Some Research Highlights from the Past Decade

• Synthetic analogues of natural-occurring photochromic materials and the structural observation of photochromism by neutron diffraction.

• Chiral porous large pore and layered zincoarsenates

• Vast new family of boroarsenate frameworks

• Development of high throughput methodologies for key optical material synthesis and characterisation. Application to pigments and transparent conducting oxides

• Synthesis of new hybrid metalloarsenate zeotype – 1D metal oxides

• Synthesis of new osmium (IV) oxide pychlores/weberites and investigation of metal-insulator and magnetic transitions therein.

• Major new families of fluoride based tetrahedral net structures from linked LiF₄ and BeF₄ units.

• Synthesis and structure of several new layered oxide halides including Sr₃Mn₂O₈Cl₂ (novel magnetoresistive material) and the first layered oxide iodide Sr₂CuO₂I₂

• Synthesis, structural characterisation and magnetic properties of layered complex iron, copper and titanium oxide fluorides.

• Definitive structural characterisation of the pigments ultramarine green, blue and pink.

• Structural characterisation of a range of new metal oxide nitrides based on M(O,N)₄ tetrahedra.

• Discovery, development and structural characterisation of a new family of transition metal containing frameworks containing iron, nickel and copper.

• Applications of isotopes in structure determination in neutron diffraction. Determination of very low concentrations of dopants e.g. active metal centres in zeolites, definitive thermal motion in negative thermal expansion materials.

• A chiral zincosilicate framework

• A germanium JBW zeolite with lithium specificity

• A maximum iron content zeotype CsFeTiO₄

• The structure of the ferromagnetic superconductor (Gd,Ce)₂Sr₂RuCu₂O₁₀

• Sodalite chemistry. Family of materials M₈[TT’O₄]₆.[X]₂ M=Li,Na,K,Ag, TT’=GaSi, GeAl, GaGe, X= MnO 4 -, S n -, . A new pigment Na₈[AlSiO₄]₆.[MnO₄]₂

• A new complex palladate containing the unique Pd₁₂O₄₄ unit.

• Synthesis and structure of SrCu(OH)₄.H₂O; only example of Cu(OH)₄^2- square planar units.

• Design and use of a novel apparatus for reactions under flowing oxygen at high pressure. High pressure reactions under 1 kbar N₂. Hydrothermal reactions to 4 kbar.

• ²⁷Al MASNMR - structure correlations. Systematics in ⁹Be and ⁷¹Ga MASNMR data.

• A new computer program for the combined analysis of EXAFS and powder diffraction data. Its application and derivation of new structural information in numerous inorganic materials. Multiple data set refinements e.g. 5 EXAFS edges and powder diffraction data modeled using a single coordinate set

• Chemistry of Fe(IV) in complex oxides, a unique spin pairing behaviour. The structure of the FeO₄^4- ion.

• The first framework containing Ga-O-Ga links

• Dispersed Cd₄X, X=S, Se, Te nanounits in frameworks - structure and optical properties.

• Intra-cage reactions of aluminosilicates as a new route to unstable trapped inorganics.

• A unique nitride containing chains of Au^-, Ca₂AuN.

• A mixed valence stoichiometric cuprate Li₃Cu₂O₄

• Structures of lanthanide 124 and 247 superconductors. Direct integration of structure and crystal fields.

• Structure determination and the effects of oxygen stoichiometry of thallium cuprate superconductors. The structure of Tl₂Ba₂Ca₄Cu₅O₁₄ only non-derivative superconductor structure determined in UK .

• Discovery and development of multiperovskite titanocuprates. Four and five layer systems Ln₂Ba₂Cu₂Ti₂O₁₁ and Ln₂Ba₂CaTi₃Cu₂O₁₄. Structures using of neutron diffraction and lanthanide isotopes – novel structure distortions in complex cuprates.

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