Nano engineering solutions for environmentally green surface coatings

This project aims to develop novel fluorine-free superhydrophobic (water-repelling) surfaces, made from readily available non-toxic and economical branched low surface energy materials (LSEMs). These have important advantages over the existing LSEMs, including biodegradability, environmental acceptance and are cheaper to mass produce compared with current superhydrophobic materials which are typically made using fluorocarbons. Fluorinated compounds have significant environmental risks due to bio-persistence and bio-accumulation, and are also extremely costly. The applications of low surface energy surfaces vary from protective or anti-adhesion coatings and anti-fouling to environmental and biomedical applications. The research will focus on diverse areas from fundamental science to applications that rely on LSEMs.