Dr Martin Hollamby

Title: Lecturer
Phone: +44 (0) 1782 733532
Email:
Location: Lennard-Jones : LJ 1.14
Role:
Contacting me:
Martin Hollamby

I was appointed as a Lecturer at Keele at the end of May 2013. Before this, I first spent 7 years at the University of Bristol, where I received my undergraduate masters degree and doctorate. For the latter, I worked in the group of Prof. Julian Eastoe, studying surfactant chemistry and the use of small-angle neutron scattering to probe nanosized self-assembled structures.

After graduating in 2009, I moved to the Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam-Golm, Germany, to work as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Helmuth Möhwald on the development of self-healing corrosion-resistant coatings. In 2011 I received a JSPS postdoctoral fellowship to work in the National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan with Dr Takashi Nakanishi, and subsequently became a researcher in the International Center for Young Scientists at the same institute.

My research in Japan concerned the synthesis, characterisation and application of organic "hydrophobic amphiphiles" for organic electronics. This remains my main topic of interest and is introduced in more detail in the research section. 

My research looks at molecular self-assembly. In particular, I'm interested in amphiphilic molecules that are capable of forming useful structures and materials. Previously, this has concerned more conventional surfactants (i.e. detergent molecules), and has included their development for low polarity solvents such as liquid CO2, and their use in templating nanoparticles and mesoporous solids.

More recently I've mainly focussed on a group of so-called "hydrophobic amphiphiles", which are asymmetric molecules that have both aliphatic and π-conjugated parts. Using principles adopted from surfactant chemistry, with additives that favour either part, we have shown that these molecules can be driven to reversibly self-assemble into useful shapes, such as wires or sheets.

When stacked in the correct alignment, π-conjugated molecules can do useful things such as conducting charge. Consequently, they are heavily researched for use in organic electronic devices, (e.g. transistors, solar cells, light emitting diodes), which have the potential to be flexible and foldable, as well as being cheaper to produce than those made using high purity silicon. Devices constructed from self-assembled molecules should (theoretically) have optimal properties, controlled by intermolecular packing, which should be tuneable through changing either the molecular structure or external conditions. However, the ability to do this remains a major challenge! Our "directed assembly" method not only works (the structures conduct charge), but also gives a general approach to tuning self assembly in many functional systems.

hydrophobic

A major technique that I use to characterise the above molecular assemblies is small-angle scattering, using neutrons or X-rays. These techniques are typically carried out at large government-owned facilities, such as ISIS or Diamond near Didcot, UK and represent a powerful way to resolve bulk-averaged nanometre-sized structures in-situ.

For more information, please see my personal website.

A full publication list is available on my website.

Selected Publications

  • Babu SS, Hollamby MJ, Aimi J, Ozawa H, Saeki A, Seki S, Kobayashi K, Hagiwara K, Yoshizawa M, Möhwald H, Nakanishi T. 2013. Nonvolatile liquid anthracenes for facile full-colour luminescence tuning at single blue-light excitation. Nat Commun, vol. 4, 1969. link> doi>
  • Hollamby MJ. 2013. Practical applications of small-angle neutron scattering. Phys Chem Chem Phys, vol. 15(26), 10566-10579. link> doi>
  • Li H, Babu SS, Turner ST, Neher D, Hollamby MJ, Seki T, Yagai S, Deguchi Y, Moehwald H, Nakanishi T. 2013. Alkylated-C-60 based soft materials: regulation of self-assembly and optoelectronic properties by chain branching. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C, vol. 1(10), 1943-1951. link> doi>
  • Hollamby M and Nakanishi T. 2012. Self-Assembly Properties of Fullerenes. In Handbook on Fullerene. Verner RF and Benvegnu C (Eds.). Nova Science Publishers.
  • Schnepp Z, Hollamby MJ, Tanaka M, Matsushita Y, Katsuya Y, Sakka Y. 2012. One-step route to a hybrid TiO2/TixW1-xN nanocomposite by in situ selective carbothermal nitridation. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF ADVANCED MATERIALS, vol. 13(3), Article ARTN 035001. link> doi>

