Professor Siddharth V Patwardhan
BE, MS, PhD, CChem, FRSC
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Professor of Sustainable Chemical and Materials Engineering
Head of the Green Nanomaterials Research Group
EPSRC Fellow
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+44 114 222 7593
Full contact details
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Room F51
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
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I am educated in chemical engineering (B.E., Pune, 2000) and materials science (MS and PhD, Cincinnati, 2003) followed by post-doctoral experience in inorganic chemistry (Delaware and Nottingham, 2003-2008). After taking up a short-term lectureship in Chemistry (Nottingham Trent University), I became a Lecturer in Chemical Engineering (Strathclyde, 2010-15). I then moved to Sheffield to take up a position of Senior Lecturer (2016-17), and then became a Professor of Sustainable Chemical and Materials Engineering (2018). At Sheffield, I am a member of the department’s leadership team.
I am currently EPSRC Fellow in Manufacturing and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. I lead the Green Nanomaterials Research Group with a vision to develop sustainable routes to functional nanomaterials. The group focusses on the discovery of bioinspired nanomaterials, assessing their scalability and developing manufacturing technologies for energy, environmental, biomedical and engineering applications. This research has produced a book, 70+ publications (h index of 34, over 3800 total citations), 50+ presentations at conferences and a number of inventions.
I am a committee member of the RSC's Process Chemistry & Technology Special Interest Group and in the past has played a key role in a number of national and international networks as well as conference organisation, e.g. EPSRC’s Early Career Forum for Manufacturing Research, RSC’s Materials Chemistry Division, EPSRC’s Directed Assembly Grand Challenge Network and ACS Green Chemistry and Engineering conference.
Along with various funding awards, I am proud to receive the Dedicated Outstanding Mentor award four-times in recognition of mentoring skills that helped mentees “make a significant transition in knowledge, work, or thinking”. I have also received the Teaching Excellence Award twice and SuperVisionary awards for the recognition for all-round supervision.
- Research interests
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Green Nanomaterials Research Group
Research in the group undertakes the synthesis of bespoke nanomaterials using biologically inspired green routes.
In our new book, the aim is to address the highly sought aspect of how to translate the understanding of biominerals into new green manufacturing methods. We cover aspects from the discovery of new green synthesis methods all the way to considering their commercial manufacturing routes.
The group aims to demonstrate potential of green methods for nanomaterials synthesis by realisation of their real-life applications. Current projects are focussed on developing application of green nanomaterials in four distinct sectors:- energy (e.g. carbon capture and battery electrodes),
- environmental remediation (e.g. decontamination of water and air)
- catalysts and biocatalysts (e.g. metal or enzyme supported catalysts)
- biomedical applications (e.g. drug delivery systems).
A significant research focus is on developing the science underpinning scale-up of green nanomaterials, thus enabling their large-scale manufacturing.
Focus is on increasing technology readiness level (TRL) for new developments and delivering technologies that are ready for commercialisation.New technologies invented
- Publications
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Books
- Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials. IOP Publishing.
- Green Nanomaterials. Bristol, UK: IOP Publishing.
Journal articles
- Unlocking the Secrets of Porous Silicon Formation: Insights into Magnesiothermic Reduction Mechanism using In-situ Powder X-ray Diffraction Studies. Nanoscale Horizons.
- Scalable and sustainable manufacturing of ultrathin metal–organic framework nanosheets (MONs) for solar cell applications. Chemical Engineering Journal, 477, 146871-146871.
- Facile cellulase immobilisation on bioinspired silica. Nanomaterials, 12(4).
- Mechanistic Understanding and Rapid Electrochemical Reduction of Silica for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes. ECS Meeting Abstracts, MA2020-02(2), 371-371.
