Our expertise in synthetic chemistry will be used to develop custom precursors for electrodeposition of a range of p-block elements and alloys. Synthesis and characterisation is carried out in-house at the Universities of Southampton and Nottingham
Synthesis of starting materials
Starting materials for the target materials for electrodeposition in the ADEPT programme are rarely commercially available. Our synthetic chemistry team (led by Professor Gill Reid) has the experience and expertise in-house to produce precursor molecules that:
- can be obtained (pure) reproducibly and in practically useful quantities,
- are resistant to oxygen and water (ideally powdered solids for ease of handling);
- have low lattice energies/solvation energies for dissolution and dissociation in low dielectric solvents;
- have suitable reduction potentials;
- are mutually compatible in a single, tuneable electrolyte;
- are thermally stable for high temperature electrodeposition
Mesoporous silica templates
The templates team, led by Professor Andrew Hector, focuses on the development of self-assembled mesoporous films for use as growth templates, and surface treatments to both self-assembled and lithographic templates to modify the properties of materials electrodeposited into them.
