Soft materials are used in a wide range of consumer products. Soft materials in these applications often refer to organic materials that has dual or multiple functionality such as amphiphilic molecules. These soft materials are usually made up of small molecules or polymers and can exist in the form of liquid, gels or granular materials. Our research activities deal with the understanding and controlling of phase transitions in these materials for the application in consumer products and also for used in controlled release application.

Highlights

Hair Conditioner Application:

We explored the  synthesis and modification of conventional and gemini surfactants. In this case, the surfactants that we are interested in are both ionic and non-ionic surfactants. Their phase behaviour is of particular interest to us as it would be extremely useful to develop surfactant systems that can give single single, stable Lβ lamellar phase at ambient conditions with certain desirable properties for its application in conditioner. We have also studied the mechanism in these systems to further understand what drives these phase transistions.

Plant Materials-based Formulations for Better Soil Health:

Water repellency due to organics accumulation in the soils hinders water permeation, percolation and uptake by the plants. To improve soil health, we have developed formulations - RetenSol and RetenSol-G - comprising super-absorbent, plant materials based nano- / micro-sized gel particle dispersions.

RetenSol and RetenSol-G are designed to promote soil wetting and moisture retention, with optional nutrients cocktail encapsulation to support a wider range of crop cultivars to match growers’ needs.