Muhammad Rabnawaz, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Michigan State University

Muhammad Rabnawaz, Ph.D., has been an assistant professor in the School of Packaging at Michigan since August 2016. In 2013, he earned his Ph.D. from Queen’s University, Canada, in polymer chemistry, and held postdoctoral positions at Queen’s University between 2013 and 2015, as well as the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) between 2015 and 2016. Dr. Rabnawaz has filed/granted 17 patents, several of which are licensed or optioned in coatings and materials. He has also published over 30 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Rabnawaz has also been nominated for the Moore Inventor Fellowship 2019 by MSU.

Novel Additives for Self-Healing and Self-Cleaning Coatings
The estimated markets for self-healing and self-cleaning coatings are $2.7 billion and $ 3.4 billion, respectively. In this lecture, I will discuss novel coatings that combine both self-cleaning and self-healing properties into a single formulation. The obtained coatings are prepared under ambient conditions and have excellent clarity and mechanically durability. These coatings are fluorine-free. Self-healing studies confirmed that these coatings heal only in few minutes at mild-temperatures of 40-70 °C. These coatings are readily applicable to metal, glass, wood and plastics. Also, nanofillers such as such as graphene oxide, nanoclay and silica particles can also be added. These self-cleaning, self-healing coatings will find application in water-proof, anti-rust fabrications, solar cells, microfluidics, marine antifouling, and the fuel transportation, energy efficient distillation, and food industries.