Research Groups

Prof. Bob Baker
Research being carried out by the Organometallic Chemistry Group focuses on the organometallic chemistry of p-, d- and f-block metals. The work is currently centred on four different themes: (1) low oxidation state actinide chemistry, (2) high oxidation state uranium chemistry, (3) preparation of novel heterobimetallic transition metal complexes for use in the preparation of new homogeneous catalysts for a variety of processes such as Fischer-Tropsch production of alkanes, and (4) a new process is being developed o remove toxic metals (e.g. Cr, Cd, Hg, U, Pu) from contaminated soil, and precious metals from e-waste.

Prof. John Boland
The research of the Nanoscale Characterisation and Processing Group focuses on the chemistry and materials properties of nanoscale systems that have potential applications in the areas of devices and sensors. They are interested in the challenge of processing traditional device materials such as silicon to enable the successful fabrication of next generation computer chips. What are the limits of this technology and is it possible to tweak these material systems to get faster devices? To answer such questions they study the detailed nature of these processes at an atomic level, and much of their research involves the use of scanning tunnelling microscopy and atomic force microscopy – techniques that provide information on this length scale.

The second major focus of our research involves the use of nanoscale components, such as nanowires and quantum dots, in the assembly of nanoscale devices.

Prof. Stephen Connon
The Organic Chemistry Group’s research interests are concentrated on the development of new organocatalysts and on the discovery of new synthetic methodologies.

Prof. Sylvia M. Draper
The Synthetic Materials for Molecular Opto-electronic Applications Group explore the synthesis of new materials with added functionality and tunability for applications in sensing and opto-electronics. The group currently has two main areas of research, namely (1) Transition metal complexes: triplet photosensitisers in biological and energy applications and (2) Heteroatom doped nanographenes: in discotic liquid crystals, photovoltaics and electrocatalysis

Prof. Peter W. Dunne
The Green Inorganic Nanomaterials Group is focused on the development of new, cleaner, greener synthetic routes to functional inorganic nanomaterials with applications in energy and the environment. In particular they are interested in the environmentally benign production of metal oxide, sulfide, phosphate and hybrid organic-inorganic nanomaterials; with an emphasis on size and shape control. They use a variety of synthetic methods, which include sol-gel synthesis, templating reactions, and hydrothermal and solvothermal techniques using novel custom designed and built high-temperature, high-pressure reactors. Materials’ characterisation is achieved using powder X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, thermal analysis, and spectroscopic methods.

Prof. Thorri Gunnlaugsson
The research of the Supramolecular & Medicinal Chemistry Group includes investigations of the uses of lanthanide ions in medicinal chemistry; the development of delayed Eu(III)/Tb(III) based macrocyclic systems as luminescent sensors/probes for cations, anions and neutral molecules; the synthesis of linear and cyclic peptides for the detection of biologically important metal ions such as Cu2+, Ni2+, Na+, K+ and Li+ (drug measurements) and the development of novel sensors to measure micro-cracks in bones.

Prof. Max García-Melchor
The research expertise of the CCEM Group is in the use of state-of-the-art computational methods to provide a detailed understanding of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysed reactions at the atomic scale. The CCEM Group also aims at using this detailed knowledge to rationally design novel catalysts with a predicted superior performance for a wide range of chemical processes relevant to industry or sustainable energy. Many of these computational studies are carried out in close collaboration with leading experimental groups from worldwide research institutions.

Prof. Mike Lyons

The Trinity Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Electrocatalysis (TEECE) Group is currently engaged in (a) developing novel nanomaterials for use as catalysts in water electrolysis and (b) fuel cell devices for use in energy conversion and storage-device applications. A particular focus is on the preparation of transition metal oxide nanomaterials based on non-platinum group metals such as Ni, Fe, Co and Mn.
Particular emphasis is placed on using electrochemical techniques to fully understand the mechanistic details of oxygen evolution, ethanol and glucose oxidation and of the electroreduction of molecular oxygen. The group is also developing non-enzymatic electrochemical biosensors based on metal oxide modified electrodes for bio-diagnostic applications and pH sensing and in developing anode materials for metal electro-winning for the mining industry.

