Simon Redfern | |
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Occupation(s) | Mineralogist, geoscientist and academic |
Academic background | |
Education | BA, mineral sciences MA PhD MBA |
Alma mater | University of Cambridge University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Jesus College,Cambridge Nanyang Technological University |
Simon Redfern is a mineralogist,geoscientist and academic. He is the dean of the College of Science,the President's Chair in Earth Sciences,and a professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU),Singapore [1] as well as an emeritus professorial fellow at Jesus College,University of Cambridge. [2]
Redfern's research spans the atomic-scale and microscopic structure of minerals and their relationship with environmental science and sustainability,ranging from biominerals to materials for clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction. [3] He is the recipient of numerous awards,including the European Mineralogical Society's Medal for Research Excellence (1997), [4] and is the first person to have been presented with both the Max Hey (1994) [5] and the Neumann Medals of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland (2012). [6]
Redfern is a fellow of the Geological Society of London [7] and the Mineralogical Society of America. [8] He has also held editorial roles such as chief editor of Frontiers in Earth Sciences:Earth &Planetary Materials and editor of Geochemical Perspective Letters .
Redfern graduated with a BA in mineral sciences in 1985,followed by an MA and a PhD in 1989,all from the University of Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences. In 2022,he was enrolled at the University of Illinois,Urbana-Champaign,receiving an MBA in 2024. [1]
Redfern began working as a temporary lecturer in mineral physics/chemistry at the University of Cambridge in 1988 and as a lecturer in geochemical spectroscopy at the University of Manchester in 1989. In 1994,he was appointed university lecturer in mineralogy at Cambridge,later becoming reader in mineral physics in 2000,and professor from 2005 to 2019. Concurrently,he assumed the role of head of the Department of Earth Sciences in 2016 and has been an emeritus professorial fellow at Jesus College since 2019. [2] He joined Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2019,holding the positions of dean of the College of Science,President's Chair in Earth Sciences,and professor in the Asian School of the Environment as well as the School of Materials Science and Engineering. [9] His appointments extended to the National University of Singapore,where he has been a management board member of the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative since 2020. [10]
Redfern has been affiliated with professional organizations,starting in 1997 as vice president of the Mineralogical Society,while also being founder and chairman of its Mineral Physics Group (1997–1999). He served on the Council of the Mineralogical Society of America and the High-Pressure Commission of the International Union of Crystallography (2005–2009),later becoming its treasurer (2009–2015). Additionally,he contributed to the Institut Laue Langevin in France (2010–2013),along with British agencies such as the Natural Environment Research Council (2012–2017),and the UK Government Advisory Committee on Radioactive Waste Disposal (2016–18). [11] Subsequently,he was appointed visiting scientist at HPSTAR,Beijing (2016–2019) [12] and chair of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Robert C. Cowen Award Committee (2018–2021). [13]
Redfern has also been engaged in journalistic work,primarily with the BBC and the British Science Association,having written several articles on science news topics as a science media fellow in 2013. [14] [15] [16] In 2018,he was interviewed by Al-Jazeera on the Anak Krakatoa eruption,and has appeared on the radio. His articles have also been published by other news sources,such as The Huffington Post [17] and The Independent . [18]
Redfern has contributed to the field of geoscience and materials science by employing experimental and computational methods to investigate the physical and chemical properties of minerals and associated fluids in planetary interiors. [3]
Redfern's work on crystallography has focused on the structure and properties of various materials. In a highly cited study with T.J.B. Holland,he demonstrated using regression diagnostics with nonlinear least-squares to improve cell parameter refinement from powder diffraction data. [19]
Alongside colleagues,Redfern explored lowering the melting temperatures of 3D metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by altering their chemistry,enabling the formation of unique MOF glasses that retain metal-ligand connectivity and offer new tunable functionalities. [20] Furthermore,he examined multiferroic bismuth ferrite BiFeO3,revealing novel phase transitions,refining the phase diagram,and providing insights into band structure and conductivity behavior,diverging from previous reports. [21]
Redfern delved into catalysis and materials science,leading to the development of novel electrocatalysts. He introduced ruthenium-activated hollow carbon sphere catalysts,demonstrating superior performance in alkaline electrochemical water splitting compared to commercial Pt/C,providing a cost-effective alternative for large-scale hydrogen production. [22] [23] His work also proposed polymer carbon dots (PCDs) as efficient,metal-free room-temperature phosphorescence materials,emphasizing their unique RTP properties and potential for easy synthesis and diverse applications. [24]
Through joint research,Redfern showcased how cesium-based trihalide perovskite solar cell efficiency could be enhanced by modifying the CsPbI2Br absorber and polythiophene hole-acceptor interface,reducing energy losses and achieving high power conversion efficiency. [25] In a similar study,he analyzed how high pressure boosts the optical activity of cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals,revealing a pressure-induced emission phenomenon due to structural changes. [26]
A perovskite is any material of formula ABX3 with a crystal structure similar to that of the mineral perovskite,which consists of calcium titanium oxide (CaTiO3). The mineral was first discovered in the Ural mountains of Russia by Gustav Rose in 1839 and named after Russian mineralogist L. A. Perovski (1792–1856). 'A' and 'B' are two positively charged ions (i.e. cations),often of very different sizes,and X is a negatively charged ion (an anion,frequently oxide) that bonds to both cations. The 'A' atoms are generally larger than the 'B' atoms. The ideal cubic structure has the B cation in 6-fold coordination,surrounded by an octahedron of anions,and the A cation in 12-fold cuboctahedral coordination. Additional perovskite forms may exist where both/either the A and B sites have a configuration of A1x-1A2x and/or B1y-1B2y and the X may deviate from the ideal coordination configuration as ions within the A and B sites undergo changes in their oxidation states.
