Krüss customers from throughout the UK joined researchers at the University for an afternoon to mark the beginning of this innovative collaboration. Participants visited the facility to learn more about the Centre’s capabilities and the services that it can offer.

In addition to direct support for University of Bristol researchers the Krüss Centre will provide a local base for the company from which to serve its customers in the UK and Ireland. External customers will be able to make use of the services provided by the Centre, including sample testing, training courses and instrument demonstrations.

A major feature of the Centre is its laboratory, equipped with a full suite of state-of-the-art Krüss instruments for surface science analysis. Researchers at the University and the Bristol Colloid Centre will have access to the entire range of instruments for their research.

The great potential of this collaboration has already been illustrated by a joint paper recently published by the University of Bristol Materials and Colloids research group in the journal Soft Matter. The paper shows results obtained using facilities now available at the Centre.

The work has also been featured on the New Scientist website and describes how a UV light-sensitive surfactant can be triggered to convert a smooth emulsion of nanoparticles back into a separated system. The major applications of this discovery are in low-energy separation and recovery techniques for colloidal and nanoparticle dispersions.

For more information about the Centre and its facilities, please contact Rob Dyer (0117 325 0257 or robert.dyer@kruss.co.uk). See also the company's UK website.