Research Overview

• For a more detailed view of current research activities browse the Research Groups pages
• Links to individual members of staff and their research can be found on the Academic Staff List
• For details of PhD Studentships, including those for which we are currently recruiting, please see our PhD Studentships page

The Department of Chemistry at Loughborough University currently comprises 24 research active members of academic staff, together with a number of visiting/Emeritus academics and some 20 members of technical, secretarial and support staff.

The department typically has well over 50 research students and a dozen postdoctoral researchers. In addition there are usually around 50 MSc students in the department. Many students come to study from abroad, and there are research students and visitors from all over the world currently studying and carrying out research in the department.

The department is housed in a four storey building and is very well equipped to carry out research spanning all the traditional branches of chemistry (analytical, environmental, inorganic, organic and physical)  and which contributes to five active research themes ( Energy, Environment, Crime & Security, Materials and Health).  A separate building houses environmental radiochemistry and X-ray crystallography.

Major research equipment includes excellent nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy facilities including two Bruker 400 MHz NMR spectrometers and a 500 MHz solid state NMR spectrometer, overseen by a full time experimental officer. Mass spectrometry includes QToF, quadrupole GC-MS, LC-ToF, IPC-MS and a high-resolution sector instrument. Analytical and separation science is a key area and there are excellent facilities for HPLC, supercritical fluid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis.  Equipment pertinent to work in areas related to physical chemistry includes a quartz crystal microbalance, two nanosecond laser flash photolysis systems, near-IR detectors for singlet oxygen measurements, and time-correlated single photon counting apparatus. X-ray diffraction equipment includes a Bruker APEX 2 single crystal diffractometer equipped with an Oxford Cryostream and a Rigaku four circle machine equipped with Cu radiation. Other facilities include CHN elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and electrical workshops.  In addition, the strong inter-departmental links across campus means we have a large range of additional, state of the art, techniques at our disposal.

Research in the department is supported by:

Organisations including: The EPSRC The Leverhulme Trust The Nuffield Foundation The Royal Society Loughborough University
	Industrial Companies including: Alcan BNFL AstraZeneca GlaxoSmithKline Infineum Johnson Matthey Pfizer, OSI, Rhodia Syngenta 3M Novartis Schlumberger LGC and many others.

Maintenance grants are available for UK and EU students and bursaries are available to help support international students. For further details of PhD Studentships, including those for which we are currently recruiting, please see our PhD Studentships page.

As a postgraduate student you will work with a member of academic staff who will act as the supervisor for the project. You will also be expected to work independently and to develop your own ideas. A good first degree (usually a first or a 2:1 in chemistry or a closely related subject) and enthusiasm for chemistry are essential. The PhD degree is awarded after three years study and on successful completion of a thesis describing the results and conclusions of your work. Equipped with a PhD in chemistry you will be in a strong position to obtain employment in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and in education and research, while postgraduate chemists are actively sought by a wide range of other employers. A PhD in chemistry will qualify you for membership of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Chartered Chemist status. Suitable candidates will be considered for Research Council, University or industrially funded (CASE) studentships.