Materials Science and Metallurgy
Associate Professor
Our research focusses on developing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and coordination polymers as quantum materials. The flexibility, diversity and modularity of metal organic frameworks offers remarkable opportunities to realise unique states and functional properties. We work to realise the potential of these materials, by synthesising new materials, probing their structures using scattering techniques (X-ray, electron and neutron) and demonstrating their capabilities using physical property measurements. We are interested in all aspects of these problems, but key themes from our current research are below.
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Doping is a powerful tool in the materials scientist’s arsenal and in quantum materials doping can induce surprising new functional (e.g. superconductivity in copper oxides). We are developing new routes to dope quantum metal-organic frameworks, applying techniques and concepts from traditional inorganic doped quantum materials and creating new methods for both introducing dopants and characterising their structures.
Doping, by its intrinsically nonstoichiometric nature, leads to disorder. This disorder has nontrivial consequences for the structures and functional of materials. We are interested in understanding how disorder controls and in some cases enhances the magnetic and electronic properties of MOFs. To do this we use local structure techniques including X-ray, neutron and electron pair distribution function analysis and NMR spectroscopy.
MOFs can adopt unique topologies and their modular structures mean we can tune their interactions to target particular phases. They are thus ideal hosts to explore unusual magnetic states, from quantum spin liquids to unusual spin textures. We make use of neutron diffraction, including polarised and single crystal diffraction where useful, to uncover their magnetic ground states, and inelastic neutron scattering to measure their interactions.
Magnetic and electronic conductivity rely on unpaired electrons: in most MOFs these electrons are only found on the paramagnetic metal ions, which are very far apart in space, reducing magnetic and electrical coupling. We are therefore interesting in radical ligands, where the organic components is also spin and charge bearing, allowing for room temperature magnetism and metallic conductivity. We explore new routes to synthesises these materials, and use the full range of techniques to probe their structures: atomic, electronic and magnetic.
