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Energy

Interdisciplinary Research Centre
 

Research

The application of first-principles theory and ultra-high-vacuum single-crystal experiments to problems in surface chemistry and catalysis. We make use of fibre-optic low-energy electron diffraction (FO-LEED) to obtain structural information, reflection absorption infra-red spectroscopy (RAIRS) to obtain vibrational information, single-crystal adsorption calorimetry (SCAC) to obtain energetic information, supersonic molecular beams (SMB) to obtain kinetic information, and low- temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy (LT-STM) to obtain morphological, topographic and electronic information about surfaces and the molecules that adsorb, diffuse and react upon them. Density functional theory (DFT) provides a framework within which to calculate comparable data, which aids in the interpretation of our experimental work.

Our work is concentrated within four main research themes:

  • Complex interadsorbate interactions
  • Nanoscale surface phenomena
  • Chiral surface systems
  • Tuning reactivity and catalysis
Professor of Physical & Computational Surface Chemistry
Professor Stephen  Jenkins
Not available for consultancy