Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Rico completed his undergraduate studies at Bristol University in the UK. After a brief period working as a research associate in inorganic synthesis, he returned to physical chemistry at Bristol to complete his PhD, under the supervision of Julian Eastoe, Terence Cosgrove and Peter Dowding.
In 2009, Rico came to Australia as a post-doc, initially at the University of Melbourne, where he worked on unravelling the problems of dynamic and fundamental forces in deformable droplet and bubble systems. In July 2012, he started as a lecturer in physical chemistry at Monash University.
Research interests
My research interests span a wide range of soft and colloidal systems, from bespoke, functional stabilisers to fundamental surface forces and biological systems. You can learn more about what we do at our group site.
Soft, self-assembled materials
Self-assembly, whereby molecules orient and arrange themselves into organised structures, is a crucial mechanism in many biological processes. We seek to learn from biology, and devise systems in which strutures can be obtained that provide desirable properties for templating, drug delivery and development of complex materials. Such self-assembled structures include micelles, liquid crystals and microemulsions, all of which have characteristic internal length scales on the order of nanometres.
Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) is a tool used to analyse the structure and interactions within such nano-structured soft matter systems. Specifically, the concept of contrast, whereby we make use of the strong difference in scattering between hydrogen and deuterium allows us to selectively highlight specific structures and interfaces within samples. We run SANS experiments at neutron sources around the world, including ISIS (Didcot, near Oxford, UK), the Institut Laue-Langevin (Grenoble, France) and the Bragg Institute (Lucas Heights, near Sydney, Australia).
Surface and colloidal forces
Colloidal systems such as emulsions, foams and particle dispersions continually experience dynamic forces in the form of brownian motion and gravity. These, and ever-present surface forces may encourage flocculation, phase separation or coalescence. Particularly in emulsions and foams, the interplay of surface forces, hydrodynamics during collisions and deformations of bubbles and droplets forms a complex picture. Deconvoluting this requires carefully chosen experiments and rigorous theoretical modelling.
We are especially interested in complex, multi-component systems, where more exotic colloidal forces can occur. These include polymer bridging interactions, depletion interactions and structural interactions. Such forces are highly dependent on the type and concentration of additives, offering new pathways for functional complex fluids.
Stimulus-responsive stabilisers
Most colloidal systems in real applications contain one or more stabilisers in the form of surface active small molecules (surfactants), polymers and particles. By incorporating chemical functionality into these species that allows their properties to be changed by some stimulus, systems with enhanced capabilities can be developed. These might include drug carriers that can release their payload on command, precious catalysts that can be captured after use, and systems for capturing pollutants.
A stimulus to effect a chemical change can be internal (such as a change in pH, ionic strength, temperature, etc.) or from external sources such as light, electrical or magnetic fields. Of these, light is particularly appealing as it is a simple, clean and low-energy method to affect such changes. Many chemicals experience a reaction to light of certain wavelengths, taking the form of either a chemical reaction (photochemistry) or a change in shape (photoisomerisation). Our primary interest lies with the latter class, and in particular the azobenzene family of chemicals.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- surfactants
- AFM
- self-assembly
- emulsions
- kinetics
- colloids
- soft matter
- tensiometry
- SANS
- formulation
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Graphene oxide–polysaccharide composites for advanced applications
Tabor, R. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)) & Majumder, M. (Chief Investigator (CI))
6/05/25 → 6/11/28
Project: Research
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Trimodal Materials to Unlock Synergistic Thermal Energy Storage Mechanisms
Matuszek, K. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Macfarlane, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Tabor, R. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Australian Research Council (ARC), Monash University – Internal School Contribution
1/04/25 → 31/03/28
Project: Research
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Reinventing compostable packaging
Tabor, R. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
12/04/24 → 23/04/27
Project: Research
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Optimising coating efficiency and chemistry for 2D nanomaterials
