CMMI-EPSRC: Harnessing Colloidal Engineering for New Opacifiers

About This Grant

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is widely used as an opacifier and pigment in everyday products, including paints, coatings, cosmetics, and foods. However, the production of TiO₂ is expensive and faces significant supply chain challenges. This award brings researchers from US and UK together who seek to develop hollow polymer particles as sustainable replacements for TiO₂. By controlling the structure and surface chemistry of these polymer particles, their performance is expected to be enhanced to match or exceed the effectiveness of traditional TiO₂-based opacifiers. Successfully replacing TiO₂ with these advanced polymer particles is likely to improve supply chain resilience, promote public health by minimizing exposure to potentially harmful materials, and enhance economic prosperity through innovation. The outcomes of this award could benefit society broadly by promoting sustainable practices across multiple industries and by training the next generation of scientists and engineers. Research enabled by this award aims to fully replace titanium dioxide (TiO₂) opacifiers with hollow polymer particles in formulations such as paints and coatings. It is critical to optimize hollow particle architectures and their interactions with other ingredients in film-forming products to achieve comparable or superior opacity, thermal properties, and mechanical robustness relative to conventional TiO₂-based formulations. Specific objectives include synthesizing hollow polymer particles with controlled size, shell thickness, nanoporosity, and surface chemistry; integrating these particles into basic and industrially relevant coating formulations; and correlating particle features and distribution with final product performance. Experimental approaches are planned to utilize scalable emulsion-based synthetic methods, advanced microscopy, spectroscopy, and rheological techniques to systematically investigate particle dispersion, optical scattering, and coating properties. Collaborations with industry partners facilitate real-world application and commercialization through lifecycle assessments and practical formulation trials. This award looks to offer significant advances in polymer colloid science, complex fluids, and sustainable materials, paving the way for innovative, low-cost alternatives in multiple sectors. This award is made under the NSF-UKRI lead agency opportunity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.