Inorganic Chemistry
The Inorganic Chemistry Group covers a wide range of research interests, including the design and synthesis of innovative ligand systems, new organometallic and coordination complexes, and their applications in a range of fields, such as catalysis, bio-medical imaging, environmental clean-up and decontamination, and molecular sensors.
Ligand Design and Coordination Chemistry
The design of new ligands is central to the research carried out in the group. Ligands currently being developed include novel phosphines, particularly the important phosphine macrocycles (Edwards), unique N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and related species, functionalized NHCs (Cavell, Dervisi), including combined phosphine-carbene macrocycles, and chiral carbene based ligand systems. Novel N and S donor ligands are also being successfully developed and exploited in various applications. Other groups are involved in the development of chiral ligands for use in asymmetric catalysis (Fallis, Ward). This research is predominantly synthetic in nature involving multi-step organic and inorganic syntheses.
Responsive Systems Group (Amoroso, Fallis, Pope)
Responsive probes with a measurable output can be designed to target a wide range of anions, cations and molecular analytes such as toxic chemicals or biologically important analytes and have wide-ranging applications in analytical, materials and biomedical research fields. Several groups are interested in investigating new systems based upon novel ligands and/or functionalised coordination complexes for the development of chemosensors. Measurable responses are dictated by the nature of the probe and can therefore be monitored via modulated optical, luminescent, electrochemical or longitudinal proton relaxivity behaviour, depending on the targeted application. These systems can be designed as single molecular entities or components of larger macrocmolecules such as micelles or surface modified nanoparticles. Recent publications highlight examples on the electrochemical detection of fluoride ions using borylated ferrocenes and the luminescent detection of metal cations using lanthanide complexes.
Catalysis Group (Cavell, Dervisi, van Koten, Ward)
A number of fundamental studies are underway within the Group, which model and develop catalysts and catalytic reactions. The research involves experimental aspects, in which model catalyst systems are synthesized and studied spectroscopically (Cavell, Ward), this work is often supported by computational studies in a synergistic combination of theory and experiment. The research involves close collaboration with colleagues in other research groups within the department. Specific examples include the isolation of catalytic intermediates using N-heterocyclic carbene based ligands (Cavell). Other research in catalysis focuses on the preparation of new chiral supporting ligands for use in main group and early transition metal based catalysts (Ward).
Imaging Group (Amoroso, Coogan, Edwards, Fallis, Pope)
Several groups within the Inorganic research group in Cardiff are interested in the application of metal complexes in biomedical imaging, ranging from radioimaging applications of complexes of radionuclides such as PET and SPECT (Amoroso, Edwards, Fallis), applications of paramagnetic species as MRI contrast agents (Amoroso, Edwards, Fallis, Pope) to optical techniques and in particular fluorescence microscopy with transition metal complexes (Amoroso, Coogan, Pope). Notable outputs from the groups include the developments of the 99mTc based heart imaging agent MyoviewTM and the development of the first rhenium bipyridyl cell imaging agents.