Double Funding Success for the Molecular Synthesis Section

The Leverhulme Trust has awarded Cardiff University’s School of Chemistry two separate Research Project Grants. The two different projects, led by Dr Louis Morrill and Dr Simon Pope respectively, will both be undertaken within the Molecular Synthesis section.

A 3-year collaborative project entitled “The Productive Merger of Organocatalysis and Frustrated Lewis Pairs”, will be directed by Dr Louis Morrill, a recent appointee within the School, in collaboration with Dr Rebecca Melen. Dr Morrill said, “We are extremely grateful to The Leverhulme Trust for this award, which will enable us to explore an exciting, cross-disciplinary project that combines the burgeoning areas of organocatalysis and Frustrated Lewis Pairs small molecule activation”.

Dr Simon Pope will lead a 3-year project entitled “Decorated Diamonds: New Luminescent Hybrid Materials”, which will involve collaboration with Prof Oliver Williams from Cardiff School of Physics and Astronomy. Dr Pope said, “The generous funding from The Leverhulme Trust will allow us to build a truly interdisciplinary collaboration and pursue fundamental research into functionalised nanodiamond materials. Our aim is to deliver a new class of luminescent material with broad application from light emitting devices to bioimaging agents.”

The Leverhulme Trust is one of the largest all-subject providers of research funding in the UK, distributing about £80m annually, with a primary focus upon supporting research of the highest quality, significance and originality.