Dr Stephen Ebbens

School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering

Senior Lecturer

s.ebbens@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 7589

Room F62a, Sir Robert Hadfield Building

Full contact details

Dr Stephen Ebbens
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Room F62a
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD

Research interests

My research groups' main interest is in developing small scale devices that can produce rapid motion from catalytic reactions in fluid environments. These devices have the potential to be used in medical diagnostics, and with support of my current EPSRC Healthcare impact fellowship we are developing printable silk based materials for this purpose.

Additionally, we are investigating the fundamental behavior of catalytic Janus colloids, with a particular focus on collective behavior and methods to control trajectory.

Another current research interest is in engineering surfaces to support photocatalysts for CO₂ reduction.

My broad research interests encompass surface science, colloidal science and soft materials, with a particular emphasis on chemical and topographical characterization methods.

Publications

Journal articles
Chapters
Conference proceedings papers
Preprints

Journal articles

Marchi PM, Marrone L, Brasseur L, Coens A, Webster CP, Bousset L, Destro M, Smith EF, Walther CG, Alfred V , Marroccella R et al (2022) C9ORF72-derived poly-GA DPRs undergo endocytic uptake in iAstrocytes and spread to motor neurons.. Life Sci Alliance, 5(9).
Kumar P, Zhang Y, Ebbens SJ & Zhao X (2022) 3D inkjet printed self-propelled motors for micro-stirring. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 623, 96-108.
Kumar P, Legge A, Gregory DA, Nichols A, Jensen H, Ebbens SJ & Zhao X (2022) 3D printable self-propelling sensors for the assessment of water quality via surface tension. JCIS Open, 5. View this article in WRRO
Kirvin A, Gregory D, Parnell A, Campbell AI & Ebbens S (2021) Rotating ellipsoidal catalytic micro-swimmers via glancing angle evaporation. Materials Advances.
Kumar P, Ebbens S & Zhao X (2021) Inkjet printing of mammalian cells – Theory and applications. Bioprinting, e00157-e00157.
Archer RA, Howse JR, Fujii S, Kawashima H, Buxton GA & Ebbens SJ (2020) pH‐responsive catalytic janus motors with autonomous navigation and cargo‐release functions. Advanced Functional Materials. View this article in WRRO
Campbell AI, Ebbens SJ, Illien P & Golestanian R (2019) Experimental observation of flow fields around active Janus spheres. Nature Communications, 10(1). View this article in WRRO
Gregory DA, Kumar P, Jimenez-Franco A, Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Ebbens SJ & Zhao X (2019) Reactive inkjet printing and propulsion analysis of silk-based self-propelled micro-stirrers. Journal of Visualized Experiments(146). View this article in WRRO
Zhang Y, Gregory DA, Zhang Y, Smith PJ, Ebbens SJ & Zhao X (2019) Reactive Inkjet Printing of Functional Silk Stirrers for Enhanced Mixing and Sensing. Small, 15(1), 1804213-1804213. View this article in WRRO
Ebbens SJ & Gregory DA (2018) Catalytic Janus Colloids: Controlling Trajectories of Chemical Microswimmers. Accounts of Chemical Research, 51(9), 1931-1939.
Gregory DA & Ebbens SJ (2018) Symmetrical Catalytically Active Colloids Collectively Induce Convective Flow. Langmuir, 34(14), 4307-4313. View this article in WRRO
Archer RJ, Parnell AJ, Campbell AI, Howse JR & Ebbens SJ (2018) A Pickering Emulsion Route to Swimming Active Janus Colloids. Advanced Science, 5(2). View this article in WRRO
Campbell AI, Wittkowski R, ten Hagen B, Löwen H & Ebbens SJ (2017) Helical paths, gravitaxis, and separation phenomena for mass-anisotropic self-propelling colloids: Experiment versus theory. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 147(8). View this article in WRRO
Nourhani A, Ebbens SJ, Gibbs JG & Lammert PE (2016) Spiral diffusion of rotating self-propellers with stochastic perturbation. Physical Review E - Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics. View this article in WRRO
Campbell A, Archer R & Ebbens S (2016) Preparation and 3D Tracking of Catalytic Swimming Devices. Journal of Visualized Experiments(113). View this article in WRRO
Gregory DA, Zhang Y, Smith PJ, Zhao X & Ebbens SJ (2016) Reactive Inkjet Printing of Biocompatible Enzyme Powered Silk Micro-Rockets. Small, 12(30), 4048-4055. View this article in WRRO
Ebbens SJ (2016) Active colloids: Progress and challenges towards realising autonomous applications. Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science, 21, 14-23.
Das S, Garg A, Campbell AI, Howse J, Sen A, Velegol D, Golestanian R & Ebbens SJ (2015) Boundaries can steer active Janus spheres. Nature Communications, 6. View this article in WRRO
Dunderdale G & Ebbens S (2015) Directed Propulsion, Chemotaxis and Clustering in Propelled Microparticles. Current Physical Chemistry, 5(1), 91-106.
Archer RJ, Campbell AI & Ebbens SJ (2015) Glancing angle metal evaporation synthesis of catalytic swimming Janus colloids with well defined angular velocity. Soft Matter, 11(34), 6872-6880. View this article in WRRO
Gregory DA, Campbell AI & Ebbens SJ (2015) Effect of Catalyst Distribution on Spherical Bubble Swimmer Trajectories. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 119(27), 15339-15348. View this article in WRRO
Taylor W, Ebbens S, Skoda MWA, Webster JRP & Jones RAL (2015) Mode of lysozyme protein adsorption at end-tethered polyethylene oxide brushes on gold surfaces determined by neutron reflectivity. The European Physical Journal E, 38, 14-14.
Toolan DTW, Fujii S, Ebbens SJ, Nakamura Y & Howse JR (2014) On the mechanisms of colloidal self-assembly during spin-coating. Soft Matter, 10(44), 8804-8812.
Haq EU, Toolan DTW, Emerson JA, Epps TH, Howse JR, Dunbar ADF & Ebbens SJ (2014) Real time laser interference microscopy for bar-spread polystyrene/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, n/a-n/a.
Campbell AI & Ebbens SJ (2013) Gravitaxis in spherical Janus swimming devices.. Langmuir, 29(46), 14066-14073. View this article in WRRO
Toolan DTW, Haq EU, Dunbar A, Ebbens S, Clarke N, Topham PD & Howse JR (2013) Direct observation of morphological development during the spin-coating of polystyrene-poly(methyl methacrylate) polymer blends. Journal of Polymer Science, Part B: Polymer Physics, 51(11), 875-881.
Dunderdale G, Ebbens S, Fairclough P & Howse J (2012) Importance of particle tracking and calculating the mean-squared displacement in distinguishing nanopropulsion from other processes.. Langmuir, 28(30), 10997-11006.
Ebbens S, Tu M-H, Howse JR & Golestanian R (2012) Size dependence of the propulsion velocity for catalytic Janus-sphere swimmers. PHYSICAL REVIEW E, 85(2).
Ebbens S, Tu MH, Howse JR & Golestanian R (2012) Size dependence of the propulsion velocity for catalytic Janus-sphere swimmers.. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys, 85(2-1), 020401.
Qi S, Litchfield R, Hutt DA, Vaidhyanathan B, Liu C, Webb P & Ebbens S (2012) Copper conductive adhesives for printed circuit interconnects. Proceedings - Electronic Components and Technology Conference, 1651-1655.
Ebbens S (2012) A fantastic voyage?. Materials Today, 15(7-8), 294.