- Insights into the electrochemical reduction products and processes in silica anodes for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Advanced Energy Materials. View this article in WRRO
- Mechanistic understanding of pore evolution enables high performance mesoporous silicon production for lithium-ion batteries. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 8(9), 4938-4949. View this article in WRRO
- Degradation of anthraquinone dyes from effluents: a review focusing on enzymatic dye degradation with industrial potential. Environmental Science and Technology, 54(2), 647-664. View this article in WRRO
- In the lab : bespoke green nanomaterials : discovery, design, applications and manufacture. Johnson Matthey Technology Review, 63(3), 152-156. View this article in WRRO
- The Role of Charge-Matching in Nanoporous Materials Formation. Materials Horizons. View this article in WRRO
- A material characterization and embodied energy study of novel clay-alginate composite aerogels. Energy and Buildings, 184, 88-98. View this article in WRRO
- Rationalising drug delivery using nanoparticles: a combined simulation and immunology study of GnRH adsorbed to silica nanoparticles. Scientific Reports, 8(1). View this article in WRRO
- A review of magnesiothermic reduction of silica to porous silicon for lithium-ion battery applications and beyond. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 6(38), 18344-18356. View this article in WRRO
- Bioinspired synthesis as a potential green method for the preparation of nanomaterials: Opportunities and challenges. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 12, 110-116. View this article in WRRO
- Preparation of Functional Silica Using a Bioinspired Method. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 138. View this article in WRRO
- Scalable continuous production of high quality HKUST-1 via conventional and microwave heating. Chemical Engineering Journal, 326, 570-577. View this article in WRRO
- Electrolyte design for suspended particulates in electrolyte jet processing. CIRP Annals, 66(1), 201-204. View this article in WRRO
- Inside Cover: An Eco-Friendly, Tunable and Scalable Method for Producing Porous Functional Nanomaterials Designed Using Molecular Interactions (ChemSusChem 8/2017). ChemSusChem, 10(8), 1643-1643. View this article in WRRO
- An Eco-Friendly, Tunable and Scalable Method for Producing Porous Functional Nanomaterials Designed Using Molecular Interactions. ChemSusChem, 10(8), 1683-1691. View this article in WRRO
- Iron Supported On Bioinspired Green Silica for Water Remediation. Chemical Science, 8(1), 567-576. View this article in WRRO
- Seaweed biopolymers as additives for unfired clay bricks. Materials and Structures, 49(11), 4463-4482. View this article in WRRO
- Bioinspired Silica Offers a Novel, Green, and Biocompatible Alternative to Traditional Drug Delivery Systems. ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng., 2(9), 1493-1503. View this article in WRRO
- Scalable continuous solvothermal synthesis of metal organic framework (MOF-5) crystals. Chemical Engineering Journal, 285, 718-725. View this article in WRRO
- Correction to Force Field and a Surface Model Database for Silica to Simulate Interfacial Properties in Atomic Resolution. Chemistry of Materials, 28(1), 406-407.
- Synthesis of Homopolypeptides by Aminolysis Mediated by Proteases Encapsulated in Silica Nanospheres. Macromolecular Bioscience, 14(11), 1619-1626.
- Prediction of Specific Biomolecule Adsorption on Silica Surfaces as a Function of pH and Particle Size. Chemistry of Materials, 26(19), 5725-5734.
- A feasibility study of the biologically inspired green manufacturing of precipitated silica. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL, 244, 483-492.
- Force Field and a Surface Model Database for Silica to Simulate Interfacial Properties in Atomic Resolution. Chemistry of Materials, 26(8), 2647-2658.
- Effect of Synthesis Conditions on Formation Pathways of Metal Organic Framework (MOF-5) Crystals. Crystal Growth & Design, 13(12), 5481-5486.
- Spontaneous Membrane-Translocating Peptide Adsorption at Silica Surfaces: A Molecular Dynamics Study. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 117(47), 14666-14675.
- Controlling performance of lipase immobilised on bioinspired silica. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 1(8), 1164-1164.
- Removal of Formaldehyde from Air Using Functionalized Silica Supports. Environmental Science & Technology, 46(24), 13354-13360.
- Chemistry of Aqueous Silica Nanoparticle Surfaces and the Mechanism of Selective Peptide Adsorption. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 134(14), 6244-6256.
- Biological and Bioactive Silicon Systems. Silicon, 4(1), 1-3.
