Analytical Chemistry

Vision

To be a leading Analytical Chemistry facility in Scotland, able to offer high quality research infra-structure and expertise to bring solutions to chemical problems in all walks of life for the Common Good.

Aim

To develop a facility capable of performing world-class analytical, forensic and environmental chemistry, to build strong collaborative research within the group and offer chemical expertise, in collaboration with other teams (both at GCU and beyond), to bring added value to projects with a chemistry content.

Key projects

The Electrochemical Removal of Pollutants from Wastewater Using Low Molecular Weight Gelators

Development of a robust LCMS method for monitoring the removal of perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) by electrochemical hydrogel technology

CENSIS Funding for Development of In-Process Liquid Sampler (ILS) - A Cowell, B Alkali, G Bevan, C Harrison, A.S. Smith, K Diamond

KTP with SST Sensing, Development of Fluorescence polymers for oxygen sensing. A. S. Smith & M Uttamlal

Recent publications

Complexing additives to reduce the immiscible phase formed in the hybrid ZnBr2 flow battery.  Bryans, D., McMillan, B. G., Spicer, M.D. , Wark, A. & Berlouis, L., 2 Nov 2017, In: Journal of the Electrochemical Society. 164, 13, p. A3342-A3348

COx-free hydrogen production from ammonia – mimicking the activity of Ru catalysts with unsupported Co-Re alloys.  Kirste, K., McAulay, K., Bell, T. E., Stoian, D., Laassiri, S., Daisley, A., Hargreaves, J. S. J., Mathisen, K. & Torrente-Murciano, L., Jan 2021, In: Applied Catalysis B: Environmental. 280, 14 p., 119405

Isotopic control over self-assembly in supramolecular gels.  McAulay, K., Wang, H., Fuentes-Caparrós, A. M., Thomson, L., Khunti, N., Cowieson, N., Cui, H., Seddon, A. & Adams, D. J., 28 Jul 2020, In: Langmuir. 36, 29, p. 8626-863

Forming Low-Molecular-Weight Hydrogels by Electrochemical Methods.  Cross, R. E.;  McAulay, K.; Adams, J. D., In Polypeptide Materials. Methods in Molecular Biology, Springer Nature: New York, 2021; Vol. 2208.

Indirect chiral separation of crystal methamphetamine seized in Saudi Arabia using GC-MS.  Alawi AA, Dhabbah AM, Morrison C, Ben‐Jaber S, AlAngari WA, bin Jassas M, Badjah‑Hadj‑Ahmed Y Australian Journal of Forensic Science, 2022  https://doi.org/10.1080/00450618.2022.2079720

Forensic Science in the UK. Part II:  Forensic Science Provision in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Gonzalez-Rodriguez J, Baron M, Morrison C Forensic Science Review, 2018, 30, 78-80.

Impact of selected parameters of the fermentation process of wine and wine itself on the biogenic amines content: Evaluation by application of chemometric tools.  Płotka-Wasylka J, Simeonov V, Morrison C and Namieśnik J Microchem. J, 2018, 142,187-194.

A preliminary study on the use of ATR-FTIR with PCA to determine the species’ groups used in the making of historical Pacific barkcloth.  M. J. Smith, A. S. Holmes-Smith, F Lennard, J Cultural Heritage, 39, (2019), 32-41

Improving the packing efficiency of building integrated photovoltaic systems through a novel hexagonal concentrator. Lewis Osikibo Tamuno-Ibuomi, Roberti Ramirez-Iniguez, A Sheila Holmes Smith, Geraint Bevan ( UPEC 2022, accepted for publication)

Group Members

Professor Sheila Smith

Dr Mahesh Uttamlal

Dr Calum Morrison

Dr Mark Spicer

Dr Kaitlin Ramsay

Dr Kate McAulay

Dr David Phillips

Dr Joanne Roberts