Solid State Materials MPhil

The School of Chemistry has developed a particular strength in Solid State and Materials Chemistry, with a research group dedicated to this exciting area of study. As part of the Chemistry (PhD/MPhil) programme, students can conduct their research within this group.

Research is focused on understanding fundamental properties of materials, developing and advancing new aspects of experimental techniques for investigating these properties, and exploring the potential for developing applications of the materials under investigation.

Research

Current research projects include:

• The development of a fundamental understanding of structural and dynamic properties of molecular solids (including solid inclusion compounds, incommensurate solids, hydrogen-bonded systems and disordered materials) and of crystallization processes of these materials.
• Quantifying the interactions between the components of ‘soft matter’ systems, to understand and control their structure and dynamics, with particular emphasis on self-assembling gels and foams, the protection of actives via conjugation, their behaviour within biogels, polymer/surfactant/additive solutions, and the application of polymers as vehicles for targeted and controlled drug release.
• The development and application of new aspects of experimental techniques for elucidating properties of materials – topics of particular interest include advances in EPR and ENDOR spectroscopy in a range of novel areas (including the characterisation of catalytic systems and solid surfaces), the development and application of new techniques for structure determination using powder X-ray diffraction data, and fundamental and applied aspects of the phenomenon of X-ray birefringence.