Ebbens SJ, Buxton GA, Alexeev A, Sadeghi A & Howse JR (2012) Synthetic running and tumbling: an autonomous navigation strategy for catalytic nanoswimmers. SOFT MATTER, 8(11), 3077-3082.
Ebbens S (2012) A fantastic voyage? The importance of autonomy in the design of nano-propulsive devices. MATERIALS TODAY, 15(7-8), 294-294.
Ebbens SJ & Howse JR (2011) Direct observation of the direction of motion for spherical catalytic swimmers.. Langmuir, 27(20), 12293-12296.
Ebbens S, Hodgkinson R, Parnell AJ, Dunbar A, Martin SJ, Topham PD, Clarke N & Howse JR (2011) In situ imaging and height reconstruction of phase separation processes in polymer blends during spin coating.. ACS Nano, 5(6), 5124-5131.
Ebbens S, Sadeghi A, Howse J, Golestanian R & Jones R (2011) Controlling phoretic swimmer trajectory. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, 1346, 49-52.
Sadeghi A, Howse J, Ebbens S & De Geest B (2011) Surface interactions for controlling the microfluidic separation of polymeric microspheres. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, 1357, 18-25.
Ebbens S, Jones RAL, Ryan AJ, Golestanian R & Howse JR (2010) Self-assembled autonomous runners and tumblers. PHYS REV E, 82(1).
Ebbens SJ & Howse JR (2010) Self-assembled phoretic swimmers. 7th Annual Conference on Foundations of Nanoscience: Self-Assembled Architectures and Devices, FNANO 2010, 108-109.
Ebbens S, Hutt D & Liu C (2010) The thermal stability of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers on copper for fluxless soldering applications. IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies, 33(2), 251-259.
Thompson KL, Armes SP, Howse JR, Ebbens S, Ahmad I, Zaidi JH, York DW & Burdis JA (2010) Covalently cross-linked colloidosomes. Macromolecules, 43(24), 10466-10474.
Ebbens SJ & Howse JR (2010) In pursuit of propulsion at the nanoscale. SOFT MATTER, 6(4), 726-738.
Perkins M, Ebbens SJ, Hayes S, Roberts CJ, Madden CE, Luk SY & Patel N (2007) Elastic modulus measurements from individual lactose particles using atomic force microscopy.. Int J Pharm, 332(1-2), 168-175.
Ebbens S, Hutt DA, Liu C & Williams O (2007) Surface micro-patterning with self-assembled monolayers selectively deposited on copper substrates by ink-jet printing. Proceedings - Electronic Components and Technology Conference, 1362-1367.
Ebbens S, Hutt DA & Liu C (2006) Effect of temperature and storage environment on the preservation of copper surfaces for fluxless soldering. Proceedings - Electronic Components and Technology Conference, 2006, 1847-1852.
Ebbens S, Hutt DA & Liu C (2006) Investigation of ink-jet printing of self-assembled monolayers for copper circuit patterning. Proceedings of the Electronic Packaging Technology Conference, EPTC, 46-52.
Zhang J, Ebbens S, Chen X, Jin Z, Luk S, Madden C, Patel N & Roberts CJ (2006) Determination of the surface free energy of crystalline and amorphous lactose by atomic force microscopy adhesion measurement. Pharmaceutical Research, 23(2), 401-407.
Ward S, Perkins M, Zhang J, Roberts CJ, Madden CE, Luk SY, Patel N & Ebbens SJ (2005) Novel methods to probe surface amorphous states. J PHARM PHARMACOL, 57, S98-S98.
Le Roux D, Roberts CJ, Madden CE, Luk SY, Patel N & Ebbens SJ (2005) Raman microscopy investigation of the phase structure and interactions in hydoxypropyl methyl cellulose and ethyl cellulose blends. J PHARM PHARMACOL, 57, S9-S10.
Perkins M, Zhang J, Roberts CJ, Madden CE, Luk SY, Patel N & Ebbens SJ (2005) Single particle surface energy and hardness screening using Atomic Force Microscopy. J PHARM PHARMACOL, 57, S59-S59.
Ward SD, Perkins M, Ebbens SJ, Roberts CJ, Luk SY, Patel N & Madden CE (2005) Drug product analysis through multidisciplinary solid state characterisation. J PHARM PHARMACOL, 57, S90-S90.