- Interactions of Amines with Silicon Species in Undersaturated Solutions Leads to Dissolution and/or Precipitation of Silica. Langmuir, 27(24), 15135-15145.
- Biomimetic and bioinspired silica: recent developments and applications. Chemical Communications, 47(27), 7567-7567.
- Poly(vinyl amine)–Silica Composite Nanoparticles: Models of the Silicic Acid Cytoplasmic Pool and as a Silica Precursor for Composite Materials Formation. Biomacromolecules, 12(5), 1772-1780.
- Silica Condensation by a Silicatein α Homologue Involves Surface-Induced Transition to a Stable Structural Intermediate Forming a Saturated Monolayer. Biomacromolecules, 11(11), 3126-3135.
- A Solution Study of Silica Condensation and Speciation with Relevance to in Vitro Investigations of Biosilicification. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 114(31), 9947-9955.
- Synthesis of Enzyme and Quantum Dot in Silica by Combining Continuous Flow and Bioinspired Routes. Silicon, 2(1), 33-39.
- Imidazole catalyzed silica synthesis: Progress toward understanding the role of histidine in (bio)silicification. Journal of Materials Research, 24(5), 1700-1708.
- Some Observations of Diatoms Under Turbulence. Silicon, 1(2), 79-90.
- The Potential use of Silicon Isotope Composition of Biogenic Silica as a Proxy for Environmental Change. Silicon, 1(2), 65-77.
- From biosilicification to tailored materials: Optimizing hydrophobic domains and resistance to protonation of polyamines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(16), 5963-5968.
- Continuous Silica Coatings on Glass Fibers via Bioinspired Approaches. Langmuir, 23(12), 6677-6683.
- Are Hydroxyl-Containing Biomolecules Important in Biosilicification? A Model Study. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 111(17), 4630-4638.
- Interactions of biomolecules with inorganic materials: principles, applications and future prospects. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 17(28), 2875-2875.
- Novel nanocomposites from spider silk-silica fusion (chimeric) proteins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(25), 9428-9433.
- A new stepwise synthesis of a family of propylamines derived from diatom silaffins and their activity in silicification. Chemical Communications(14), 1521-1521.
- Comments on “Chitosan-Catalyzed Aggregation during the Biomimetic Synthesis of Silica Nanoparticles”. Chemistry of Materials, 18(6), 1711-1712.
- Conformation and Assembly of Polypeptide Scaffolds in Templating the Synthesis of Silica: An Example of a Polylysine Macromolecular “Switch”. Biomacromolecules, 7(2), 491-497.
- An investigation of the properties of poly(dimethylsiloxane)-bioinspired silica hybrids. European Polymer Journal, 42(1), 167-178.
- Spermine, spermidine and their analogues generate tailored silicas. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 15(43), 4629-4629.
- Putrescine homologues control silica morphogenesis by electrostatic interactions and the hydrophobic effect. Chemical Communications(27), 3475-3475.
- Bioinspired mineralisation: macromolecule mediated synthesis of amorphous germania structures. Polymer, 46(12), 4474-4479.
- Macromolecule mediated bioinspired silica synthesis using a diol-modified silane precursor. Silicon Chemistry, 2(5-6), 279-285.
- On the role(s) of additives in bioinspired silicification. Chemical Communications(9), 1113-1113.
- Towards an understanding of (bio)silicification: the role of amino acids and lysine oligomers in silicification. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 14(14), 2231-2231.
- . Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers, 13(1), 49-53.
- . Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers, 13(4), 193-203.
- Silicification and biosilicification. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 23(4), 495-499.
- Bioinspired synthesis of new silica structuresElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Methods, EDS for specimens in Fig. 2c and Fig. 2b; additional SEM and TEM of silica. See http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/cc/b3/b302056h/. Chemical Communications(10), 1122-1123.
- . Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers, 12(3/4), 109-116.
- Silicification and biosilicification. Polymer Bulletin, 48(4-5), 367-371.
- . Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers, 12(1/2), 49-55.
- . Silicon Chemistry, 1(3), 207-214.