Prof. Aidan McDonald
Research in the Bioinspired Inorganic Chemistry Group revolves around model compounds and catalysts that mimic the roles metals play in biology. Their goals are to design novel catalysts, understand metalloproteins, develop treatments for adverse metalloprotein chemistry, and to investigate the Chemistry of 2D nano materials.

Prof. Joanna McGouran
Activity-based probes, which mimic an enzyme substrate or protein binding partner but contain a chemical trap, are powerful tools in biological research. Such probes have been employed widely for both basic research and guiding drug discovery efforts. They are used to discover and characterise novel enzymatic activities, inhibitors, biomarkers and cellular localisation. Research in the laboratory focuses on the synthesis of new activity-based probes for chemical biology and molecular physiology applications. Current research focuses on DNA damage repair and deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) as two key regulatory classes of enzyme.

Prof. Kim McKelvey
The Nanoscale Electrochemical Systems Group uses electrochemistry to understand the effect of nanostructure in energy storage and conversion technologies, such as batteries, fuel cells, solar cells, sensors.

Prof. Mick Morris
The Surface and Interface Chemistry and Engineering Group focuses largely on the self-assembly of materials in thin films, and additive manufacturing. This has been geared towards production of mesoporous films and recently block-polymer microphase separation to form periodic arrangements. These periodic structures can be used to engineer surfaces for applications such as circuit elements in integrated circuitry, manipulation of light, self-cleaning surfaces and antimicrobial packaging.

Prof. Valeria Nicolosi
The Characterisation and Processing of Advanced Materials (CPAM) Group is focused on developing advanced processing and imaging techniques for a wide range of layered nanomaterials. Liquid phase exfoliation can be used to produce dispersions of two-dimensional flakes from bulk powders. Their three main research areas are the processing of 2-dimensional nanomaterials, 2D nanomaterials for energy storage and the semiconduction industry, and high-end characterisation of 2D nanomaterials.

Prof. Isabel Rozas
The Drug Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry works in the modelling, preparation and biophysical and biological evaluation of: (i) agents targeting nucleic acids (as anticancer or antiprotozoal therapies); (ii) guanidine-based inhibitors of protein kinases; and (iii) compounds targeting adrenergic α2- or specifically α2C-receptors with application as antidepressants or antipsychotic agents.

Prof. Eoin Scanlan
The Scanlan Group has an active research programme in Synthetic Organic Chemistry with particular expertise in Glycoscience. They design and synthesise novel biomolecules and bioconjugates including carbohydrate, lipid, peptide and protein conjugates as therapeutics. Their research is cross-disciplinary and involves collaboration with groups in Immunology, Biochemistry and Materials. At the core of their synthetic studies is the development of novel synthetic methodologies to access molecules of therapeutic interest.

Prof. Wolfgang Schmitt
The Inorganic Materials Group are developing methodologies for engineering hybrid organic-inorganic coordination compounds. Their investigations include the synthesis, self-assembly and physicochemical characterization of coordination polymers, cluster compounds, biominerals and bioinorganic enzyme models. Key research areas under this purview include gas storage materials (e.g. for hydrogen), catalysis, separation science and magnetic materials. They also use coordination polymers as templates for the synthesis of nanostructured materials by thermolysis, pyrolysis and intra-crystal polymerization resulting in organic-inorganic composites, pure inorganic or carbon-based materials.

Prof. Mathias O. Senge
The Senge group is a world leader in porphyrin research and their interests include the development of new methods for the synthesis and functionalization of a wide variety of these ’pigments of life’ and their physical, structural and biological characterization. In addition they work on synthetic organic methodology, structural chemistry, photomedicine, electrooptical materials, theranostics, and history of science.

Prof. Mike Southern
The goal of the Synthetic and Medicinal Chemistry group is to exploit synthetic chemistry to probe biological mechanisms in an effort to understand and provide treatment for disease. Techniques used include the development of subtype-specific ligands to target ion channels, such as those found in neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and implicated in such conditions as addiction, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Other work in this lab involves the preparation of a diverse range of heterosugars, in which the endocyclic oxygen is replaced with another heteroatom e.g. sulfur, nitrogen or selenium. This class of compounds has exciting anti-viral, anti-cancer and anti-bacterial properties through which diseases such as hepatitis C, HIV, avian flu, cancer, MRSA, drug resistant TB, diabetes (type 1 and type 2) and obesity may be targeted.