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The development of molecular-based models for the prediction of thermophysical properties and phase equilibria of fluid mixtures containing chain molecules is a subject of enormous importance to the chemical, petroleum, and materials processing industries. Thermodynamic models are powerful tools for process and materials design, and are useful for the prediction and correlation of volumetric properties and phase equilibria of fluid mixtures. The long-range objectives of this research program are

1. to advance the equation of state theory of dense chain fluid mixtures
2. to obtain fundamental understanding of the effects of molecular interactions on the thermodynamic properties and microscopic correlations of chain fluids
3. to develop quantitative tools for the prediction and correlation of volumetric and phase equilibria properties of chain fluid mixtures.

Another research focus is environmental thermodynamics. Our research effort aims at obtaining theoretical understanding of the behavior of contaminants in aqueous solutions and in soils. We are currently developing thermodynamic models for the adsorption of contaminants in vapor/soil and liquid/soil systems. These theoretical models are used to correlate and predict the sorption of contaminants in the vapor phase onto soils. Molecular simulations are performed for selected hydrocarbons-water mixture to examine the effective interactions between hydrophobic molecules in an aqueous environment and their interactions with charged ionic groups in soils. These studies will eventually provide fundamental insights on molecular interactions in aqueous based systems.

The properties of interfacial films containing surface active molecules formed between two fluids play an important role in many interfacial processes such as high speed coating of photographic films, emulsification and foaming. Properties of these films can be modified in definite ways by the application of properly selected surfactants. Because most interfacial processes take place under dynamic conditions, it is insufficient to only examine the equilibrium properties of interfacial films. Our research aims at acquiring a fundamental understanding of surface relaxations and dynamic rheological properties of interfaces. Special emphasis are placed upon investigating the adsorption/desorption dynamics of surfactants, polymers and biological macromolecules at air/liquid and liquid/liquid interfaces, the interactions between polymers, proteins and small molecular surfactants on the dynamic properties of fluid interfaces, and the relationship between interfacial properties and emulsion and foam stabilities.