Our research is organised around two themes, Porous Liquids and Mechanochemistry:

POROUS LIQUIDS

These are liquids with empty holes each about the size of a single molecule. Because of these holes, they act as ‘super solvents’. For example they can dissolve 10 times as much gas than normal liquids can. We invented this technology and are pursuing greater understanding of the properties of porous liquids, and are applying them to chemical separations including carbon capture. Generally, we find that separations based on porous liquids use much less energy than those based on normal solvents. We are accelerating the impact of this work through the spin-out company Porous Liquid Technologies Ltd.

​Solubility of gases in porous liquids is much greater than in normal liquids as shown by experiment and modelling, and enables them to be used for more sustainable gas separation processes including carbon capture

MECHANOCHEMISTRY

Mechanochemistry involves inducing chemical reactions through mechanical force, such as by grinding or milling. It provides a way to do chemical synthesis without the need for bulk solvents. As such the environmental benefits, energy savings and cost can all be dramatically improved compared to the traditional solvent-based methods. Since we reported the synthesis of MOFs by ball-milling in 2006, we have developed the area with new methods (such as twin screw extrusion for scalable continuous synthesis of APIs, dyes and other materials) as well as fundamental understanding such as new kinetic reaction models and molecular-scale computer modelling simulations. We currently work with a number of partners to implement this technology in industry. 

Fundamental studies help to understand how mechanochemical reactions occur so that it can be scaled up into sustainable production processes