Join BonLab as a PhD researcher in 2025

We are looking for enthusiastic and dedicated people to join the BonLab as a PhD student. Start dates are mid to end 2025. Do you have what it takes to work at the forefront in sustainable polymer and colloid chemical engineering? 

You will be working under the guidance of prof.dr.ir. Stefan A. F. Bon on an exciting 4-year project in collaboration with industry in the area of polymer and colloid science. We have a number of fully funded opportunities available in my team:

project 1: Next generation printing inks

This project deals with the fabrication of polymer colloids that contain pigments for inkjet printing. We will look at sustainable polymerization methods to fabricate pigment dispersions suitable for a range of printing techniques. Not only will we look at innovative fabrication methods, we will look at the formulation process involved during the processing into colloidal inks, and we will characterize the physical and mechanical properties of the materials made.

project 2:  Nutraceuticals

This project will deal with the fabrication of a range of nutraceutical formulations. The project focuses on the synthesis of colloidal systems suitable for the delivery of beneficial agents. Beside fabrication, the project will look the underlying soft matter physics on how these formulations behave upon application. This project will be done in collaboration with the team of my colleague prof. Sebastien Perrier.

Enquiries, which should include a CV with the names of two referees, should be made to prof.dr.ir. Stefan A. F Bon (s.bon@warwick.ac.uk)

Requirements:

An eligible student must hold, or be predicted to obtain, at least a 2.1 4-year degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or an equivalent scientific discipline. Exceptional students with a 3 year BSc degree will also be considered. This studentship is open to UK nationals and those of equivalent status* (fees paid, plus annum stipend). Availability is for 4 years.

*Please note - ELIGIBILITY - Applicants from overseas ARE eligible for these posts, but need to find financial means to bridge the gap between home and overseas study fees.

Warwick Researchers Lead the Way in Developing Sustainable Alternatives to Plastics

Researchers at The University of Warwick have made significant progress in the search for sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics. In response to growing environmental concerns, the move towards a circular economy and changing consumer preferences, the research team has identified that certain mixtures of small organic molecules form interesting glasses and viscous liquids. These so-called organic eutectics are promising candidates for replacing polymers in various products.

Plastics have long been a mainstay in modern manufacturing, but their environmental impact has increased demand for eco-friendly alternatives. The Warwick research highlights eutectic molecular glasses and liquids—materials formed by mixing crystalline components—as underexplored yet highly promising options for this purpose.

The team successfully developed a series of hydrophobic eutectic molecular liquids and glasses, each carefully crafted by combining different crystalline components. Using advanced techniques like differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and UV-vis spectroscopy, the eutectic compositions were precisely determined. The analysis was refined using a trained partial least squares regression model, ensuring accuracy in identifying the optimal material blends.

Fibers can be pulled from the hydrophobic small-molecule eutectic material. It can also be molded into shapes, glass-blown into baubles, or cast as flexible films.

One key challenge in creating sustainable plastic alternatives is ensuring long-term stability. The Warwick team addressed this by testing the amorphous materials over an extended period of up to 14 months, using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) to confirm their resistance to crystallization. This durability is crucial for ensuring that products maintain their integrity throughout their shelf life.

In addition to stability, the researchers investigated the processability of these materials by examining their rheological properties. They found that all the liquids exhibited low fragility indices, making them suitable for various manufacturing processes, including glassblowing, fiber pulling, film formation, and molding. Importantly, the team demonstrated that the properties of these materials could be tailored to specific applications by blending different eutectic systems or incorporating plasticizers.

Prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon, lead investigator of the work, says: “The original plan was to develop an anything-but-plastic concept material for the formulation industry. Dr. Joshua Ryan, a talented former PhD researcher in my team, BonLab, undertook a systematic study of blending small hydrophobic organic molecules that could undergo a variety of non-covalent interactions with one another. That these hydrophobic eutectic systems had such remarkable physical properties, was beyond our initial expectations. We brought our colleague Prof. Gabriele Sosso on board to study by computer simulations how these eutectic mixtures interacted on a molecular level. These small molecule organic eutectic systems offer an opportunity to further develop high-performance materials that can replace conventional polymers in various applications. In a way, they can be seen as a non-covalent analogue to dynamic reversible macromolecular covalent materials, known as vitrimers.” 

To showcase the practical potential of these materials, the researchers conducted a controlled release study using a eutectic system composed of 4-hydroxychalcone and bifonazole as a matrix. This study serves as a proof-of-concept, highlighting the versatility of eutectic materials in applications such as drug delivery and beyond.

The University of Warwick's groundbreaking research, published open access in Chemical Science, the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, opens new avenues for developing sustainable, versatile alternatives to traditional plastics. As legislative changes and consumer preferences continue to push for greener solutions, these innovative organic materials offer a promising path forward.

ENDS

The scientific paper entitled “Small molecule organic eutectics as candidates to replace plastics.” published in Chemical Science can be accessed at: https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SC02574A

For more information on BonLab, see https://bonlab.info

For more information, please contact the University of Warwick press office at press@warwick.ac.uk or phone 07392 125 605

Water-based nanocapsule dispersions for tuneable energy storage

Phase change materials, also known as PCMs, can capture, store, and release energy when they undergo a phase transition. One class of PCMs with relatively high latent energy storage capabilities are alkane-based waxes. These store energy upon melting and will release it again when they solidify through crystallization. To make use of this so-called latent heat is helpful for many applications, and indeed can be found, for example, in building insulation and temperature regulation materials. If, however, we would like to use this concept in a temperature-regulating fluid, we need to disperse the PCMs into a liquid, such as water, that in itself has a high heat capacity and thus the ability to store energy.

Creating a dispersion of PCMs is a complex task that presents an intellectual challenge. If we were to emulsify molten wax using ordinary surfactants into droplets dispersed in water, a problem would arise upon cooling. When certain wax droplets crystallize, these will touch other droplets in their vicinity triggering crystal growth and fusion of the droplets. The emulsion is destabilized and, upon heating, will not return to its original state. This complexity underscores the urgent need for innovative solutions in the field of materials science.

The solution to this challenge is to encapsulate the wax. This involves surrounding the wax droplets with a protective shell that prevents fusion. However, a new problem arises when the capsules are large, such as in the micron length scale or upwards. In these cases, the capsules can still jam together and obstruct the flow of the liquid. To overcome this, we need to miniaturize the entire system and fabricate wax nanocapsules that remain colloidally stable throughout their application. This approach not only solves the problem but also allows us to blend nanocapsules containing different waxes, thereby tuning the energy storage characteristics.

Our paper recently published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Polymer Chemistry and entitled: “Phase change material nanocapsules for latent function thermal fluids with tuneable thermal energy storage profiles” does exactly that.

We prepared mini-emulsions, which are stable tiny droplets of various methacrylates in the presence of trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMA) as a crosslinker, and n-hexadecane (HD), n-octadecane (OCT), and n-docosane (DOC) as PCM. One important aspect was to use an ω-unsaturated poly(n-butyl methacrylate-b-[(methacrylic acid)-co-(methyl methacrylate)]) macromonomer as a reactive macromolecular emulsifier, to secure colloidal stability of our nanocapsule systems. The performance of a thermal fluid of DOC nanocapsules was tested against water, with promising results. As a tunability concept, crosslinked poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocapsules of n-octadecane (OCT) and n-docosane (DOC) were blended as a tuneable latent function thermal fluid.

You can read the paper here:

https://doi.org/10.1039/D4PY00789A