The Department of Colloidal Chemistry of the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University was established in February 1933. It should be especially noted that several remarkable studies were carried out at Moscow University long before that, which were included in the golden fund of colloidal chemistry (although they were carried out long before its "official" formation) . In 1808, Professor F.F. Reiss discovered electrokinetic phenomena in dispersed systems - electroosmosis and electrophoresis. In 1851 Professor A.Yu. Davidov published a major monograph "The Theory of Capillary Phenomena". In the early 20s. In the 20th century, the study of various surface phenomena began at Moscow State University, and in 1922 Professor A.I. Bachinsky proposed an excellent correlation between surface tension and the density difference between the adjacent phases. V.A. Naumov became the first head of the department of colloid chemistry. He was also the author of the first university textbook on colloidal chemistry (1925). In 1938, the Department of Colloidal Chemistry was headed by Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences A.I. Rabinovich. In 1942, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences P.A. Rebinder (since 1946 - academician); he headed the department until 1972. During this period, the basic teaching and scientific principles of the department were created. P.A. Rebinder was one of the greatest colloid chemists. It was he who brought to the fore the importance of surface phenomena in dispersed (colloidal) systems, which played an extremely important role in the development of colloid chemistry in the 20th century. Another fundamental idea of Rebinder is the use of surfactants to fine-tune the colloid-chemical properties of various systems - emulsions, foams, gels, and others. P.A. Rehbinder discovered a new phenomenon, which he called adsorption strength reduction (now commonly called the "Rehbinder effect"). From 1973 to 1994, the Department of Colloidal Chemistry was headed by Academician of the Russian Academy of Education (RAO), Professor E.D. Shchukin. Lecture course by E.D. Shchukin became the basis of the textbook "Colloid Chemistry", which went through 3 editions (authors - E.D. Schukin, A.V. Pertsov, E.A. Amelina.) Since 1995, the department has been headed by Honored Professor of Moscow State University B.D. Summ.
The department was headed by:
1933-1935 - prof. V.A. Naumov
1935-1942 - corresponding member. USSR Academy of Sciences A.I. Rabinovich
1942-1972 - acad. P.A. Rebinder
1973-1994 - acad. RAO E.D. Schukin
1994-2005 - prof. B.D. Sums
2006 - corresponding member RAS Kulichikhin Valery Grigorievich
The Department of Colloidal Chemistry was established in February 1933. Professor Vladimir Adolfovich Naumov (from 1933 to 1938) became the first head of the department. In 1925 he published the first university textbook "Chemistry of Colloids". At the same time, the first laboratory workshop on colloidal chemistry was organized.
In 1938 - 1942. The Department of Colloidal Chemistry was headed by Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Adolf Iosifovich Rabinovich. In 1940, diploma and postgraduate work began to be carried out at the department.
During the Great Patriotic War, the staff of the department actively participated in the implementation of defense research, in particular, in the development of effective corrosion inhibitors for metals. Among them is the drug "Unicol", which got its name in honor of Moscow University and the Department of Colloidal Chemistry. These works were awarded the State Prize (1946).
From 1942 to 1972, the department was headed by Academician Pyotr Alexandrovich Rebinder. He created a fundamentally new course in colloid chemistry, in which the central place was given to surface phenomena in dispersed systems. P.A. Rebinder determined the main directions of scientific work of the department - physical and chemical mechanics, physical chemistry of surfactants, colloidal chemistry of proteins, etc.
A major event in the history of the department was the opening of the modern complex of Moscow University on the Lenin Hills. The staff of the department did a great job of equipping laboratories with new equipment, creating new instruments, developing visual aids and new laboratory tasks. During this period, lecture courses were created and read not only at the Faculty of Chemistry, but also at related faculties: biology and soil, geological, geographical.
