Diane Stone
Dendritic Metals

Project Overview

During my PhD studies, I investigated the effect of encapsulationon active metal centres. I synthesised dendritic systems based on metallocenes, lanthanides and transition metal coordination complexes. This research exposed me to a wide range of synthetic techniques from both organic and inorganic complexes. The encapsulated metal complexes were investigated to determine the effect of the dendritic shell on the behaviour of the metal centre. This is interesting because biological systems often bury metal ions within a protein superstructure in order to obtain specific functionality. I used electrochemical and ESR methods to probe the isolation of the metal ion, as well as carrying out some catalytic investigations to probe the activity of the buried metal. My PhD was submitted in November 2002, and I passed my viva examination in February 2003. My research has been published in a number of papers – including a particularly important paper in J. Am. Chem. Soc. describing the electrochemical properties of my dendritic ferrocene derivatives.

Destination – Researcher (Surface Coatings Specialist) at Akzo Nobel (Newcastle)