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Category: Introduction

The Physics of Complex Liquids Group or FILICO (FÍsica de LÍquidos COmplejos in spanish) at the Department of Applied Physics of University of Huelva was created in 1996, when Prof. Enrique de Miguel and Dr. Elvira Martín del Río arrived to the Department. In 1998, Dr. Felipe J. Blas joined the Group. In 2009, Prof. de Miguel moved his research interest to photometry of cataclismic variable starts. More recently, at the end of 2010, Dr. A. Ignacio Moreno-Ventas Bravo, an expert in geochemistry of sillicate molecules, joined the Group to use and develop molecular modelling techniques to study geological systems of interest.

The main interest of the Group focuses on the application of molecular modelling techniques, including Statistical Mechanical based theories and computer simulation (Molecular Dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation techniques), to understand the thermodynamic behaviour, including phase equilibria, of systems as complex as associating fluids, chain-like molecules, amphiphilic molecules, liquid crystals, and sillicate systems.

The Group has been involved during last years in several subjects, being the common theme of the research carried out the provision of a detailed understanding of complex systems at the molecular level. The focus has been on structural, thermodynamic, and dynamic properties, with an emphasis on phase equilibria. An in-depth understanding of the separate effects of molecular interactions, such as association, hydrogen bonding, molecular shape and flexibility, and polar interactions on phase behaviour has been of particular interest. Our efforst represent important advances in the application of formal Statistical Mechanics to realistic molecular interactions. In addition, the theoretical and simulation framework developed and prometed by the group has been used to provide an accurate quantitative description of systems of significant theoretical and industrial importance.

The Group collaborates actively with several national and international research groups from Europe and US, combining theoretical and simulation approaches with experimental work.