Tabor, R. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)) & Majumder, M. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/02/23 → 1/08/26
Project: Research
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ARC Research Hub for Advanced Manufacturing with 2D Materials (AM2D)
Majumder, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Losic, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Kalantar-Zadeh, K. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Choudhury, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Tabor, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Dubal, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Medhekar, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Polyzos, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Shaibani, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hornung, C. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Boley, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Yellishetty, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Kim, S. O. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Kida , T. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Savage, S. (Partner Investigator (PI)), DeTata, D. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Erdman, A. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Nanjundan, A. K. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Mathieson, G. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Ekanayake, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Sheath, P. (Project Manager) & Fischmann, A. (Partner Investigator (PI))
Australian Research Council (ARC), LOLC Holdings PLC, Ceylon Graphene Technologies, Sparc Operations Pty Ltd
7/09/22 → 6/09/27
Project: Research
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Influence of tail group length, amide functionality and added salt ion identity on the behaviour of betaine surfactants
Butler, C. S. G., Kelleppan-Meaney, V. T., Williams, A. P., Giles, L. W., Vidallon, M. L. P., Sokolova, A., de Campo, L., Tuck, K. L. & Tabor, R. F., Jan 2024, In: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 653, Part A, p. 338-350 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access7 Citations (Scopus) -
Stratification and film ripping induced by structural forces in granular micellar thin films
King, J. P., Dagastine, R. R., Berry, J. D. & Tabor, R. F., Mar 2024, In: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 657, p. 25-36 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access3 Citations (Scopus) -
Comparison of the Anti-inflammatory Activity and Cellular Interaction of Brush Polymer-N-Acetyl Cysteine Conjugates in Human and Murine Microglial Cell Lines
Mazrad, Z. A. I., Leiske, M. N., Tabor, R. F., Nicolazzo, J. A. & Kempe, K., 17 Apr 2023, In: Molecular Pharmaceutics. 20, 5, p. 2686–2701 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus) -
Components of cocamidopropyl betaine: Surface activity and self-assembly of pure alkyl amidopropyl betaines
Kelleppan, V. T., Butler, C. S. G., Williams, A. P., Vidallon, M. L. P., Giles, L. W., King, J. P., Sokolova, A. V., de Campo, L., Pearson, G. R., Tabor, R. F. & Tuck, K. L., 5 Jan 2023, In: Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects. 656, Part B, 16 p., 130435.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
12 Citations (Scopus) -
Investigating Adsorption of Cellulose Nanocrystals at Air–Liquid and Substrate–Liquid Interfaces after pH Manipulation
Turpin, G. A., Nelson, A., Holt, S. A., Giles, L. W., Milogrodzka, I., Horn, R. G., Tabor, R. F. & Hag, L. V. T., 14 Apr 2023, In: Advanced Materials Interfaces. 10, 11, 8 p., 2202452.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access5 Citations (Scopus)
Activities
- 1 Consultancy
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FB Rice (External organisation)
Boon Mian Teo (Member) & Richard Francis Tabor (Advisor)
15 Apr 2018 → 30 Apr 2018Activity: Industry, Government and Philanthropy Engagement and Partnerships › Consultancy
Press/Media
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News Corp: On-the-spot lifesaver -- Gadget buys time in an emergency
Marek Bialkower, Clare Manderson, Heather McLiesh, Rico Tabor & Gil Garnier
1/11/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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INNOVATION-INTELLIGENCE.COM: Haemokinesis, Monash partner for laser blood incubator
Clare Manderson, Heather McLiesh, Rodrigo Curvello dos Santos, Rico Tabor, Jim Manolios & Gil Garnier
24/09/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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THE HERALD SUN: Timely transfusion test -- Laser system to speed patient blood delivery
Clare Manderson, Heather McLiesh, Rodrigo Curvello dos Santos, Rico Tabor, Jim Manolios & Gil Garnier
20/09/19
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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3AW RADIO: Breakfast Show Interview
Clare Manderson, Heather McLiesh, Rodrigo Curvello dos Santos, Rico Tabor, Jim Manolios & Gil Garnier
20/09/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature