Advanced Materials
Advanced Materials
Overview
We work on a wide range of materials topics including new material development, optimising of materials processing, testing and evaluation at component scale and at high spatial resolution, modelling and failure analysis.
Every article, instrument, machine or device we use depends for its success upon materials, design and effective production.
Much of our work in the Advanced Materials research group is related to materials and processes for:
- renewable energy generation
- energy efficiency
- carbon capture and storage
We also use biological and bio-inspired processes to develop new functional materials.
Find out more about our:

Achievements
Read about our achievements in the Advanced Materials group
Since 2008 the Advanced Materials group has:
- won over £3M in research funding from EPSRC, EU and industry
- published more than 90 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings
- graduated more than 20 PhD students
- delivered more than 40 invited, keynote and plenary talks at international conferences including most recently a plenary at Nanoscale Multilayers, Madrid 2013 (Bull)
Prof Steve Bull is the 2013 recipient of the Tribology Silver Medal presented by the Tribology Trust. This is the top national award in this area.
Projects
Find out about our research projects.
A selection of our projects
Nanoscale optoelectronics
We are developing exciting new processes to form nanodiamonds. These have important applications as biological markers as a result of their unique optical properties.
Functionalised nanoparticles
Nanoparticles are used in a wide range of products – all the way from cosmetics to water treatment in developing countries. We design nanoparticles with novel properties to improve, for example, sunblocks or lubricants.
Property modelling
Our understanding of behaviour at the atomic level allows us to create models which describe relationships between the structure of a material and its properties. This work has been used in the design of products such as energy efficient solar-control coatings and self-cleaning glazings.
Materials for energy systems
We are developing new materials for use in renewable energy generation. We use our knowledge of material failure mechanisms to help improve the design of long-life plant for tidal power generation and carbon capture and storage systems.
Carbon capture and utilisation via catalysis
We are developing inorganic catalysts for carbon capture, utilisation and storage through ex-situ mineralisation. The purpose is to find permanent storage of CO2 with minimal energy input and accelerate the rates of the CO2 capture.
Recycling and waste management
We are looking at methods to reuse and recycle difficult materials such as glass fibre-reinforced polyester composites and rare earth magnets. We are developing novel methods to extract new and replacement raw materials using low energy processes.
Biomaterial engineering
Engineering of novel biomaterials has the potential to deliver exciting future technologies. We are currently working on materials for orthopaedics and biosensors.
Soft matter
Soft matter is a generic term for a range of materials with low compliance such as polymers, foams, emulsions and colloids and biological materials. It is characterised by multi component mixtures, large ranges of length and time scales and many interacting degrees of freedom. These characteristics lead to complex structures, phase behaviour and dynamics.
We are working on dynamic functional polymer systems, organic electronics and novel foams based on polyHIPEs for impact resistance and tissue scaffolds.
All projects in Advanced Materials
-
A Multiscale Modelling Approach to Engineering Functional Coatings
Project Leader(s): Prof. Steve Bull
Project Dates: From October 2005 to September 2009 -
Coordination Chemistry for Energy and Our Sustainable Futures (ChemEnSus)
Project Leader(s): Prof. Mark Thomas
Project Dates: From June 2011 to June 2016 -
Cyberplasm
Project Leader(s): Dr Daniel Frankel
Project Dates: From November 2009 to October 2012 -
Deagglomerate of Diamond (PoC)
Project Leader(s): Dr Lidija Siller
Project Dates: From July 2013 to November 2013 -
Determination of the Risk of C0-C02 Stress Corrosion Cracking in Pipeline Transmission Systems Used in Carbon Capture and Storage
Project Leader(s): Dr Alasdair Charles
Project Dates: From October 2009 to September 2014 -
FOREMOST - Fullerene-Based Opportunities for Robust Engineering: Making Optimised Surfaces for Tribology
Project Leader(s): Prof. Steve Bull
Project Dates: From September 2005 to February 2010 -