In April 1959, the Laboratory of Physical and Chemical Mechanics of Solids was organized as part of the Department of Colloidal Chemistry. A series of works with the participation of P.A. Rebinder, Yu.V. Goryunova, N.V. Pertsov, in which the patterns of the embrittling effect of metal melts were elucidated, was recognized as a scientific discovery (1964).
P.A. Rehbinder paid considerable attention to the problems of micellization. Together with Z.N. Markina, he obtained fundamental results in the field of thermodynamics of the formation of micelles of surfactants and solubilization.
In the late 1950s, one of the main areas of modern colloid chemistry emerged at the department - surface phenomena and structure formation in protein systems. This direction was headed by VN Izmailova.
In the early 1960s, the first systematic studies of wetting kinetics were carried out at the department, which soon led to the development of the first hydrodynamic theory of the spreading of liquids over the surface of solids (in the works of E.D. Shchukin and B.D. Summa).
The department cherishes the memory of Petr Aleksandrovich Rebinder. Every year, on his birthday (October 3), Rebinder readings are held, the topics of which are devoted to the development of the scientific areas he created. “Selected Works” by P.A. Rebinder (late 1970s) in two volumes. In the office of the department there is his scientific library, transferred to the department by his family.
In 1973 - 1994 The department was headed by Academician of the Russian Academy of Education Evgeny Dmitrievich Shchukin. One of the central tasks of the department during this period was a significant deepening of the general course of colloid chemistry. This most important methodological problem was successfully solved. E.D. Schukin together with A.V. Pertsov and E.A. Amelina published the textbook "Colloid Chemistry", which went through 5 editions. The textbook has been translated into English, Czech and Spanish. Among the undoubted achievements of the department of this period is the organization of systematic cooperation with large colloid-chemical centers in other countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, Cuba).
From 1995 to 2005, the department was headed by the Honored Professor of Moscow State University Boris Davidovich Summ. During this time, 2 general lecture courses on colloidal chemistry were introduced at the new faculties of MSU: bioinformatics and bioengineering and the faculty of materials sciences. Textbook "Fundamentals of colloidal chemistry", written by B.D. In sum, it perfectly complements existing textbooks. The main scientific directions of the department are developing in a friendly and creative scientific atmosphere. During this period, the instrumentation of the department was improved, young teachers were involved in reading general and specialized lecture courses.
From 2007 to the present, the department has been headed by Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Valery Grigoryevich Kulichikhin.
The Department of Colloid Chemistry trains highly qualified specialists (researchers, teachers of higher education) in the following areas:
— colloidal chemistry (physical chemistry of surfactants; natural dispersed systems; microemulsions; colloidal chemistry of proteins, liquid crystals and nanodispersed systems);
— physical and chemical mechanics (Rehbinder effect, dispersion and processing of materials, production of building and structural materials, geomechanics);
— Applied areas of colloidal chemistry (oil production, oil refining, colloidal chemistry of food products, pharmacology, diagnostics, biomedical materials, lubricants and film and photographic materials);
— colloidal chemistry of polymer systems.
Scientific schools on physical and chemical mechanics and physical chemistry of surfactants have been repeatedly supported by grants under the program "Leading Scientific Schools of Russia".
Currently, the staff of the department gives lectures, conduct seminars, conduct practical classes in colloid chemistry at the chemical, biological, geological faculties of Moscow State University, the faculties of materials sciences, bioinformatics and bioengineering, soil science. The department conducts scientific cooperation with these faculties and with the Institute of Mechanics of Moscow State University, as well as with several institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences: physical chemistry and electrochemistry, crystallography, synthetic polymeric materials, chemical physics, petrochemical synthesis, problems of chemical physics, with the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, with a number of Russian universities (St. Petersburg, Tver, Saratov, Murmansk). The department has developed long-term cooperation with foreign higher schools: the University. J. Fourier and the National Polytechnic Institute (Grenoble), Sofia University, the Higher National School of Arts and Crafts (Aix-en-Provence), the University of Paris (Orsay), as well as with a number of educational and scientific institutions in the CIS countries.