PART II RESEARCH PROJECTS FOR CHEMISTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS

The following staff member can be contacted either in his office or by phone to discuss the following project:

The Part II Coordinator is Dr Keyna O'Reilly (keyna.oreilly@materials.ox.ac.uk, int. tel.73745)

For any general enquiries, please contact
Philippa Moss
Deputy Administrator (Academic)
Department of Materials
Telephone: 73750
Email: philippa.moss@materials.ox.ac.uk

Part II Projects for Chemists 2013/14

Fast and facile synthesis towards tailoring functionalities of dedicated nanoparticles: Dr F Dillon & Prof N Grobert

The synthesis of monodisperse nanoparticles of transition metal oxides is of great interest since they display an extensive assortment of structures, properties, and phenomena. A multitude of procedures have been developed for their synthesis, unfortunately most are relatively expensive and time consuming. Recently, new techniques for the precise structural control of these nanoparticles were developed in house [Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 4108, RSC Advances 2 (9), 3748 - 3752 (2012)] The aim of this project is to synthesise and characterise a range of transition metal /metal oxide nanoparticles using this fast and inexpensive method. The shape and size of the particles will be systematically varied to determine their effect on functionality. It is expected that the findings will be published in peer reviewed journals, conference participation, and collaborative visits to The Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris are envisaged and will be encouraged.

and

Novel routes to layered inorganic nanomaterials: Dr F Dillon & Prof N Grobert

Cabon nanotubes, have attracted increasingly more attention due to their outstanding properties in recent years. Concurrently, other 1D nanomaterials such as, inorganic nanowires and nanotubes of other layered materials, such as MoS₂, WS₂, BN, have been explored. Recently, new techniques for the precise structural control of WS₂ nanomaterials were developed in house. Larger laboratory scale production, however, is still scarce and needs to be developed in order to make these novel nanomaterials viable for further characterisation, manipulation and application. This project will be focusing on the development of novel routes to inorganic 1D nanomaterials using chemical vapour deposition techniques. In this project the student will work closely with other members of the group and the samples produced by the student will be an integral part of a collaborative project with Dr Michael B Johnston (Department of Physics) and Dr Kylie Vincent (Department of Chemistry). It is envisaged to publish the findings in a peer reviewed journal and conference participation will be encouraged.