Study level
PhD
Master of Philosophy
Honours
Vacation research experience scheme
Faculty/School
Science and Engineering Faculty
Topic status
We're looking for students to study this topic.
Supervisors
- Position
- Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research and Innovation)
- Division / Faculty
- Division of Research and Innovation
Overview
Plastic waste reduction and management is perhaps the most critical challenge facing modern economies, and plastic pollution cannot be resolved by generic approaches to research or to problem-solving.
QUT's Soft Matter Materials Team aims to resolve the anonymity and ubiquity of plastics by pioneering a simple optical readout system that can identify the uniquely coded information in macromolecules that have been embedded in plastics.
You will be part of this dynamic team led by ARC Laureate Fellow, Christopher Barner-Kowollik, from QUT’s Centre for Materials Science and School of Chemistry and Physics.
Research activities
Your research will involve:
- organic synthesis
- macromolecular synthesis
- photochemistry
- soft matter materials science
- advanced functional materials.
Outcomes
In this project, optically readable macromolecular barcodes based on a system of excimer fluorescence switch-on in uniquely coded polymers will be synthesized by photochemistry. By decrypting monomer-based codes, the unique combination will enable the readability and thus the detection and traceability of plastics.
If you chose this project, you will be one of the first researchers to give anonymous plastics their own ‘DNA’ – which may one day be readable by a simple smart phone app!
Skills and experience
You must have:
- a strong interest in soft matter materials science and advanced manufacturing
- strong skills in organic synthesis
- a strong interest in multidisciplinary work between physics, chemistry and biology
- a willingness to collaborate internationally.
Keywords
Contact
Contact the supervisor for more information.