
5.4 Execution of research or development projects

                            
5.5 Presentation and evaluation of research or development projects

                            

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