science

P2i

P2i is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand P2i rather than just read about it. In short: P2i is a nanotechnology development company that works with manufacturers to produce liquid repellent nano-coating protection to products for the electronics, lifestyle, life sciences, filtration and Energy, and military and institutional sectors. The company was established in 2004 to commercialize technologies developed by the UK MoD's Defense Science and Technology Laboratory.

Key takeaways

P2i belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect P2i to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of P2i from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

P2i is a nanotechnology development company that works with manufacturers to produce liquid repellent nano-coating protection to products for the electronics, lifestyle, life sciences, filtration and Energy, and military and institutional sectors. The company was established in 2004 to commercialize technologies developed by the UK MoD's Defense Science and Technology Laboratory. In 2010 the company acquired Surface Innovations Limited, adding new technologies such as antimicrobial, super hydrophilic and protein resistance coatings. In addition to headquarters in the United Kingdom, P2i has a processing facility in the United States, offices in Shenzhen, China and Taipei City, Taiwan, and representation in Korea. As of February 2016 P2i had deployed hundreds of its nano-coating systems globally, including factories in Brazil, Argentina, USA, China, India, Japan, Switzerland, Germany and the UK.

Technology

The treatment decreases the surface energy of objects by adding a perfluorinated carbon polymer coating onto exposed surfaces. The coating reduces the disruption of intermolecular bonds within a liquid. Liquids thus tend to bead up instead of penetrating or absorbing into the object. The treatment process coats objects using a pulsed plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition apparatus at room temperature. The coating is introduced as a vapor and ionized. This deposits a polymerized layer of the plasma monomers, which binds covalently and durably to the object's surface. The mild temperature and pressure conditions of this process permit a broad variety of items and materials to be treated. Occurring at low pressure, the coating penetrates complex three-dimensional objects, protecting it internally and externally in the same process. The coating, being very thin, does not alter the look or feel of solid objects or the vapor porosity of fabrics.

History

P2i's process is based on the research and development work of Stephen Coulson and Jas Pal Badyal at Durham University. Coulson's work was funded by the United Kingdom's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) which aimed to protect clothing from water and other liquids while maximizing comfort. P2i Ltd was established as a stand-alone company in 2004, as the first DSTL technology spin-out managed by Ploughshare Innovations (the DSTL's technology transfer company). On 13 July 2010, P2i announced the acquisition of Surface Innovations Ltd, a UK-based technology company with several functional nano-coating patent families in areas such as anti-bacterial resistance and liquid attracting (super wettable).

Applications and brands

P2i's technology is currently applied in the fields of electronics, lifestyle, life sciences, filtration and energy, and military and institutional sectors. For consumer-facing products, the company has developed sector-specific trademarked brands. The ion-mask brand was used for lifestyle products such as footwear, outdoor clothing, and accessories like gloves and headwear. ion-mask products products were available from several international footwear companies, including Timberland, Nike, Adidas Golf, Hi-Tec, Magnum Boots, Van Dal, Teva, and K-Swiss. P2i's nano-coating technology is utilized in the consumer electronics sector, with significant application in the hearing aid industry, where the company claims its coating is applied to 70% of the world's hearing devices. In 2013, P2i rebranded its traditional hydrophobic layer technology, previously known as Aridion, to "Splash-proof." P2i has established partnerships with smartphone manufacturers such as Motorola and Huawei, as well as other top brands in the industry, including prominent Chinese manufacturers. In 2019, P2i had the capacity to treat over half a billion phones with its technology.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with P2i

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what P2i claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to P2i before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about P2i ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of P2i

In research: P2i appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses P2i in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: P2i is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Companies based in Oxfordshire, Nanotechnology companies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for P2i outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study P2i in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what P2i means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain P2i out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is P2i in simple terms?

Why does P2i matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study P2i?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on P2i.

P2i