PhD position targeting antifouling coatings capable of tunable and passive delamination

This project, funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, aims to develop a new class of chemical coatings capable of tunable and passive delamination and applicable in real-world water facilities. Removing layers such as coatings, graffities, or (bio)fouling from surfaces is challenging because these layers by design adhere well and withstand external stimuli. New (chemical) solutions for on-demand delamination of such layers would bring the coating industry closer to circularity, enabling easy to clean and safer surfaces for public spaces as well as waterworks systems. We believe chemically programmable coatings capable of on-demand release (delamination and debonding) would allow for facile and clean recycling. This type of programming, however, require selectivity and rapid changes in the coatings properties. In this context, the CRN group recently reported a microfluidic method to bestow simple chemical coatings with the capacity to transduce, delay, and perturb chemical signals. Your project aims to translate this microfluidic method into antifouling coatings capable of tunable and passive delamination.

Join a team of junior researchers (PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers), and shape a rapidly emerging field with your insights. You will learn how to design chemical reaction networks at material interfaces and become a forerunner in chemically-programmable coatings. Briefly, the core objective of this PhD project is to synthesize novel peptides, functionalized with moieties for antifouling properties, and incorporate them onto material surfaces to enable reactive or sacrificial properties in real-world applications.

Your main tasks will include to:

• Developing (and derivatizing) polylysine-coated microfluidic channel capable of signal processing.
• Demonstrating programmable release of sacrificial coatings.
• Learning surface modification techniques based on known chemical coupling strategies.
• Incorporating of anti-fouling properties through anti-fouling polymers or cation scavengers.

PhD students are expected to develop scientific independence and complete research projects. We are looking for a collaborative, creative, and excellent colleague with:

• A M.Sc. degree in chemistry or equivalent,
• Demonstrable research experience in peptide and/or polymer synthesis.
• Well-developed communication skills, including an excellent command of written and spoken English.
• Ability manage your project independently in a multidisciplinary environment.
• Motivation to acquire additional skills, ranging from basic programming to surface techniques to analytical chemistry, should the project need it.
• Multidisciplinary approach, with the purpose of getting insights while testing the effectiveness of the coatings against inorganics deposition and microbial adhesion

As a PhD student, you will work in an international and interdisciplinary team in a fast-paced, creative, and collaborative research environment. Briefly, you will work in a consortium named RESPOND. RESPOND contributes to three major domains: i) Materials transition (through coating and substrate recycling), ii) Public health (through better antifouling coatings), and iii) Education (through tools for stakeholder engagement), and involves industrial collaborators to maximize the possibility in achieving these impacts. The position in this advertisement will be based at the research groups of Albert Wong (Chemical Reaction Network lab, at University of Twente) and Pascal Jonkheijm (Biointerface Chemistry Lab, at University of Twente). The materials we develop are societally relevant and, to this end, the PhD candidate will also be embedded in Cristina Gagliano’s Biofilm Theme (Wetsus European centre of excellence for sustainable water technology). Together, we strive to create an equitable, inclusive, and respectful environment, where researchers of different backgrounds and disciplines can work at the forefront of science.

We are looking forward for you to joining our team.

Enthusiastic PhD students stay abreast of developments in the field, proactively communicate research results, supervise B.Sc. and M.Sc. students, and work effectively in a team. The application should include:

• a letter of motivation,
• your curriculum vitae
• a research overview (including techniques you master), and contact details (name, telephone number, e-mail address, and affiliation) of at least two references for a letter of recommendation.

Applications received before February, 28 2026, will be considered for this position.

Screening is part of the selection process.

For more information, please contact Albert Wong, albert.wong@utwente.nl, +31534894870