Physical Chemistry

Projects in physical chemistry are relevant to biosciences, materials science and engineering as well as to chemistry. Areas of interest include the preparation, modification, characterisation and properties of polymers (both natural and synthetic) and catalysts.

New catalysts are developed for fine chemical production and intermediate chemical synthesis in petrochemical and other large scale applications. Catalyst nanoparticles and porous catalysts are characterised in fundamental structure / property relationships in acidic, basic and redox catalysts. Nanocomposite materials are developed to improve polymer mechanical, barrier and fire retardancy properties. Biomimitics guide the design of smart materials.

The combination of synthetic dyes with natural protein fragments permits the design of biomolecules with a built-in light switch for biophotonics applications. In the example the structure of the cyclic peptide can be switched by irradiation.