Why do eggs stick to the pan ?

Internship proposal

Laboratoire Sciences et Ingénierie de la Matière Molle, (SIMM)

Address : ESPCI, 10 Rue Vauquelin 75005 Paris

Head : Jean-Baptiste d’Espinose

Supervisors : Matteo Ciccotti

Contact : https://ciccotti.espci.fr/

Internship with possibility for extension as a PhD

Understanding adhesion and the loss of non-stick properties at the food–coating interface

Non-stick coatings used in cookware are exposed to complex thermal, chemical and mechanical stresses during use. Their performance depends on the properties of the coating surface, how these evolve with ageing, and the changes that food undergoes during cooking.

This internship aims to investigate the physical and physicochemical mechanisms governing adhesion at the interface between a food, or a representative model system, and a non-stick surface. In particular, it will seek to understand :
• how changes in surface composition, molecular mobility, roughness or microstructure affect non-stick properties ;
• how thermal and mechanical changes in food influence its wetting, contact formation and subsequent detachment ;
• to what extent accelerated or simplified tests can reproduce the mechanisms observed under actual conditions of use.

The work may combine a literature review, selection of surfaces and model systems, development of reproducible tests, interface characterization before and after exposure to stress, and mechanical analysis of detachment. The ultimate aim is to interpret the observed phenomena in terms of their underlying mechanisms and identify relevant parameters for comparing or improving non-stick surfaces.

The project is intended for a second-year Master’s student or a final-year engineering student with a background in materials physical chemistry, surface science, mechanics or polymer physics, and a strong interest in experimental work and adhesion [1].

[1] C. Creton and M. Ciccotti, Fracture and adhesion of soft materials : a review, Rep. Prog. Phys., 79, Art N. 046601.