The interaction between MgH2 and LiBH4 was studied to determine the resultant effects on hydrogen desorption and absorption kinetics for potential use as a hydrogen storage material. It is found that the addition of LiBH4 in small molar ratios results in improved kinetics of the…
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The bacterial twin-arginine translocase (Tat) pathway is able to export large folded proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane. It derives its name from the almost invariant twin-arginine motif present in the signal peptide of Tat substrates. Components of the Tat pathway have be…
Two separate experimental techniques have been used to investigate the fundamental properties of small polyatomic molecules in the gas phase. Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry has been used to study the reactions of cations and anions with ethene, monofluoroethene, 1,1-di…
This project investigated the structures and physical characteristics of exopolysaccharides (EPSs) secreted by lactic acid bacteria. The structure of a novel exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by Lactobacillus acidophilus 5e2 has been characterised. Analysis of the anomeric region…
This research involves the development of a totally new approach to thermal analysis in which microwave energy is used not only to heat the sample but also to detect thermally induced transformations via the effects of changes in its dielectric properties. Use of these propertie…
For oxygen reduction catalysis it has been shown that thin layers of platinum (shell) over a non-Pt core enhance the activity. In addition surface science studies have found that overlayers of one metal on another strongly modifies the electrocatalytic properties of the surface …
The nucleus of the eukaryotic cell contains a large pool of lipids together with structural proteins and genomic DNA. The project aim was to develop simple and robust lipid and DNA models that will allow for these complex molecules to be mixed together in order to elucidate the …
The work reported in this thesis concerns the development of Cryorelaxors having potential applications in very low temperature NMR studies of biological materials. Two approaches have been explored, namely calixarene host-guest complexes incorporating rotationally labile methyl…
Sortase A (SrtA) mediated ligation provides a mild and site-specific method for attaching a wide range of molecular probes to biological molecules, such as proteins and DNA. This method does not require any toxic reagents or harsh conditions to achieve high level of labelling, a…
Five new cerium (IV) fluoride and fluoride–arsenate framework structures have been synthesised through hydrothermal techniques using CeF4 as a fluoride source. Cs[CeIV2F8[F.H2O]] (I) consists of layers, formed from linked Ce(F,O)n polyhedra cross-linked by hydrogen bonding that …
Photoisomerization of the membrane-bound light receptor protein rhodopsin leads to a highly energetic species called bathorhodopsin, which is stable at temperatures below 125 K. Bathorhodopsin stores about 2/3 of the absorbed photon energy but the mechanisms with which this ener…
The first known examples of alkyl Pt(II) complexes with macrocyclic selenoethers [PtMe2L] (L = [8]aneSe2 and [16]aneSe4) have been synthesised and characterised as part of a series of dimethyl Pt(II) complexes with selenoether ligands (L = MeSe(CH2)nSeMe, n = 2, 3; o-C6H4(CH2SeM…
Many interesting and often exotic magnetic phenomena have been observed over the past twenty years in the family of the heavy metal pyrochlore oxides, A2B2O6O’. In these systems, competing interactions are common and tend to emerge mainly at low temperatures. Magnetic properties…
The primary objective of this work was to synthesise and structurally modify a series of PAMAM dendrimers with a view to investigating and controlling their complexation with, and compaction of, DNA. The Introduction gives an overview to the origins of polymer and dendrimer scie…
The total synthesis of potent antitumour agent cis-sylvaticin (1.100) has been completed. Notable steps included the alcoholytic kinetic resolution of epoxide 2.2, two permanganate promoted oxidative cyclisation reactions, a tethered RCM to unite the two major fragments and the …
This thesis reports the synthesis and study of the anion recognition properties of a variety of synthetic organic and inorganic receptors. A series of known anion receptors containing a common urea and varying alkyl and aryl substituents have been investigated for their ability …
In this work, density functional theory (DFT) was used to obtain microscopic structures of heterogeneous catalysts based on rhodium supported on a metal oxide (-Al2O3). Two different methodologies were used. The first methodology uses a periodic model and a plane-wave basis set …
This thesis is concerned with the total synthesis of two related macrocyclic natural products, cavicularin and riccardin C. Cavicularin is particularly noteworthy owing to its interesting structure: its 14-membered macrocyclic core imparts sufficient strain on the system to forc…