Dr Blackman's research is centred on the use of Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) to deposit thin films of functional materials. This has included the use of atmospheric variants to deposit thin films of various metal phosphides, oxides and selenides, the use of aerosol assisted CVD for the deposition of various nanostructured oxide materials and also the  use of low pressure techniques for deposition of thin films of zirconium and tungsten carbonitrides.