Prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon

Professor of Polymer and Colloid Chemical Engineering

S.Bon@warwick.ac.uk
+44 (0)2476 5 74009
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My office hours are: 17:30-18:30 on Mondays at Chemistry Café.

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About Me

Stefan Bon is a professor at the University of Warwick in Polymer and Colloid Chemical Engineering. Originally from the Netherlands, educated at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), he joined Warwick Chemistry in spring 1998.

His research team, BonLab, works at the forefront of polymer and colloid science, by blending chemistry, with soft matter physics, and chemical engineering. The team is working with a variety of multinational industrial players to innovate in science, often using a green and sustainable approach.

He has chaired (2021) the future/new education workgroup in the STEM-Grand Challenge. He is a recipient of a 2021 Warwick Award for Teaching Excellence (WATE). He is the director of the STEM+ MSc courses Global Decarbonisation and Climate Change, which he helped designing and which are introduced in Autumn 2023 as a University-wide initiative hosted by Chemistry.

Research interests

The BonLab's research themes are: colloid and polymer science for the environment, a mechanistic understanding of polymer and colloid synthesis and physical/mechanical behaviour, out-of-equilibrium active matter, colloidal materials for a circular economy, and colloids at interfaces: adhesion and film formation. This involves:

the chemistry and physics of colloidal systems in which molecular and/or colloidal entities can be assembled into more complex supracolloidal structures, with the aim to produce innovative advanced, and importantly sustainable, materials, and
the synthesis of particles and macromolecules with a design tailored to provide function, for example motility, or responsive photonic behavior.

We investigate and develop methods to (self)-organise colloidal matter, and aim for an understanding of the interactions involved between molecular and colloidal building blocks and potential macroscopic substrates. We find it important that our technologies can be scaled-up and are of use in a variety of industrial applications ranging from sensors and devices, coatings and adhesives, to food, personal care, agricultural and biological systems.

Publications

2021

Textured microcapsules through crystallization. Wilson-Whitford, S., R.; Jaggers, R., W.; Longbottom, B., W.; Donald, M., K.; Clarkson, G., J.; and Bon, S., A., F. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 13(4): 5887-5894. 2021.

Anisotropic silica colloids for light scattering. Jacucci, G.; Longbottom, B., W.; Parkins, C., C.; Bon, S., A., F.; and Vignolini, S. J. Mater. Chem. C, 9: 2695-2700. 2021.

Thermoresponsive Icy Road Sign by Light Scattering and Enhanced Fluorescence. Booth, J., R.; Young, R., A.; Richards Gonzales, A., N.; Meakin, Z., J.; Preuss-Weber, C., M.; Jaggers, R., W.; and Bon, S., A., F. J. Mater. Chem. C, 9: 7174-7185. 2021.

Flower-like colloidal particles through precipitation polymerization of redox responsive liquid crystals. Liu, X.; Moradi, M.; Bus, T.; Debije, M., G.; Bon, S., A., F.; Heuts, J., P., A.; and Schenning, A., P., H., J. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, accepted. 2021.

A complete list of publications can be found on the BonLab websiteLink opens in a new window

Teaching and supervision

Stefan Bon is passionate about teaching. He is a winner of an individual Warwick Award for Teaching Excellence (WATE, 2021). His track record includes: the introduction of interactive "clickers" to Warwick Chemistry, the first online lecture capture for Warwick Chemistry (Youtube), and the design and refurbishment of our undergraduate teaching labs. He is also the founder of Chemistry Café.

Stefan lectures in undergraduate teaching 2023/2024:

CH272 Materials and Polymers (part on polymer physics)

CH3F6 Polymer and Colloid Science (phase behavior of liquid mixtures, and Colloids I)

CH415 Colloid Science II

Stefan lectures in postgraduate teaching 2023/2024:

CH967 Introduction to Polymer Chemistry (part on free radical polymerization)

CH971 Polymer Laboratories (3 lab days on free radical polymerization and emulsion polymerization)

CH975 Colloid Science I and II

CH991 Plastics: the Good, the Bad, the Future