Archive of news

October 2021

Molecular orbital of the month

Our group is investigating a new type of battery formed using aluminium. Aluminium (Al) is cheaper and more abundant than lithium (Li), Al-batteries also have fewer safety issues.

The Al-battery works via a liquid (electrolyte) which contains molecular ions that carry charge between the electrodes. The exact nature of the molecular ions and the reactions that occur at the Al electrode are unclear.

This MO is from a molecular ion [Al₂Cl₅]^2- stabilised by coordination to urea and is one of the potential reactive species we have been investigating.

October 2021

Latest News 2 PhD Thesis submitted and Tricia talking about hydrogen bonds

Talking on the BBC

Tricia has been talking about how hydrogen bonding makes water a "weird"" liquid on the BBC Radio 4 podcast The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry. Two episodes:
The Weirdness of Water Part 1
The Weirdness of Water Part 2

For the non-specialist:

find out more about water here!

PhD Thesis Submitted

Sophie: Modelling the Environmental Decomposition of Nerve Agents

George: Beyond iron: the role of siderophores in the biogeochemistry of late first-row transition metals

Congratulations!

Special Issue on DES

Our paper "Bi(III) halometallate ionic liquids: Interactions and speciation" mentioned in the special issue "Deep eutectic solvents - The vital link between ionic liquids and ionic solutions. doi "Modulation of the DES structure via anion identity is also demonstrated in this special issue by Rowe et al., who present quantum chemical predictions of the intermolecular interactions and speciation within Bi(III) halometallate ionic liquids. Bi(III)-halogen bonds are shown here to be significantly weak, thus enabling facile halide exchange between distinct anion moieties. These results provide a new rationalization of prior experimental conclusions regarding the structural dynamics in these liquids."

July 2021

Latest News Prizes and awards for many of the group, a new publication out and many milestones reached by the group

Prizes

Mikkaila has been awarded the David Phillips Prize for Outreach 2021 for her exceptional achievements, only one of which was launching kotikoulu a free networking service connecting those requiring homeschooling help with those who have time and expertise to contribute.

Sophie has won first place for her talk in the Theoretical, Computational and Data-Driven Chemistry theme at the Imperial Postgraduate Symposium. Sophie's research is on modelling the environmental decomposition of the nerve agent VX

Paper Published

Becky's paper Bi(III) halometallate ionic liquids: interactions and speciation is now published online in the Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol 155, Issue 1, doi:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0052297

Summer Research Project

Clare Xie Yijia has finished her summer research project and presented her work as a poster to new students as part of welcome week at Imperial.

Lennart and Sophie have completed their Late Stage PhD Reviews
Mikkaila and Frederik have given their PhD poster presentations