Research Group(s)

• Complex Chemicals and Biological Systems
• Molecular Systems and Biomaterials
• Nanomaterials and Interfaces

Roger Davey joined the department in 1993 as Professor of Molecular Engineering. He previously worked as a Research Associate for Zeneca and prior to that with ICI. In 2001 Roger was awarded an EPSRC Senior Research Fellowship to pursue his research on nucleation of molecular materials. In 2002 he founded the Molecular Materials Centre and in now a key figure in the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry funded through the NWDA.

Roger's research activities involve the application of crystal chemistry to the design of inorganic and molecular materials as well as surface active molecules. This is an important field both academically and commercially. For example, such areas as crystal morphology and structure control by the use of specifically tailored auxilliary molecules together with the design of crystallisation inhibitors and other surface active molecules are of fundamental importance across a range of technologies from catalyst manufacture through a wide spread of speciality businesses.

Of current interest are the areas of polymorphism in molecular crystals, the preparation of materials via crystallisation within surfactant phases, the application of ternary phase diagrams in process design for preparation of molecular salts and cocrystals, the formation and properties of crystal networks in consumer products and molecular modelling of crystals and surfaces. Significant work is being performed using spectroscopies to study solution chemistry and molecular association in supersaturated solutions in the context of crystal nucleation. Most recently methods have been developed to obtain reliable nucleation rate data in order to link kinetics to molecular assembly processes.

TEXT

Crystal nucleation from solutions, Crystal Polymorphism, the preparation and physical properties of molecular salts and cocrystals, formulation of pharmaceutical materials, solution chemistry and molecular self assembly, crystallisation as means of enatiomer separation.