- . Silicon Chemistry, 1(1), 47-54.
- . Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers, 11(3), 193-198.
- . Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers, 11(2), 117-121.
- Review of Bio-Inspired Green Synthesis of Titanium Dioxide for Photocatalytic Applications. Catalysts, 14(11), 742-742.
- Feasibility and Advantages of Continuous Synthesis of Bioinspired Silica Using CO2 as an Acidifying Agent. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.
- Correction: Azamacrocycles and tertiary amines can be used to form size tuneable hollow structures or monodisperse oxide nanoparticles depending on the ‘M’ source. Dalton Transactions, 49(4), 1334-1334.
- Azamacrocycles and tertiary amines can be used to form size tuneable hollow structures or monodisperse oxide nanoparticles depending on the ‘M’ source. Dalton Transactions, 48(41), 15470-15479.
- Bioinspired silica as drug delivery systems and their biocompatibility. J. Mater. Chem. B, 2(31), 5028-5042.
- CO2sequestration by enzyme immobilized onto bioinspired silica. Chem. Commun., 49(31), 3191-3193.
- Application of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) for assessing biogenic silica sample purity in geochemical analyses and palaeoenvironmental research. Climate of the Past, 7(1), 65-74.
- Direct evidence of ZnO morphology modification via the selective adsorption of ZnO-binding peptides. J. Mater. Chem., 21(1), 80-89.
- Application of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) for assessing biogenic silica sample purity in geochemical analyses and palaeoenvironmental research. Climate of the Past Discussions, 6(5), 1629-1653.
- Controlled stabilisation of silicic acid below pH 9 using poly(1-vinylimidazole). J. Mater. Chem., 18(5), 553-559.
- Designing bioinspired green nanosilicas using statistical and machine learning approaches. Molecular Systems Design && Engineering.
- Decontamination of Anthraquinone Dyes Polluted Water Using Bioinspired Silica as a Sustainable Sorbent. Silicon.
- Mimicking bio-sintering: The identification of highly condensed surfaces in bioinspired silica materials. Langmuir.
- Green Nanosilicas for monoaromatic hydrocarbons removal from air. Silicon.
Chapters
- Understanding Biomineral Growth and Assembly for Engineering Novel Green Nanomaterials, Bio-Inspired Nanotechnology (pp. 127-140). Springer New York
- Bioinspired Silica for Enzyme Immobilisation: A Comparison with Traditional Methods, Advances in Silicon Science (pp. 39-62). Springer Netherlands
- On The Immobilization of Candida antarctica Lipase B onto Surface Modified Porous Silica Gel Particles, Advances in Silicon Science (pp. 63-72). Springer Netherlands
- On the Interactions of Proteins with Silicon-Based Materials, Advances in Silicon Science (pp. 229-241). Springer Netherlands
- Nanomaterials: what are they and why do we want them?, Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials IOP Publishing
- Green chemistry and engineering, Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials IOP Publishing
- Case study 1: magnetite nanoparticles, Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials IOP Publishing
- Case study 2: silica, Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials IOP Publishing
- Characterisation of nanomaterials, Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials IOP Publishing
- Green chemistry for nanomaterials, Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials IOP Publishing
- Conventional methods to prepare nanomaterials, Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials IOP Publishing
- Bioinspired ‘green’ synthesis of nanomaterials, Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials IOP Publishing
- Biomineralisation: how Nature makes nanomaterials, Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials IOP Publishing
- Green Chemistry Principles, Process Intensification for Green Chemistry (pp. 33-58). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
- Natural and Artificial Hybrid Biomaterials, Hybrid Materials (pp. 255-299). Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA
- Bioinspired Silica Synthesis, Macromolecules Containing Metal and Metal-Like Elements (pp. 203-223). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Conference proceedings papers
- Quantifying Mixing Processes Towards Sustainable Manufacture of Bioinspired Nanomaterials. 17th European Conference on Mixing (MIXING 17) (pp 95-96), 2 July 2023 - 5 July 2023.
