This workshop appeals to scientists working in experimental, theoretical and computational areas on the effects of confinement on the dynamics of atoms, molecules and condensed matter.
Confining media should be understood in a wider sense comprising
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micro- and nano-porous matrices,
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tubes, channels, layers, films,
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micelles, blockcopolymers, nanocomposites,
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clathrates, zeolites, metal-organic frameworks, crystallites,
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other materials where confinement may play an essential role.
Confined media considered here are
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atoms and molecules,
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liquids and glasses,
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water and other simple organic and inorganic liquids,
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polymers,
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complex liquids and biological systems.
The dynamical properties of matter confined in space deviate appreciably from those of the bulk state. Over the past two decades a growing number of experimental, computational and theoretical studies aimed at investigating these confinement phenomena and at disentangling those from effects which are induced by the confining media, such as surface interactions. The origin of studies of dynamics in confinement lies in the field of supercooled liquids and glasses where spatial confinement allows some control of the ‘cooperativity length’. By now the scope of the ‘confinement concept’ has widened to polymer dynamics in composites and blends, molecular dynamics in the ‘crowded environment’ of living cells, molecular dynamics in membranes and on surfaces, etc. Besides the understanding of the fundamental aspects of confined matter, there is now a growing interest in its properties for medical, life science and industrial applications. Batteries and fuel cells are only two examples where the dynamics of confined matter and confining materials are employed for their use as future green energy resources.
This ‘5th International Workshop on Dynamics in Confinement – CONFIT 2022’ aims at summarizing the status of the research by spectroscopic methods, theoretical concepts and computer simulations. Like the previous four CONFIT workshops it will promote collaboration among scientists working in this field. We encourage scientists working in the preparation and characterisation of such confinements as well as researchers involved in industrial applications, for which the understanding of the microscopic dynamics is of importance, to participate in this workshop.
A special session will be dedicated to Bernhard Frick, the initiator of the CONFIT workshop series, and his contribution to the field of dynamics in confinement.
