Sonja Krause Professor Physical Chemistry of Macromolecules 213 Materials Research Center 518.276.8445 krauss@rpi.edu

Dr. Krause received her B.S. in Chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1954, and her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1957. She worked as a senior physical chemist with the Rohm & Haas Company and taught in Africa as U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. She joined the RPI faculty in 1967 after a year at the University of Southern California.

Effects of Electric Fields on Immiscible Polymer Alloys
Electric fields are being used to prepare structures that are aligned or distorted in the field direction. In some cases, when fluid droplets containing one polymer are inserted into a fluid matrix containing another polymer, the droplets rotate. These and other effects are being studied experimentally and theoretically. Practical applications are also being considered.

Polymers in Electric Fields as Electromechanical Actuators
Polymer gels, some containing electrorheological fluids, are being developed for use as electromechanical actuators that are able to move objects in less than 100 milliseconds. This is the time scale of muscle action in living things. Thus, Krause’s final goal is the development of artificial muscle.

Interfaces Between Polymeric Compatibilizers and Semicrystalline Polymers
In order to study the way in which polymeric compatibilizers like ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer interact with post-consumer plastics waste like polyethylenes and polypropylene, Krause is studying annealed interfaces between these materials using such physical methods as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron microprobe analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance.

S. Krause, S.H. Goh. In Polymer Handbook. J. Brandrup, E.A. Grulke, E.H. Immergut, Eds. New York: John Wiley & Sons, (1999).

K. Bohon and S. Krause, “An Electrorheological Fluid and Siloxane Based Electromechanical Actuator: Working Toward an Artificial Muscle,” J. Polym. Sci. Part B Polym. Phys., 36, 1091-1094 (1998).

K. Xi, S. Krause, “Droplet Deformation and Structure Formation in Two-Phase Polymer/Polymer/Toluene Mixtures in an Electric Field,” Macromolecules, 31, 3974-3984 (1998).

S. Krause, R.L. McEvoy, P. Wu, “Surface Characterization of Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA) and Ethylene-Acrylic Acid (EAA) Copolymers Using XPS and AFM,” Polymer, 39, 5223-5239 (1998).

P. Chandratreya, S. Krause, “Electrorotation of Deformable Fluid Droplets,” J. Colloid Interface Sci., 206, 10-18 (1998).

R.L. McEvoy, S. Krause, “Impact Strength and Fracture Surfaces of Interfaces between Polyethylene and Polypropylene and Some Ethylene Containing Polymers," J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 64, 2221-2235 (1997).

S. Krause, T.W. Smith, G.E. Wnek, Y. Ye, “Effect of Crystallization on the Morphologies of Block Copolymer/Homopolymer Blends Cast in an Electric Field,” J. Polym. Sci. Polym. Phys. Ed., 34, 309-315 (1996).

R.L. McEvoy, S. Krause, “Interfacial Interactions Between Polyethylene and Polypropylene and Some Ethylene Containing Copolymers,” Macromolecules, 29, 4258-4266 (1996).