Heat Storage Using PCMs in a Specially Designed 300 I Cylinder
Project Leader(s): Prof. Steve Bull
Project Dates: From October 2013 -
Hemilabile and Switchable Metal-Organic Frameworks
Project Leader(s): Prof. Mark Thomas
Project Dates: From March 2013 to February 2016 -
IAA C02 Sequestration via Simple Mineralisation Route (FoF)
Project Leader(s): Dr Lidija Siller
Project Dates: From June 2013 to March 2014 -
Introspect - Integrated Approaches to Chemical Process and Product Quality Monitoring Using Spectroscopy
Project Leader(s): Prof. Steve Bull
Project Dates: From April 2005 to March 2009 -
Investigations of Structural, Mechanical and Electronic Properties of Gold Nitride
Project Leader(s): Dr Lidija Siller
Project Dates: From September 2005 to August 2008 -
Measurement of Deformation and Impact Forces of Acetabular Cups into Cadavers
Project Leader(s): Prof. Steve Bull
Project Dates: From December 2010 to November 2013 -
Powering Smart Materials by Oscillatory Chemical Reactions
Project Leader(s): Dr Katarina Novakovic
Project Dates: From October 2009 to September 2014 -
Reducing the Costs of Marine Renewables via Advanced Structural Materials (ReC-ASM)
Project Leader(s): Prof. Steve Bull
Project Dates: From June 2013 -
SAFE Barriers - a Systems Approach For Engineered Barriers
Project Leader(s): Dr Alasdair Charles
Project Dates: From September 2012 to March 2017 -
Surface Nanostructures For The Study of Biomolecular Recognition, Chirality And Crystal Growth
Project Leader(s): Dr Daniel Frankel
Project Dates: From October 2007 to September 2010 -
Synthesis, Chemical Functionalization, Modification and Applications of Nanodiamonds and Carbon Onions (YURICO)
Project Leader(s): Dr Lidija Siller
Project Dates: From February 2006 to January 2008 -
Tube GallingProject
Project Leader(s): Prof. Steve Bull
Project Dates: From December 2012 to June 2013
Facilities
Discover the facilities we use in the Advanced Materials research group.
We have a range of facilities and equipment we use:
- nanoindentation facilities for high spatial resolution mechanical testing
- sensitive mechanical test frames for biomaterial assessment
- test frames for environmentally assisted cracking
- tribological testers (including scratch, pin-on-disc, abrasion, galling, twin disc rolling-sliding and components scale tests)
- X-ray photoemission spectroscopy
Research Facilities
The school has state of the art shared facilities for research, which are available to all research groups, UG/PGT/PGR students during their research projects and to external partners via contracting or consultancy projects. The school shared facilities include:
- Bioprocessing Laboratory - managed through the Biopharmaceutical Bioprocessing Technology Centre.
- Merz Court Analytical Suite– A wide range of analytical and materials characterisation techniques are available in this suite, including:
- Gas Chromatography equipped with a Barrier Ion Discharge (BID) detector, for gas and liquid sample analysis;
- Raman Microscopy;
- Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Spectroscopy;
- Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) particle size analysis;
- Electrophoretic Light Scattering for zeta potential measurements;
- Static Light Scattering for molecular weight determinations;
- Physi- and Chemisorption facilities for surface area (BET), pore size distribution and surface analysis;
- Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC).
- Stu Brew - Europe's first student-run brewery, operating commercially, affording hands on skills development and research in to sustainable brewing processes;

Professor Steve Bull
Cookson Group Chair of Eng Materials
Email: steve.bull@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 2087913
Dr Alasdair Charles
Director of SAgE Faculty Foundation Year / Lecturer
Email: alasdair.charles@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 7900
Hassan Izadi Gonabadi
Research Associate in Energy Materials
Dr Da Li
Research Associate
Email: da.li@ncl.ac.uk
Dr Jake McClements
Research Associate
Email: jake.mcclements@ncl.ac.uk
Dr Katarina Novakovic
Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering
Email: katarina.novakovic@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 3683
Dr Marloes Peeters
Senior Lecturer
Email: marloes.peeters@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)191 208 8281
Professor Lidija Siller
Professor of Nanoscale Science
Email: lidija.siller@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 7858
Professor Mark Thomas
Professor of Carbon Science
Email: mark.thomas@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 6839