The Institute for Molecular Science and Engineering (IMSE) hosted a fascinating Highlight Seminar from Professor Jas Pal Badyal FRS last week.

During the latest instalment of the Institute's Highlight Seminar Series Professor Badyal (Durham University) provided a wide-ranging overview of the commercial and societal applications of his work on functional nanocoatings.

Importance of multidisciplinarity

It was particularly pleasing to hear Professor Badyal – who was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2016, and has been awarded several prizes including the Royal Society of Chemistry's Edward Harrison Memorial Prize (1993) and Tilden Medal (2017) – discuss and promote the benefits of multidisciplinary research.

"I love seeing my multidisciplinary group of students working on projects all over the world, and having a truly global impact" Professor Jas Pal Badyal FRS (Durham University)

Indeed, he explained that members of his group – although focused on the production and application of functional surfaces – come from physics, biology, materials science, as well as chemistry backgrounds. Furthermore, the group's close collaborations with industrial partners provides an additional dimension to his students' professional development.

Professor Badyal sees this mode of research – completely in keeping with the molecular science and engineering approach  – to be completely natural in his pursuit of chemistry-based solutions to real-world problems, and matches IMSE's very own multidisciplinary Master's of Research (MRes) programme in Molecular Science and Engineering.

Functional surfaces for the real world

Soon after completing his PhD in 1988, Professor Badyal's broad interests led him away from catalyst-focused research, to an interest in the properties of plasmas. Since then, he has been working on the design of functionalised surfaces and coatings. This research is particularly lucrative, with the market for such surfaces (which can be used, for instance, for contact lenses, food packaging and microelectronics) estimated as worth more than $100 billion per year.

Through his work in this area, Professor Badyal is particularly keen to devise novel functional surfaces for commercial applications, and to help alleviate poverty in developing countries. For example, through one of his successful start-up companies, P2i Ltd, Professor Badyal and his colleagues have produced commercially ready protective coatings for smart phones and other electronic devices.

Professor Badyal and his research group are also currently working on the development of bioactive surfaces to have specific – e.g., antibacterial or drug-delivery – functions. Their work in developing countries also sees them creating novel, bio-inspired, water harvesting techniques. For example, they have emulated the remarkable water-channelling properties of the Thuja plicata coniferous tree in easily fabricated mesh materials that can be used as a low-cost water-harvesting (e.g., from fog) solution.

More with IMSE

IMSE's Highlight Seminar Series will continue on Thursday 8 March with a talk – Polyelectrolytes in multivalent ionic media: new physics and new materials  – by Professor Matt Tirrell (Institute of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago) at 2pm.

Applications for IMSE's MRes in Molecular Science and Engineering are currently open for autumn 2018 entry. The course is specifically designed to create a new generation of transdisciplinary researchers who can work across the molecular science and engineering interface. The course includes the opportunity to conduct a research project during an industry-sponsored work placement.