Latest News
June 2026 - Upcoming Inaugural LITAC Research Symposium
The Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC) will host its inaugural Research Symposium on June 18–19 in the Speakman Lecture Theatre. The event will bring together researchers to showcase interdisciplinary innovations across textile science, sustainable materials, and design.
March 2026 - Congratulations to Dr. Ben Coyne!
Huge congratulations to Ben, who successfully defended his thesis and passed his PhD viva in March. A fantastic achievement and a testament to his hard work—we wish him the absolute best in his next steps!
January 2026 - New Paper! Enzyme-Responsive Porous Scaffolds
Enzyme‐Responsive Porous Scaffolds by Electrospinning Polyalanine
Our latest collaborative work led by Paddy Wall, alongside Charles Brooker and Giuseppe Tronci, has been published in Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics. The study details a green, cost-effective ring-opening polymerization of 2,5-diketopiperazines to synthesize polyalanine, which is then co-electrospun with PCL. The resulting nanofibrous scaffolds show a massive 399% increase in maximum tensile stress, presenting a significant advance in the creation of mechanically robust, enzyme-responsive biomaterials for tissue regeneration. Congratulations to Paddy and the team!
December 2025 - Xuchen Passes PhD Viva
A massive congratulations to Xuchen for successfully passing his PhD viva in December. A well-deserved result and a great way to close out the year for the research group.
May 2025 - New Paper! Sustainable Polylysine Synthesis
Thermal deprotection: a sustainable and efficient strategy for synthesising α-polylysine adsorbents
Xuchen Jin’s groundbreaking work on green polymer synthesis has been published in RSC Advances. The paper introduces a highly efficient, environmentally friendly method for producing α-polylysine (PLys) via the thermal deprotection of Fmoc-protected PLys—completely eliminating the need for hazardous deprotection agents. The study also extends this method to create PEG-b-PLys block copolymers that demonstrate superior performance in removing heavy metals (Pb²⁺) from wastewater. A fantastic achievement for Xuchen!
April 2025 - Anna passes her PhD viva!
Congratulations to Anna on passing her PhD viva! Some of Anna's super research on sustainable polymer-induced self-assembly (PISA) can be read about here.
March 2025 - New Paper! Biodegradable and Recyclable Poly(amino acids) from 2,5-Diketopiperazines for Controlled Release (and other) Applications
Paddy's work on creating poly(amino acids) in a safe, straightforward, and cost effective manner has been published. Using 2,5-diketopiperazines as monomers makes polyalanine and polyglycine production very straightforward. Amphiphilic block copolymers are also reported that may be used for controlled release applications. Congratulations Paddy and the team!
March 2025 - International Textile and Colour Conference 2025 (ITCC 2025)
The programme for what promises to be an excellent conference on textiles, colour, fashion, and more, is developing nicely! Come and join us for what promises to be a great conference!
Conference Website - Register Now!
February 2025 - New Paper (Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy)
A polyvinyl alcohol derivative with staining-free photodynamic effect is obtained.
June 2024 - KTP Associate Position in Corrosion Inhibition
Our group is involved with a KTP project aiming to develop new corrosion inhibitors. If you have a PhD in polymer chemistry or corrosion science then check this out!
April 2024 - Publication (Poly(amino acid) ROPISA)
Anna's article on the creation of wholly poly(amino acid) nanostructures by ring-opening polymerisation-induced self-assembly is now live! Polysarsosine is used as a hydrophilic macroinitiator for the creation of polymers in aqueous solution that form nanostructures influenced by their secondary structure.
February 2024 - Welcome Karen!
Our group warmly welcomes Karan Mitchinson, who will be conducting a PhD in the creation of sustainable polymers, co-supervised by Dr David Harbottle.
November 2023 - Competition Funded PhD Position Available (UK students only) - Corrosion Inhibitors
An EPSRC Bragg Centre Doctoral Training Studentship (PhD) is available to UK students as part of a competition funded process. The project is in collaboration with colleagues in Mechanical Engineering (Prof. Richard Barker and Prof. Harvey Thompson) and will involve work with a commercial partner.
If the project is of interest to you please get in touch ([email protected]) and I would be happy to provide further information.
Application deadline = Monday 8th of January 2024
Project start date = Tuesday 1st of October 2024
July 2023 - Funded PhD Position Available - Biodegradable Polymers
A fully funded PhD project is available to UK students in the area of biodegradable polymers:
The project will involve polymer synthesis, characterisation, and use, and the application deadline is August 31st. If you are interested and would like to chat about the project then please contact me ([email protected]).
November 2022 - Funded PhD Position Available
A scholarship is available for a PhD project entitled Treating Hypoxic Tumours with Targeted Drug Delivery using New Hypoxia-Responsive Nanocomposites in collaboration with Professors Steve Marsden (PI) and David Jayne (Co-I).
The project is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership and offers an enhanced stipend for four years. If you would like further information about this project then please contact me ([email protected]) - the deadline to apply is the 13th of January 2023.
November 2022 - Funded PhD Position Available
We have a PhD scholarship available to conduct research in creating biodegradable polymers for use as deposition aids:
The research will be conducted between our group and the group of Dr David Harbottle (School of Chemical and Process Engineering) and will involve polymer synthesis, characterisation, and analysis. If you are interested in this position please contact me for further information - the deadline to apply via stage 1 and then stage 2 is the 6th of January 2023,
September 2022
Funding has been secured from the Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour for preliminary studies into the processing of biodegradable polymers by electrospinning. The research will be led by Patrick Wall.
July 2022
And Jason has now graduated! Here he is demonstrating how to rock the robes:
June 2022
Jason has been won the J B Cohen Prize, which is awarded to students whose theses have been adjudged to contain the most valuable contribution to knowledge. He will no doubt invest the £100 reward in polymer chemistry textbooks.
March 2022
Huayang graduates! Proud supervisor!
February 2022
Congratulations to Jason for passing his PhD viva! Jason's excellent thesis contains published research in areas including inorganic-polymer nanoparticles, antimicrobial organogels, and coloured polyesters - it really is the real deal!
November 2021
Research describing polymer-coated calcium carbonate nanoparticles that are capable of encapsulating a chemotherapeutic drug and displaying afterglow behaviour has been accepted for publication in Polymer Chemistry. The research was led by Jason Rowley and conducted in collaboration with David Green of Halmstad University.
November 2021
Sui Lam, also known as Wolter, has joined the team! Wolter's project will focus on the encapsulation and controlled release of organometallic complexes within/from polymeric architectures.
October 2021
We are delighted to welcome Xuchen to the group! Xuchen will be aiming to make a range of renewable polymers as for potential use as bioadsorbents, catalyst hosts, and controlled release vehicles.
September 2021
Welcome to Charlie and Meera who have joined our group as final year project students on the MChem and Chemistry and Maths programmes, respectively.
August 2021
Congratulations to Anna and Paddy for successfully completing their first year transfer reports and viva, enabling them to transfer to full PhD studies.
June 2021
Congratulations to Ziyu Gao who now begins a super-exciting research fellowship in the group of Francesca Santoro at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, Italy. Good luck on your excellent research journey and quest for the perfect espresso Ziyu!