Professor Per Zetterlund

My Expertise

The research group of Prof Zetterlund at UNSW focuses on the design and synthesis of polymer and polymeric nano-objects for applications in a range of advanced and emerging technologies such as materials chemistry, nanotechnology and nanomedicine, as well as in more traditional fields such as paints and coating applications. One of the key concepts is structure control on the molecular and/or nano level – my team strives to develop and understand methods for synthesis of polymers (macromolecules) of well-defined molecular structure (e.g. distribution of monomer units along the polymer backbone), as well as developing methods for synthesis of polymeric nano-objects of specific size and shape/morphology (e.g. hollow polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery applications). Significant research is aimed at synthesis of graphene/polymer nanocomposite materials. Over the past few years, our research has expanded significantly into applied science such as pressure sensitive adhesives and energy applications. The foundations remain in fundamental science, but with significant links with applied science via collaborations with industry as well as academic collaborators.

Fields of Research (FoR)

Polymers, Polymers and Plastics, Colloid and Surface Chemistry, Composite and Hybrid Materials, Chemical Engineering

SEO tags

Polymeric Materials (e.g. Paints)

Paints

Organic Industrial Chemicals (excl. Resins, Rubber and Plastics)

Biography

Professor, School of Chemical Engineering

Prof Zetterlund is a full professor at the Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD) in the School of Chemical Engineering. CAMD is a world-renowned centre for polymer synthesis and characterization,

Professor, School of Chemical Engineering

Prof Zetterlund's research is concerned with the synthesis of polymer, polymeric nanoparticles, as well as hybrid polymeric materials with a variety of applications ranging from materials science to nanomedicine. He runs a large research group with significant funding both from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and industry (e.g. Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Nitto).

Per Zetterlund graduated from The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (KTH, Sweden) in 1994, obtained his Ph.D. at Leeds University (UK) in 1998, and subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia). In 1999, he became Assistant Professor at Osaka City University (Japan) in the group of Prof. Yamada, and moved to Kobe University (Japan) in 2003 to join the team of Prof. Okubo, where he was promoted to Associate Prof in 2005. Since 2009, he is working at The Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD) at The University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia), where he is currently full Professor. Prof Zetterlund’s research is concerned with the synthesis of polymer, polymeric nanoparticles, as well as hybrid polymeric materials with a variety of applications ranging from materials science to nanomedicine. He has published ~220 peer-reviewed papers and has an H-index of 50.

My Qualifications

1994 – 1998 Ph.D: Polymer Chemistry (University of Leeds, UK)

1988 – 1994 M.Sc: Chemical Engineering (Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden)

1985 – 1988 Yokohama International School (Yokohama, Japan)

My Research Activities

One of the key concepts is structure control on the molecular and/or nano level – my team strives to develop and understand methods for synthesis of polymers (macromolecules) of well-defined molecular structure (e.g. distribution of monomer units along the polymer backbone), as well as developing methods for synthesis of polymeric nano-objects of specific size and shape/morphology (e.g. hollow polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery applications). Over the past few years, our research has expanded significantly into applied science such as pressure sensitive adhesives and energy applications. The foundations remain in fundamental science, but with significant links with applied science via collaborations with industry as well as academic collaborators.