Multiferroics are defined as materials that exhibit more than one of the primary ferroic properties in the same phase:
Nanomaterial-based catalysts are usually heterogeneous catalysts broken up into metal nanoparticles in order to enhance the catalytic process. Metal nanoparticles have high surface area,which can increase catalytic activity. Nanoparticle catalysts can be easily separated and recycled. They are typically used under mild conditions to prevent decomposition of the nanoparticles.
Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3,also commonly referred to as BFO in materials science) is an inorganic chemical compound with perovskite structure and one of the most promising multiferroic materials. The room-temperature phase of BiFeO3 is classed as rhombohedral belonging to the space group R3c. It is synthesized in bulk and thin film form and both its antiferromagnetic (G type ordering) Néel temperature (approximately 653 K) and ferroelectric Curie temperature are well above room temperature (approximately 1100K). Ferroelectric polarization occurs along the pseudocubic direction () with a magnitude of 90–95 μC/cm2.
Perovskite (pronunciation:) is a calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate (chemical formula CaTiO3). Its name is also applied to the class of compounds which have the same type of crystal structure as CaTiO3,known as the perovskite structure,which has a general chemical formula A2+B4+(X2−)3. Many different cations can be embedded in this structure,allowing the development of diverse engineered materials.
An electrocatalyst is a catalyst that participates in electrochemical reactions. Electrocatalysts are a specific form of catalysts that function at electrode surfaces or,most commonly,may be the electrode surface itself. An electrocatalyst can be heterogeneous such as a platinized electrode. Homogeneous electrocatalysts,which are soluble,assist in transferring electrons between the electrode and reactants,and/or facilitate an intermediate chemical transformation described by an overall half reaction. Major challenges in electrocatalysts focus on fuel cells.
The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide,also known as CO2RR,is the conversion of carbon dioxide to more reduced chemical species using electrical energy. It represents one potential step in the broad scheme of carbon capture and utilization.
Water oxidation is one of the half reactions of water splitting:
Yang Yang is a Taiwanese-American materials scientist. He is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering,and Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California,Los Angeles,where he holds the Carol and Lawrence E. Tannas Jr. Endowed Chair in Engineering. Y
A perovskite solar cell (PSC) is a type of solar cell that includes a perovskite-structured compound,most commonly a hybrid organic–inorganic lead or tin halide-based material as the light-harvesting active layer. Perovskite materials,such as methylammonium lead halides and all-inorganic cesium lead halide,are cheap to produce and simple to manufacture.
Sillénite or sillenite is a mineral with the chemical formula Bi12SiO20. It is named after the Swedish chemist Lars Gunnar Sillén,who mostly studied bismuth-oxygen compounds. It is found in Australia,Europe,China,Japan,Mexico and Mozambique,typically in association with bismutite.
A tin-based perovskite solar cell is a special type of perovskite solar cell,based on a tin perovskite structure (ASnX3,where 'A' is a monovalent cation,tin is in its Sn (II) oxidation state and 'X' is a monovalent halogen anion). As a technology,tin-based perovskite solar cells are still in the research phase,and are even less-studied than their counterpart,lead-based perovskite solar cells. The main advantages of tin-based perovskite solar cells are that they are lead-free. There are environmental concerns with using lead-based perovskite solar cells in large-scale applications;one such concern is that since the material is soluble in water,and lead is highly toxic,any contamination from damaged solar cells could cause major health and environmental problems.
Mercouri Kanatzidis is a Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of chemistry and professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern University and Senior Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory.
Dioxide Materials was founded in 2009 in Champaign,Illinois,and is now headquartered in Boca Raton,Florida. Its main business is to develop technology to lower the world's carbon footprint. Dioxide Materials is developing technology to convert carbon dioxide,water and renewable energy into carbon-neutral gasoline (petrol) or jet fuel. Applications include CO2 recycling,sustainable fuels production and reducing curtailment of renewable energy(i.e. renewable energy that could not be used by the grid).
Maksym V. Kovalenko is a full professor of inorganic chemistry and the head of the Functional Inorganic Materials group at ETH Zurich. A part of the research activities of the group are conducted at Empa (Dübendorf). He is working in the fields of solid-state chemistry,quantum dots and other nanomaterials,surface chemistry,self-assembly,optical spectroscopy,optoelectronics and energy storage.
Perovskite nanocrystals are a class of semiconductor nanocrystals,which exhibit unique characteristics that separate them from traditional quantum dots. Perovskite nanocrystals have an ABX3 composition where A = cesium,methylammonium (MA),or formamidinium (FA);B = lead or tin;and X = chloride,bromide,or iodide.
The carbonate chlorides are double salts containing both carbonate and chloride anions. Quite a few minerals are known. Several artificial compounds have been made. Some complexes have both carbonate and chloride ligands. They are part of the family of halocarbonates. In turn these halocarbonates are a part of mixed anion materials.
Fred Wudl is an American materials scientist,academic researcher. He is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Materials Engineering at the University of California,Santa Barbara.
Sean Smith is the director of NCI Australia with a conjoint position of professor of computational nanomaterials science and technology at the Australian National University (ANU).
Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) are candidates for display and lighting technologies. Researchers have shown interest in perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) owing to their capacity for emitting light with narrow bandwidth,adjustable spectrum,ability to deliver high color purity,and solution fabrication.