Description: 

This special practice-oriented course aims on bringing fundamentals, useful knowledge and practical hints to first-year graduate students, which are critically important for successful utilization of major experimental techniques for polymer materials characterization. Topics to be covered include major experimental techniques for bulk, surface, and molecular characterization of polymer structures, morphologies, and polymer properties. The course includes an overview of advanced topics on polymer characterization ranging from chemical composition (UV, FTIR, Raman), structures/dimensions (DLS, SAXS, WAXS, TEM, SEM), and surface morphologies/composition (SEM, SPM, XPS, SE). In particular, special attention is paid to practical aspects of instrumentation, resolutions and limitations, data collection, and data analysis. Lectures will be complemented by instrument operation, sample preparation, and data analysis demonstration.