Dr Anthony Phillips

Research summary

My research focuses on the role of atomic motion in the solid state in producing interesting and useful material properties. These range from anomalous thermal expansion behaviour (arising from low-frequency vibrational modes which draw neighbouring atoms together) to photorefractivity (arising from light-induced linkage isomerism reactions). In particular, the field of metal-organic frameworks (metals yoked together with organic links) is a particularly fertile playground in which to explore the structural origins of these phenomena, with the aim of using this knowledge in turn to engineer novel materials with desirable properties.

Computationally, both empirical potential models and DFT provide useful insights into these systems. The principal experimental techniques used are X-ray and neutron crystallography. I am also interested in statistical methods for analysing crystallographic data, with a particular focus on Bayesian techniques.

Keywords

Framework Materials, Microporous Materials, Molecular Adsorption, Phase Transitions, Photochemistry, CASTEP, GULP (code)

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