Welcome to Deartment of Polymer and Surface Engineering
Programme Educational Objectives
PEO 1: Graduates with in-depth knowledge in the field of polymer engineering science and technology applicable for successful carrier in Polymer and Surface coating Technology.
PEO 2: Graduates with integrity and strong ethical values who are members and contribute to professional society.
PEO 3: Graduates who engage in lifelong learning or continuous education opportunities.
PEO 4: To prepare Graduates who contribute towards research and professional Development and who are entrepreneurial engineers.
The department of Polymer and Surface Engineering, has undergone changes in its nomenclature and was established in 1946. Earlier it was known as Paints, Pigments and Varnishes (PPV) Section and was steered in the beginning by none other than Professor N.R. Kamath, a famous chemical engineer, graduate of first batch of B.Sc. (Tech.), in 1936, who later migrated t IIT-Bombay as Head of Chemical Engineering and Deputy Director. The B.Sc. (Tech.) courses in plastics and paints technologies were started in 1940s and have been popular throughout. Several small and medium industries covering plastics, paint, printing ink, adhesive and sealers have been founded by the graduates of the Department and maintained excellent connectivity with industry.
The Department runs two B. Tech. programmes: Polymer Engineering and Technology, and Surface Coating Technology.
What is Polymer Science and Engineering
Polymers are molecules that contain many atoms, typically tens of thousands to millions. While many polymers occur naturally as products of biological processes, synthetic polymers are made by chemical processes that combine many monomers, together in chains, branched chains, or more complicated geometries. Starch, cellulose, proteins, and DNA are examples of natural polymers, while nylon, Teflon, and polyethylene are examples of the synthetic variety. Both classes possess a number of highly useful properties that are as much a consequence of the large size of these molecules as of their chemical composition. Although most synthetic polymers are organic, that is, they contain carbon as an essential element along their chains, other important polymers, such as silicones, are based on noncarbon elements.
The rapid pace of advances in polymers, particularly after World War II, has been remarkable and the birth of this discipline in ICT in mid-1940s was timely. Synthetic polymers are so well integrated into the fabric of society that we take little notice of our dependence on them, whether it is health, medicine, clothing, transportation, housing, defense, energy, electronics, employment, and trade. Without a doubt, synthetic polymers have large impacts on our lives.
Although progress in polymer science and engineering can be considered ground-breaking, opportunities are abundant for creating new polymeric materials and modifying existing polymers for new applications; depolymerization and polymer recycling; biodegradable polymers; nano-composites, and the like. Scientific understanding is now replacing empiricism, and polymeric materials can be designed on the molecular scale to meet the ever more demanding needs of advanced technology. The possible control of synthetic processes by biological systems is promising as a means of perfecting structures. New catalysts offer the opportunity to make new materials with useful properties, and the design of new specialty polymers with high-value-added applications is an area of rapidly increasing emphasis. Theory, based in part on the availability of high-speed computing, offers new understanding and aids in the development of improved techniques for preparing polymers as well as predicting their properties. Analytical methods, including an array of new microscopic techniques particularly suited to polymers, have been developed recently and promise to work hand-in-hand with theoretical advances to provide a rational approach to developing new polymers and polymer products. The field of polymer science and engineering therefore shows no sign of diminished vigor, assuring new applications in medicine, biotechnology, electronics, and communications that will multiply the investment in research many times over in the next few decades.
The education provided to the students is the blend of practice and theory related to polymer science and engineering. The students learn to develop systems which are economically feasible and environmentally acceptable.
What is Surface Coating Technology?
A substance applied to other materials to change the surface properties, such as colour, gloss, resistance to wear or chemical attack, or permeability, without changing the bulk properties is a coating material. Surface coatings include such materials as paints, varnishes, enamels, oils, greases, waxes, concrete, lacquers, powder coatings, metal coatings, and fire-retardant formulations. In general, organic coatings are based on a vehicle, usually a resin, which, after being spread out in a relatively thin film, changes to a solid. This change, called drying, may be due entirely to evaporation (solvent or water), or it may be caused by a chemical reaction, such as oxidation or polymerization. Opaque materials called pigments, dispersed in the vehicle, contribute colour, opacity, and increased durability and resistance. Organic coatings are usually referred to as decorative or protective, depending upon whether the primary reason for their use is to change (or preserve) the appearance or to protect the surface. Often both purposes are involved.
The physical, chemical and mechanical properties of a material surface determine its applicability in many technical devices. Numerous applications could not be realized without the use of surface modifications, coatings and thin film technology. Therefore, the need for efficient and effective methods of surface modification is becoming increasingly evident to allow the production of far superior products in terms of wear resistance, corrosion protection, enhanced biocompatibility, thermal insulation, improved optical and altered electronic properties. Coating technologies of particular interest include physical and chemical vapor deposition, thermal spraying, electrochemical deposition, sol-gel-syntheses, and plating. Surface modification includes directed energy techniques such as ion, electron and laser beams as well as etching procedures and thermo-chemical diffusion. Beyond that, mono-layers (e.g. SAM, Langmuir-Blodgett) have attained high significance in preparing thin films to modify biomedical surfaces. Recent novel techniques to prepare patterned surfaces (e.g. nano-imprint lithography, micro-contact printing) have proven their potential for the fabrication of integrated circuits and bioactive implants. Thus, this course offers an exciting field of study.
New trends related to surface engineering and coating technology for the synthesis of functional materials surfaces including novel fabrication methods, materials and applications, new characterization techniques as well as numerical simulation and modeling are some of the areas of research.
The department is part of UGC Centre for Physico-chemical Aspects of Textiles, Fibres, Dyes and Polymers. It is well equipped and offers 3 Ph.D. fellowships under the UGC SAP meritorious fellowship scheme