Dr C A Kirk

Lecturer, Inorganic Chemistry
Telephone: +44(0)1509 222554
E-mail: C.A.Kirk@lboro.ac.uk

Caroline Kirk joined us as a Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry in September 2007. She moved from a position as X-ray laboratory manager in the Department of Mineralogy, the Natural History museum, a post which she held for 5 years. She completed a PhD in Solid State Chemistry at the University of Aberdeen and held a post doctoral position in the Department of Engineering Materials, University of Sheffield for 3 years. Her research interests have centred on structural characterisation of natural and synthetic inorganic materials using combined powder diffraction techniques.  Whilst at the Natural History Museum, Caroline was involved in equipment development using bright X-ray sources and fast X-ray detectors to push lab powder diffraction techniques to their limits.

Caroline also currently holds a position as a scientific associate with the Department of Mineralogy at the NHM.

Current Research interests include:

Structural Chemistry of common cement forming phases, thaumasite, ettringite and related phases

Phase formation and stabilities of nickel oxide hydroxide phases during acid leach processes

This industrially funded project is aimed at understanding a new environmentally conscious nickel leaching process developed by European Nickel (http://www.enickel.co.uk/) as well as to fully characterise the end products.  A controlled laboratory synthetic study is being carried out together with characterisation of material from various stages of the nickel leaching process.  The materials are characterised using a range of techniques including XRD, DTA, IR and wet chemical analysis.  The project funds a post doctoral research assistant, Dr Hazel Hunter, who is based in the department of Mineralogy, NHM.

Back to Top

Selected publications

Dehydration of Ca-montmorillonite at the crystal scale. Part 2. Mechanisms and kinetics  E. Ferrage, C.A. Kirk, G. Cressey and J. Cuadros, American Mineralogist 92 (7): 1007-1017, JUL 2007

Dehydration of Ca-montmorillonite at the crystal scale. Part I: Structure evolution, E. Ferrage, C.A. Kirk, G. Cressey and J. Cuadros,American Mineralogist 92 (7): 994-1006, JUL 2007

Synthesis and characterisation of lanthanum germanate-based apatite phases, E.J.Abram, C.A.Kirk, D.C.Sinclair and A.R.West, Solid State Ionics, (2005), 176, 1941-1947

Synthesis, crystal structure and characterisation of Ba(Ti_1/2Mn_1/2)O₃: a high permittivity 12R-type hexagonal perovskite, Gillian M. Keith, Caroline A. Kirk, Kumaravinothan Sarma, Neil Mc Alford, Edward J Cussen, Matthew J. Rosseinsky and Derek C. Sinclair, Chem. Mater, (2004), Vol. 16(10), 2007-2015

Thaumasite-ettringite solid solutions in degraded mortars, S.M.Torres, C.A.Kirk, J.H.Sharp, C.J.Lynsdale and R.N.Swamy, Cement and Concrete Research, 2004, Vol. 34(8), 1297-1305

New nitride minerals in carbonado diamond. Jones, A.P., Beard. A.D., Milledge, J., Cressey, G., Kirk, C., and DeCarli, P.  Eighth International Kimberlite Conference Abstracts. Victoria, Canada. 2003. FLA_0167. 

Crystal Structure of the Perovskite-Related Phase of Approximate Composition LaLi_1/3Ti_2/3O₃, Caroline A Kirk and Anthony R West, Solid State Sciences, 2002, 4, 1163-1166

A new Relaxor Ferroelectric, Ba₂LaTi₂Nb₃O₁₅, Caroline A. Kirk, Martin C. Stennett, Ian M. Reaney and Anthony R. West, J. Mater. Chem., 2002, 12, 2609-2611

Crystal Structure of La₂₄Li₂₀Ti₅O₅₆: A Pseudo Close Packed, Columnar Intergrowth Structure, Caroline A.Kirk and Anthony R. West, Journal of Solid State Chemistry, Decemeber 2001, Volume 162, 379-388

Li Sb₃O₈: the first tetrarutile structure, M.Elmina Lopes, Caroline A. Kirk, Susan M. Blake, James Marr and Anthony R.West, Chemistry Communication, 2000,1951-1952

La₂₄Li_18.67Ti _5.33O₅₆: a novel columnar intergrowth structure of perovskite and distorted, cation-excecss zinc blende, Caroline A. Kirk, Eric E. Lachowski and Anthony R. West, Chemistry Communication, 2000, 1437-1438