Whittaker Group

The Whittaker Group, led by Senior Group Leader Professor Andrew Whittaker, uses polymer synthetic methods to develop technologies for health care and our modern technological society. These include next generation molecular imaging agents for disease detection, low-fouling surfaces and stealthy therapeutics, environmental polymers and polymers to be used in advanced lithography for the fabrication of integrated circuits.

Polymer chemistry is the underpinning science of modern materials and biomaterials. The Group is building and studying new materials to solve practical problems facing society. Working with Professor Whittaker is a team of senior researchers (Fu, Zhang, Peng, Ediriweera, Hossain, Markus) combining experience in synthetic chemistry, physical chemistry, biomaterials science, nanomaterials science, photolithography and NMR and MRI.

Professor Andrew Whittaker

Senior Group Leader

Whittaker Group

AIBN Deputy Director (Research)
Associate Professor Idriss Blakey

VC's Research and Teaching Fellow

Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology

Researchers

Dr David Hill

Honorary Reader

Whittaker Group
Dr Hui Peng

Research Fellow

Blakey Group
Dr Changkui Fu

NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow

Whittaker Group
Dr Cheng Zhang

Group Leader, ARC DECRA and NHMRC CJ Martin Fellow

Zhang Group
Dr Daloar Hossain

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Monteiro Group
Dr Josua Markus

Postdoctoral Researcher

Whittaker Group

Students

Xiao Tan

PhD Student

Zhang Group
Qiaoyun Wang

PhD student

Whittaker Group
Francis Mccallum

PhD Student

Whittaker Group
Yixin Chang

PhD student

Whittaker Group
Xin Xu

PhD student

Whittaker Group
On Ting Choy

PhD student

Whittaker Group
Yusra Rabbani

PhD Student

Blakey Group
Yuhao Zhang

PhD student

Whittaker Group
Yiqing Wang

PhD student

Zhang Group
Wenting Yang

PhD student

Whittaker Group
Ms Zhuojing Yang

PhD Student

Zhang Group
Yuanbin Lu

Masters Student

Whittaker Group
Ye Yu

Masters Student

Whittaker Group
Jing Ji

PhD student

Whittaker Group
Ms Xinrong Cheng

Masters student

Zhang Group
Tommy Hatzimanolis

Honours student

Whittaker Group
Hanyu Zhang

PhD student

Whittaker Group

Controlling the structure of thin polymer films for nanolithography

January 2017–December 2025
Nanofunctional Surfaces for Control of the Biological Interface

January 2017–December 2025
Novel Biologically-Responsive MRI Agents

January 2017–December 2025
Self-assembly of block polymers for applications in nanofabrication and for tuning interfacial interactions

January 2017–December 2025

Whittaker Group Honours Projects
Understanding Effect of Architecture of Fluoropolymers on Their 19F MRI Properties

Despite the wide use of metal-based MRI contrast agents such as gadolinium chelates in the clinic, safety concerns have been raised regarding their potential toxic effects resulting from long-term in vivo retention.
Photo-directing Self-assembly of Block Copolymers as a Novel Lithography Technology for Next-generation Chips Manufacturing

Directed self-assembly (DSA) is a type of directed assembly which utilizes block copolymer morphology to create lines, space and hole patterns, facilitating for a more accurate control of the feature shapes.
Novel Polymer Inorganic Hybrid Materials for Energy Applications

Sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) is becoming an important tool for formation of unique nanostructures. SIS is a variant of atomic layer deposition (ALD), in which the organometallic precursors are allowed to diffuse into the polymeric substrate before condensation.
Novel polymer electrolytes for operational all-solid-state batteries

Advance the development of safe rechargeable all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) by innovating fluorinated block copolymers as solid-state electrolytes.
Next-generation lithography: photo-directing assembly of block copolymers

This project aims to develop photo-reactive materials for directing self-assembly of polymers on surfaces. The application is new device for memory storage.
Students will enrol through the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN).
Nanofunctional Surfaces for Control of the Biological Interface

Biomaterials support, repair or protect the human body. The surface of the biomaterial interacts with the body’s immune system, or for external devices with pathogens.
Light, pH and Ion Responsive Hydrogels

The ability to actively change shape is essential to all kinds of living organisms. For example, the Venus flytrap closes its leaves in less than seconds to efficiently catch flies, and pine cones open their scales when the environment is dry to release their seeds.
Improving the drug delivery to tumour tissue

Cancer is a leading cause of death in both Australia and the world. The use of nanomedicines to efficiently deliver therapeutic agents to tumour tissue represents a promising treatment approach to improving the lives of people diagnosed with cancer.
Highly efficient, selective and reusable technology for PFAS capture

Per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals which can travel long distances through soil and water and do not break down in the environment.

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