UoA 8 Chemistry
The strength of our research expertise is reflected in our overall score of 3.43 with 99% of our submission deemed world-leading or internationally excellent. We are 12th in the UK for the impact of our research in addressing major challenges facing society, the economy and our environment.
We foster an inclusive, diverse and collaborative research community. Reflective of this, we submitted 100% of our eligible staff to this Unit of Assessment.
Our results
| Quality level | 4 star % | 3 star % | 2 star % | 1 star % | Unclassified % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 44.0 | 55.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Outputs | 34.7 | 64.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Impact | 62.5 | 37.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Environment | 50.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Our research environment
The School of Chemistry is a leading research centre committed to an ethos of rigorous interdisciplinary research in the chemical sciences underpinned by outstanding research facilities and infrastructure.
Our mission is to create fundamental scientific understanding and public impact through our delivery of innovative research in collaboration with a wide range of international partners. We are committed to solving significant societal challenges whilst contributing to national economic growth through new discoveries.
Our School has grown considerably since REF 2014, with a 20% increase in research active staff. To support this growth we have significantly increased our estate footprint during the period.
Housed in the historic Main Building of Cardiff University, we have expanded the footprint of our existing research laboratory facilities and created new ones with an investment of more than £3 million. We have also established substantial new equipment to support research, including a new X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy facility for surface analysis, new Mass Spectrometry (MS) equipment in a suite of custom refurbished laboratories, and 4 new Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers to complement our widely used 600 MHz and other NMR spectrometers.
Several research areas were already well established in REF 2014, particularly Catalysis and Chemical Biology, and we have since grown considerable strengths in other areas including Materials, Synthesis, Spectroscopy and Computational Chemistry.
The flagship Cardiff Catalysis Institute (CCI) continues to serve as an internationally recognised driver for catalytic science, enabling staff to form unique partnerships that address diverse multidisciplinary research challenges. The CCI is now one of the lead institutions for major international catalysis initiatives, including the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) UK Catalysis Hub, Max Planck Society Maxnet on Energy, Max Planck Centre in Catalysis and hosted the EPSRC CDT in Catalysis.
Our total research grant income since REF 2014 has increased significantly by 79.4%.
Discover our research
Discover how our research sections and themes drive our continued growth and help to foster research collaboration on an international scale, as we work to tackle major challenges facing society.
