Matthew Liberatore
Associate Professor
Research Description
Complex fluids are present in everyday life from the food and drinks we consume to the soaps and shampoo we use. Understanding the flow of complex fluids leads to the engineering of new materials and products to improve life. Rheological and spectroscopic characterization tools provide information on nanoscale domains, microstructure and macroscopic properties benefiting current and emerging technologies from oil recovery to bioenergy and tissue engineering. In addition, these tools provide opportunities to form collaborations with other scientists and engineers in the fields of physics, biology, material science, chemistry and environmental science. Specifically, my work focuses broadly on the rheology of complex and multiphase fluids including biomass slurries, bio-oils, entangled polymer solutions for drag reduction, surfactants and self assembly in solution, electrospinning polymer nanofibers, hydrate and ice slurries, emulsions, heavy crude oils, and other energy-related fluids.
selected Publications
N. B. Wyatt, M. W. Liberatore “Rheology and viscosity scaling of the polyelectrolyte xanthan gum” Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 114 (2009): 4076-4084.
J. S. Knutsen, M. W. Liberatore. “Rheology of High-Solids Biomass Slurries for Biorefinery Applications” Journal of Rheology, 53 (2009): 877-892.
C. M. Roche, C. J. Dibble, J. S. Knutsen, J. J. Stickel, M. W. Liberatore. “Material and rheological properties of biomass slurries during enzymatic hydrolysis at high-solids loadings” Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 104 (2009): 290-300.
A. Hinkle, E.-J. Shin, M. W. Liberatore, A. M. Herring, M. Batzle. “Correlating the Chemical and Physical Properties of Heavy Oils from around the World”, Fuel, 87 (2008): 3065-3070.
H. Dave, F. Gao, J.-H. Lee, M. Liberatore, C.-C. Ho, C. Co. “Self-Assembly in Sugar-Oil Complex Glasses” Nature Materials, 6 (2007): 287-290.