Karen Edler

PhD in Physical Chemistry - Australian National University (1998). Has experience in Chemistry, focusing on Physical Chemistry. Previously Professor of Soft Matter - University of Bath (1999-2022), currently Professor of Materials Chemistry - Lund University. Research interest focuses on understanding formation of functional hierarchically structured materials. This includes nanodiscs for membrane protein & drug encapsulation, novel surfactant synthesis & characterisation in non-aqueous deep eutectic solvents, pickering emulsions with sustainable components, polymer-surfactant films & particles for encapsulation/release, sustainable thickeners for aqueous formulations & nanoporous inorganic nanoparticles and membranes. The Edler group uses self-assembly, driven by interactions between nanoscopic species (micelles, nanoparticles, polymers) in solution and at interfaces to form hierarchically ordered materials with structures from nm to cm. Understanding interactions between surfaces, nanoparticles and other species is central to our control over structure and thus function. Time-resolved grazing incidence X-ray & neutron reflectivity, liquid diffraction and small angle scattering are used to study interactions & final structures, and a range of other complementary techniques (TEM, SEM, AFM, NMR, surface tension, conductivity, XRD, SESANS, USANS/USAXS, gas adsorption) are applied to determine formation mechanisms and structures across many length scales. Extensive collaborations with other groups in industry and academia apply the novel materials synthesised in Prof Edler's group to applications from photocatalysis, to drug delivery and ?green? gels/emulsions