Perkins M, Zhang J, Roberts CJ, Madden CE, Luk SY, Patel N & Ebbens SJ (2005) Single particle surface energy and hardness screening using Atomic Force Microscopy. J PHARM PHARMACOL, 57, S3-S3.
Ward S, Perkins M, Zhang J, Roberts CJ, Madden CE, Luk SY, Patel N & Ebbens SJ (2005) Identifying and mapping surface amorphous domains.. Pharm Res, 22(7), 1195-1202.
Abdelhady HG, Allen S, Ebbens SJ, Madden C, Patel N, Roberts CJ & Zhang JX (2005) Towards nanoscale metrology for biomolecular imaging by atomic force microscopy. NANOTECHNOLOGY, 16(6), 966-973.
Zhang J, Madden C, Hossainy S, Tang FW, Borgaonkar H, Ebbens S, Luk SY, Patel N & Roberts CJ (2004) Challenges in the development of drug eluting stents: swelling behaviour characterisation. J PHARM PHARMACOL, 56, S6-S7.
Collins JA, Madden CE, Ebbens SJ, Luk SY, Roberts CJ & Patel N (2004) Screening of inhalation formulations: quantification of individual particulate interactions. J PHARM PHARMACOL, 56, S6-S6.
Woodward I, Ebbens S, Zhang J, Luk S, Patel N & Roberts CJ (2004) A combined imaging, microthermal and spectroscopic study of a multilayer packaging system. Packaging Technology and Science, 17(3), 129-138.
Spanos CG, Ebbens SJ, Badyal JPS, Goodwin AJ & Merlin PJ (2003) Surface segregation and plasma oxidation of polvethylene-poly(dimethylsiloxane) copolymer doped polyethylene films. MACROMOLECULES, 36(2), 368-372.
Eve JK, Patel N, Luk SY, Ebbens SJ & Roberts CJ (2002) A study of single drug particle adhesion interactions using atomic force microscopy.. Int J Pharm, 238(1-2), 17-27.
Spanos CG, Ebbens SJ, Badyal JPS, Goodwin AJ & Merlin PJ (2001) Surface segregation and plasma oxidation of poly(dimethylsiloxane)-doped polyolefins. MACROMOLECULES, 34(23), 8149-8155.
Ebbens SJ & Badyal JPS (2001) Surface enrichment of fluorochemical-doped polypropylene films. LANGMUIR, 17(13), 4050-4055.
Archer RJ & Ebbens SJ () Symmetrical Catalytic Colloids Display Janus‐Like Active Brownian Particle Motion. Advanced Science.
Prihatin IA () ANALISIS FILM PUTIH ABU-ABU DAN SEPATU KETS MELALUI LAYANAN BIMBINGAN DAN KONSELING UNTUK MENCEGAH PERGAULAN BEBAS DI SMA KARYA 45 BANGUN REJO MUSI RAWAS. Empati : Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling, 9(1), 109-119.
Gregory DA, Kumar P, Jimenez-Franco A, Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Ebbens SJ & Zhao X () Reactive Inkjet Printing and Propulsion Analysis of Silk-based Self-propelled Micro-stirrers. Journal of Visualized Experiments(146).
Kawashima H, Shioi A, Archer RJ, Ebbens SJ, Nakamura Y & Fujii S () Light-driven locomotion of a centimeter-sized object at the air–water interface: effect of fluid resistance. RSC Advances, 9(15), 8333-8339.
Gregory DA, Zhang Y, Smith PJ, Ebbens SJ & Zhao X () Altering the Bubble Release of Reactive Inkjet Printed Silk Micro-rockets. NIP & Digital Fabrication Conference, 32(1), 452-456.
Jamaludin NA, Basatvat S, Aboussahoud W, Elliott S, Hunt S, Peacock B, Ebbens S & Fazeli A () Characterisation of extracellular vesicles produced by the Porcine oviductal epithelial cells using size exclusion chromatography. Reproduction Abstracts.
Campbell A, Archer R & Ebbens S () Preparation and 3D Tracking of Catalytic Swimming Devices. Journal of Visualized Experiments(113).
Ebbens S, Gregory DA, Dunderdale G, Howse JR, Ibrahim Y, Liverpool TB & Golestanian R () Electrokinetic Effects in Catalytic Pt-Insulator Janus Swimmers.
Pineda De La O E, Alhazmi N, Ebbens SJ & Dunbar ADF () Influence of Additives on the In Situ Crystallization Dynamics of Methyl Ammonium Lead Halide Perovskites. ACS Applied Energy Materials.

