DrAndreas Kafizas

Andreas Kafizas leads the Solar Coatings Group. Their research is focused on developing light-activated coatings that can drive useful chemistry using sunlight. For these coatings to be commercially viable and sustainable, their focus is to use low cost and scalable routes using earth abundant and non-toxic materials.

The Solar Coatings Group is interested in developing new light-activated materials to improve the function of these coatings. Their core interests are to develop light-activated materials for:

Renewable fuels production - e.g. H2 fuel from H2O and C-based fuels from CO2
Air purification - e.g nitrogen oxides (NOx) removal
Water remediation - e.g. arsenic (As) removal
The disinfection of surfaces and contaminated water streams - removing bacteria and viruses
The Solar Coatings Group routinely study the excited states formed in these light-activated materials using time-resolved spectroscopies, and links their photophysical behaviour to their activity. They also have a keen interest in combinatorial materials discovery, and have developed novel high throughput strategies for growing and optimising functional materials.

The leader of the Solar Coatings Group, Dr. Andreas Kafizas, completed his MSci in Chemistry at University College London in 2007, where he remained to undertake his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Ivan Parkin. Upon completing his PhD in 2011, he was awarded the Ramsay Medal for best graduating doctor in the Department of Chemistry. In 2012, he was awarded the Ramsay Fellowship, where he studied under Prof. James Durrant at Imperial College London. In 2016, he was awarded a Junior Research Fellowship, Imperial College London. In 2018, he was awarded a Lectureship at the Grantham Institute, Imperial College London.

During his research career, Andreas has published over 90 peer-reviewed papers and written 5 book chapters (>6,000 citations, h-index 49). He has also consulted on photocatalytic coatings for air purification for the Environmental Industries Commission, photocatalytic barriers for improving air quality for National Highways, and for the companies CodiKoat and SmogStop® Barriers.

Andreas is actively involved in showcasing his research to the public, recently taking part in Pint of Science, the Imperial College Festival and Outreach in schools, and has featured in the Evening Standard, London Live News and Air Quality News.

Andreas is passionate about teaching, and recently completed a Postgraduate Diploma in University Learning and Teaching at Imperial College London, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He also holds a Gold Award for his Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) training at Imperial College London, and is the Chair of EDI at the London Centre for Nanotechnology.

Research Interests
• Solar fuels (H2O splitting and CO2 reduction)

• Photocatalytic coatings for air purification (de-NOx)

• Water remediation (arsenic removal)

• Chemical vapour deposition (CVD)

• Combinatorial methods for material's discovery and optimisation

• Transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS)