(bram.neirinck@mtm.kuleuven.be or neirinck@gmail.com)

 

Laboratory: MTM / KU Leuven (Belgium)

Address: Kasteelpark Arenberg 44

              B-3001 Heverlee (Leuven)

Cell phone: +32 476 52 76 41


Abstract

I started my Ph.D. in 2004 under the guidance of Jef Vleugels, Jan Fransaer, Omer Van der Biest and Guy Anné. Initially My Ph.D. was focused towards the study of the chemistry during Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) from organic media, mostly ethanol and ketone/amine based systems. However during this initial period I reoriented my research towards the production of porous materials using solid particle stabilized emulsions (also called Pickering Emulsions) in colloidal processes, including EPD.

During this research I spent a significant amount of time characterizing the surface chemistry of both ceramic and metallic particles and optimizing wetting of these particles. This included developing a new technique for contact angle measurements direct onto sub-micrometer sized particles and the estimation of the ratio of acid, basic and dispersive groups on the surface. Due to the more stable nature of aqueous emulsions I also developed a new approach towards EPD from aqueous media based on the work of S. Stotz [1]. This technique exploits the non-linear dependence of the electrophoretic mobility on the field strength in strong fields by means of asymmetric AC-fields (AC-EPD). Additionally I made great strides in depositing gravitationally unstable systems, including emulsion with a tendency of creaming and large heavy particles with a high sedimentation rate.

During my postdoctoral work I extended the scope of my research using this technique towards the deposition of live cell and biomolecules, mostly proteins and peptides.

 

[1] S. Stotz, Field-Dependence of Electrophoretic Mobility of Particles Suspended in Low-Conductivity Liquids, J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 65 (1) (1978) 118-130.

  

Selected publications

 

  • B. Neirinck, J. Fransaer, O. Van der Biest, J. Vleugels, Aqueous Electrophoretic deposition in asymmetric AC electric fields (AC-EPD), Electrochem. Commun., 2009, Vol. 11-1, p. 57.
  • B. Neirinck, L. Van Mellaert, J. Fransaer, O. Van der Biest, J. Anné, J. Vleugels, Electrophoretic deposition of bacterial cells, Electrochem. Commun., 2009, Vol. 11-9, p. 1842. Publication 2
  • B. Neirinck, D. Soccol, J. Fransaer, O. Van der Biest and J. Vleugels, Influence of short chain organic acids and bases on the wetting properties and surface energy of submicrometer ceramic powders, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2010, Vol. 348-2, p. 654.