Dr John Errington
Reader Metalorganic Chemistry

  • Email: john.errington@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 6643
  • Fax: +44 (0) 191 222 6929
  • Address: School of Natural Sciences
    Chemistry
    Bedson Building
    University of Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU

Background

After obtaining my BSc in the School of Chemistry at Leeds University, I decided to stay and work with Prof Bernard L. Shaw FRS for my PhD. The project involved the synthesis and reactivity of transition metal complexes of bulky phosphines and thioethers, particularly of alpha, omega-bis(di-t-butylphosphino)alkanes, and established the basis for what is now an expanding area of organometallic chemistry involving complexes of 'pincer ligands', as reviewed recently by Milstein in Chem. Rev, 2003, 103, 1759-1792. One notable result was the observation of rapid and reversible C–H bond cleavage under ambient conditions in a metalated Rh complex.

A postdoctoral position with Prof. Malcolm H. Chisholm FRS at Indiana University from November 1980 until December 1981 involved metal-metal bonded compounds of Mo and W and my work demonstrated that metal-metal bond coupling occurs when chloro, bromo or fluoro ligands replace isoproxide groups in dinuclear triply-bonded Mo2(OPr)6.

I returned to the UK at the end of 1981 to work with Prof. Don Bradley FRS at Queen Mary College London from January 1982. After developing some organoimido chemistry of Group 6 transition metals I transferred to a project involving chemical vapour deposition of III/V semiconductor materials. During this inroduction to materials chemistry I demonstrated the use of di-t-butyl phosphine as a source of P in the CVD of InP. Around this time I also became interested in polyoxometalates and the possibility of replacing some (or all) of the surface oxygens with organoimido groups, although this would have to wait until I began work at Newcastle University in 1984.

I was appointed to a lectureship at Newcastle University in 1984 and began a programme to investigate the non-aqueous synthesis and reactivity of early transition metal polyoxoanions (polyoxometalates). This resulted in the development of routes to organoimido-substituted hexamolybdates and of hydrolytic routes to various mixed-metal hexametalates having reactive alkoxide sites. The chemistry of these nanoscale molecular metal oxides is now generating a great deal of interest and our polyoxometalate work has now extended to amphiphilic derivatives and to surface immobilised species.

My interest in metal alkoxides also includes their use as homogeneous catalysts, as precursors to heterogeneous catalysts with well defined reactive sites, and as precursors for the preparation of ferroelectric and non-linear optical thin films and powders.

Qualifications

BSc. Hons, PhD, CChem MRSC

Research Interests

Errington Group Research Page
My interests lie at the interface between molecular solution chemistry and the solid state chemistry of oxide materials. As a consequence, our work centres around a wide range of metal complexes in which the metal is bonded to oxygen donor ligands, particularly metal alkoxides and their derivatives.

Other Expertise

Design and synthesis of molecular precursors for materials applications.

Current Work

Synthesis and reactivity of functionalised polyoxometalates as nanoscale building blocks and functional components of molecular assemblies.

Future Research

The materials aspects of our work is being developed in collaboration with groups having expertise in solid state chemistry and physics, magnetics, and device fabrication.
A European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop in Newcastle (Aug 1-3, 2010) is aimed at creating new collaborative projects to develop polyoxometalate-based devices.
POMbaND

Funding

Year Agency Title Amount/£

Research Council
1985-88 SERC Earmarked Studentship -
1987 SERC Earmarked Studentship -
1988-91 SERC Early Transition-Metal Phosphinidene Complexes
(co-applicant with Dr N C Norman, Newcastle) 34 272
1988-89 SERC High Activity Catalysts from Novel Precursors
(co-applicant with Prof K Wade, Durham & Dr R M Lambert, Cambridge) 50 040
1991-94 SERC Electron-Rich Molecular Metal Oxides 55 882
1992-95 SERC Earmarked Studentship (New Isopolyoxotungstates) 3 000
1994-97 EPSRC Polyoxometalate Supramolecular Chemistry 128 602
1996-99 EPSRC Novel Photoelectrochemical Disinfection of Water
(co-applicant with Dr P A Christensen & Dr T P Curtis, Newcastle University) 204 562
1998-99 EPSRC (ROPA) Metalloborate Precursors for Integrated Optical Applications 90 175
2000-03 EPSRC Rational Synthesis and Reactivity Studies in Polyoxometalate Chemistry 132 401
2001-04 EPSRC Industrial CASE studentship (with DuPont) Aspects of Sb chemistry in PET polymerization catalysis 16 500
+ EPSRC contribn.
2002-05 EPSRC Industrial CASE studentship (with Synetix and Uniqema) Amphiphilic Polyoxometalates 21 000 + EPSRC contribn.
2005-09 EPSRC Industrial CASE studentship (with Davy Protech) Single-Source Molecular Precursors for High-Activity Fischer-Tropsch Catalysts 64,457

Industrial Relevance

Much of the work is relevant to homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis and to materials deposition.

Undergraduate Teaching

CHY8424 Catalyst Application and Design
CHY2301 Applications of Symmetry, Transition-Metal Chemistry
CHY2401 Structural Chemistry
CHY8425 Molecular Aspects of Materials Chemistry