Chapters

Gregory DA, Zhang Y, Ebbens SJ & Zhao X (2017) CHAPTER 8. Reactive Inkjet Printing of Regenerated Silk Fibroin as a 3D Scaffold for Autonomous Swimming Devices (Micro-rockets), Reactive Inkjet Printing (pp. 169-201). Royal Society of Chemistry
Ebbens S, Howse J, Archer R, Gregory D, Campbell A & Dunderdale G (2017) Soft, Hard, and Hybrid Janus Structures: Synthesis, Self-Assembly, and Applications — Catalytic Janus Swimmers, Soft, Hard, and Hybrid Janus Structures (pp. 315-403). WORLD SCIENTIFIC (EUROPE)

Conference proceedings papers

Gregory DA, Zhang Y, Smith PJ, Ebbens SJ & Zhao X (2016) Altering the Bubble Release of Reactive Inkjet Printed Silk Micro-rockets. International Conference on Digital Printing Technologies, Vol. 2016 (pp 452-456), 12 September 2016 - 12 September 2016. View this article in WRRO
Das S, Garg A, Campbell A, Velegol D, Sen A, Golestanian R & Ebbens S (2015) Sustained quenching of rotational diffusional motion of catalytic Janus colloids. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 250
Ebbens SJ, Hutt DA & Liu CQ (2007) Patterning copper using ink jet printing of Self Assembled Monolayers. 2007 9TH ELECTRONICS PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE, VOLS 1 AND 2 (pp 114-119)
Ebbens SJ, Hutt DA & Liu CQ (2006) Thermal stability of self-assembled monolayer copper preservatives for fluxless soldering. ESTC 2006: 1st Electronics Systemintegration Technology Conference, Vols 1 and 2, Proceedings (pp 1360-1366)
Tang Z, Rossiter J & Panoutsos G () Disturbance observer-based optimal tracking control for slot coating process with mismatched input disturbances. CONTROL 2024: 14th United Kingdom Automatic Control Council (UKACC) International Conference on Control. Winchester, UK, 10 April 2024 - 10 April 2024. View this article in WRRO

Preprints

Archer R, Kubodera Y, Ebbens S, Matsuo M & Nomura S-IM (2024) Active mixing by self-propelled Janus sponge Marangoni motors with self-maintaining surface tension gradients., American Chemical Society (ACS).
Campbell AI, Ebbens SJ, Illien P & Golestanian R (2018) Experimental Observation of Flow Fields Around Active Janus Spheres, arXiv.
Campbell AI, Wittkowski R, Hagen BT, Löwen H & Ebbens SJ (2017) Helical paths, gravitaxis, and separation phenomena for mass-anisotropic self-propelling colloids: experiment versus theory, arXiv.
Nourhani A, Ebbens SJ, Gibbs JG & Lammert PE (2016) Spiral diffusion of rotating self-propellers with stochastic perturbation, arXiv.
Ebbens S, Gregory DA, Dunderdale G, Howse JR, Ibrahim Y, Liverpool TB & Golestanian R (2013) Electrokinetic Effects in Catalytic Pt-Insulator Janus Swimmers, arXiv.
Marchi PM, Marrone L, Brasseur L, Bousset L, Webster CP, Destro M, Smith EF, Walther CG, Alfred V, Marroccella R , Robinson D et al () C9orf72-derived poly-GA DPRs undergo endocytic uptake in iNPC-derived astrocytes and spread to motor neurons, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.