For his potentially groundbreaking work on new polymer coatings that could lead to brighter and clearer cell phone display screens, a University of Houston chemist will receive one of the highest distinctions in the coatings field.

Visibility problems with display screens on cell phones and PDAs, especially when using the devices outside in daylight, long have been a persistent gripe of consumers. Rigoberto Advincula, associate professor of chemistry, is devising new polymers – large strands of synthetic molecules – that would coat the display screens and make them brighter and more flexible.

In recognition of his work, Advincula was invited to deliver the Technical Focus Lecture at the International Coatings Expo next month in Toronto. The annual gathering by the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology is one of the biggest coatings conferences in the world, and the honor of giving the lecture is awarded to the field’s most promising researcher. The award includes an honorarium and certificate.  

Chemical coatings are used to protect objects ranging from cars to floors to electronics. For example, coatings are applied to television and computer screens to make them resistant to scratches and reflections. Advincula and his team of more two dozen graduate and undergraduate researchers are preparing novel types of polymers that better conduct electricity and emit light, among other commercial applications.  

“Our team is considered one of the more well-known research groups in polymer coatings and we owe it to the bright young minds in the lab,” Advincula said.

The polymer coatings Advincula is developing are just hundreds of nanometers in thickness and apply nanotechnology concepts. By comparison, a human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide. The coating can be applied simply by dipping the screen into the polymer solutions or through electrodeposition methods similar to metal plating.

The use of organic coatings to prepare light-emitting diode (LED) display screens already is revolutionizing the display industry, Advincula said, and these new polymers are attracting the interest of private firms.

His work has received past funding from the National Science Foundation and major corporations like Agilent, Dow Corning and Lintec, a Japanese manufacturer.