Richard Darton

Biography

I obtained my MChem degree from the University of St Andrews in 2001 and remained there to undertake a PhD with Prof. Russell Morris entitled “Structural Studies of Zeolites by Solid State NMR and Microcrystal X-ray Diffraction”.  In 2005 I moved to the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada to undertake a Post Doctoral Research Fellowship with Prof. Colin Fyfe in porous materials chemistry, before returning to the UK in 2008 to work with Dr. Richard Walton at the University of Warwick on the hydrothermal synthesis of complex metal oxides.  In October 2008 I was appointed as a Lecturer in Physical and Analytical Chemistry at Keele.

Research and scholarship

My research is in the area of materials chemistry with a specific focus on understanding the relationships between synthesis, structure and applications of a wide-range of functional inorganic and inorganic-organic hybrid materials. 

In particular I am interested in the hydrothermal synthesis and structural characterization of porous materials such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks for use in catalysis, sensors and for gas storage.  

To fully understand these types of materials and their synthesis mechanisms, we employ a wide range of characterization techniques including solid state NMR, and both X-ray and neutron diffraction.

Further information about our research can be found on the Catalysis Sustainable Materials Group website: https://sites.google.com/a/keele.ac.uk/csmg/