- View this article in WRRO
- The Role of Non-Bonded Interactions in Silica Formation in Vitro (pp 229-240)
- From biominerals to biomaterials: the role of biomolecule–mineral interactions. Biochemical Society Transactions, Vol. 37(4) (pp 687-691)
- Synthetic Peptides Derived from the DiatomCylindrotheca fusiformis: Kinetics of Silica Formation and Morphological Characterization (pp 412-433)
- The Interaction of 'Silicon' with Proteins: Part 2. The Rold of Bioinspired Peptide and Recombinant Proteins in Silica Polymerization (pp 328-347)
- Application of Poly(styrene-b-methylphenylsiloxane) Diblock Copolymers for the Steric Stabilization of Organic Polymerizations in Carbon Dioxide (pp 116-133)
Other
- Report from the Symposium on Bridging the gap: bioinspired nanomaterials and sustainable manufacture.
Preprints
- Green Nanomaterials: From bioinspired synthesis to sustainable manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials. IOP Publishing.
- Research group
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See full details of supervisions here.
PhD Supervision
- Balashanmugam, Abitha
- Entwistle, Jake
- Keegan, Amber
- Mulay, Manasi
- Norfolk, Laura
- Routoula, Eleni
- Yan, Maximilian
PDRA and other Supervision
- Dr. Yahaya Baba
- Dr. Justin Driver
- Dr. Charles Oseghale
- Dr. Robert Pilling
- Alex Riley
- Julie Swales
- Grants
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Current grants:
- Design and green manufacturing of functional nanomaterials, EPSRC Fellowship (EP/R025983/1), PI.
- Bioinspired green manufacturing of next generation energy storage materials, EPSRC (EP/R027471/1), PI.
- Manufacturing Functional Nanomaterials from Waste, funded by Industry and Scottish Enterprise, PI.
- Enabling manufacturing of Functional Nanomaterials using SynBio, EPSRC (EP/ P00689/1), PI.
Recently concluded grants (selected):
- Commercialisation of bioinspired technology, funded by Intellectual Property Development and Commercialisation Fund, PI.
- A Green Synthesis as a New Route to Silica for Tyres, funded by Industry and Impact Acceleration Award, PI.
- Silica Synthesis - Proof of market, Intellectual Property Development and Commercialisation Fund, PI.
- Manufacturing Green Nanoparticles for Efficient Cell Manufacture, EPSRC (EP/L017059/1), PI.
- Chemical, economic, engineering and market analyses for waste composites, Scottish Funding Council, PI.
- Feasibility of a wetting layer absorption carbon capture process based on chemical solvents, EPSRC (EP/J019704/1&2), Co-I.
- Teaching interests
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- Curriculum development (Chair of Curriculum transformation committee, 2016-20). Read our article “A New Curriculum to Train Chemical Engineers to Solve 21st Century Grand Challenges”, published in 5th Annual Symposium of the Engineering Education Research Network.
- Innovative teaching delivery methods, e.g. flipped-classroom style teaching approach.
See further details here.
- Teaching activities
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Teaching Activities
- Systems for Sustainability (a small section, 2019)
- Introduction to Fuels and Energy (a small section, 2019-19)
- Oil and Gas Utilisation (module leader, 2016-19)
- Materials, Processing & Applications (module leader, 2011-15)
- Environmental Engineering (module leader, 2010-14)
- Petrochemical Engineering (module leader, 2012-15)
- Chemical Engineering Design Projects (2010-2019)
- Personal tutorials
- MEng research projects (2010-present)
- Consultancy
My group provides consultancy and R&D services to a wide variety of sectors and markets including energy, waste-derived products, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, natural products. Specific examples include:
- Design, discovery and characterisation of nanostructured and porous materials
- Exploring scalability and optimisation of production of particles and particulate formulations
- Valorisation of waste into valuable products.
- Novel solutions for air and water decontamination
- Techno-economic and market evaluation of a variety of processes and materials.
We also offer specialised training on
- science communication,
- Structuring independent academic career
- Techno-economic analysis,
- Chemical engineering for non-engineers,