Full Publications List show

Journal Articles

  • Babu SS, Hollamby MJ, Aimi J, Ozawa H, Saeki A, Seki S, Kobayashi K, Hagiwara K, Yoshizawa M, Möhwald H, Nakanishi T. 2013. Nonvolatile liquid anthracenes for facile full-colour luminescence tuning at single blue-light excitation. Nat Commun, vol. 4, 1969. link> doi>
  • Hollamby MJ. 2013. Practical applications of small-angle neutron scattering. Phys Chem Chem Phys, vol. 15(26), 10566-10579. link> doi>
  • Li H, Babu SS, Turner ST, Neher D, Hollamby MJ, Seki T, Yagai S, Deguchi Y, Moehwald H, Nakanishi T. 2013. Alkylated-C-60 based soft materials: regulation of self-assembly and optoelectronic properties by chain branching. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C, vol. 1(10), 1943-1951. link> doi>
  • Schnepp Z, Hollamby MJ, Tanaka M, Matsushita Y, Katsuya Y, Sakka Y. 2012. One-step route to a hybrid TiO2/TixW1-xN nanocomposite by in situ selective carbothermal nitridation. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF ADVANCED MATERIALS, vol. 13(3), Article ARTN 035001. link> doi>
  • Mohamed A, Sagisaka M, Hollamby M, Rogers SE, Heenan RK, Dyer R, Eastoe J. 2012. Hybrid CO2-philic surfactants with low fluorine content. Langmuir, vol. 28(15), 6299-6306. link> doi>
  • Hollamby MJ, Borisova D, Brown P, Eastoe J, Grillo I, Shchukin D. 2012. Growth of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Monitored by Time-Resolved Small-Angle Neutron Scattering. LANGMUIR, vol. 28(9), 4425-4433. link> doi>
  • Hollamby MJ, Borisova D, Möhwald H, Shchukin D. 2012. Porous 'Ouzo-effect' silica-ceria composite colloids and their application to aluminium corrosion protection. Chem Commun (Camb), vol. 48(1), 115-117. link> doi>
  • Li H, Hollamby MJ, Seki T, Yagai S, Moehwald H, Nakanishi T. 2011. Multifunctional, Polymorphic, Ionic Fullerene Supramolecular Materials: Self-Assembly and Thermotropic Properties. LANGMUIR, vol. 27(12), 7493-7501. link> doi>
  • Hollamby MJ, Fix D, Dönch I, Borisova D, Möhwald H, Shchukin D. 2011. Hybrid polyester coating incorporating functionalized mesoporous carriers for the holistic protection of steel surfaces. Adv Mater, vol. 23(11), 1361-1365. link> doi>
  • Schnepp Z, Hall SR, Hollamby M, Mann S. 2011. A flexible one-pot route to metal/metal oxide nanocomposites. Green Chemistry, vol. 13(2), 272-275. doi>
  • Myakonkaya O, Deniau B, Eastoe J, Rogers SE, Ghigo A, Hollamby M, Vesperinas A, Sankar M, Taylor SH, Bartley JK, Hutchings GJ. 2010. Recycling nanocatalysts by tuning solvent quality. J Colloid Interface Sci, vol. 350(2), 443-446. link> doi>
  • Hollamby MJ, Eastoe J, Chemelli A, Glatter O, Rogers S, Heenan RK, Grillo I. 2010. Separation and purification of nanoparticles in a single step. Langmuir, vol. 26(10), 6989-6994. link> doi>
  • Trickett K, Xing D, Eastoe J, Enick R, Mohamed A, Hollamby MJ, Cummings S, Rogers SE, Heenan RK. 2010. Hydrocarbon metallosurfactants for CO2. Langmuir, vol. 26(7), 4732-4737. link> doi>
  • Myakonkaya O, Deniau B, Eastoe J, Rogers SE, Ghigo A, Hollamby M, Vesperinas A, Sankar M, Taylor SH, Bartley JK, Hutchings GJ. 2010. Recovery and reuse of nanoparticles by tuning solvent quality. ChemSusChem, vol. 3(3), 339-341. link> doi>
  • Trickett K, Xing D, Enick R, Eastoe J, Hollamby MJ, Mutch KJ, Rogers SE, Heenan RK, Steytler DC. 2010. Rod-like micelles thicken CO(2). Langmuir, vol. 26(1), 83-88. link> doi>
  • Hollamby M, Eastoe J, Mutch KJ, Rogers S, Heenan RK. 2010. Fluorinated microemulsions as reaction media for fluorous nanoparticles. Soft Matter, vol. 6(5), 971-976. doi>
  • Hollamby MJ, Trickett K, Mohamed A, Eastoe J, Rogers SE, Heenan RK. 2009. Surfactant aggregation in CO2/heptane solvent mixtures. Langmuir, vol. 25(22), 12909-12913. link> doi>
  • Hollamby MJ, Trickett K, Mohamed A, Cummings S, Tabor RF, Myakonkaya O, Gold S, Rogers S, Heenan RK, Eastoe J. 2009. Tri-chain hydrocarbon surfactants as designed micellar modifiers for supercritical CO2. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl, vol. 48(27), 4993-4995. link> doi>
  • Hollamby MJ, Trickett K, Vesperinas A, Rivett C, Steytler DC, Schnepp Z, Jones J, Heenan RK, Richardson RM, Glatter O, Eastoe J. 2008. Stabilization of CeO(2) nanoparticles in a CO(2) rich solvent. Chem Commun (Camb), 5628-5630. link> doi>
  • Tabor RF, Eastoe J, Dowding PJ, Grillo I, Heenan RK, Hollamby M. 2008. Formation of surfactant-stabilized silica organosols. Langmuir, vol. 24(22), 12793-12797. link> doi>
  • Hollamby MJ, Tabor R, Mutch KJ, Trickett K, Eastoe J, Heenan RK, Grillo I. 2008. Effect of solvent quality on aggregate structures of common surfactants. Langmuir, vol. 24(21), 12235-12240. link> doi>
  • Eastoe J, Hollamby MJ, Hudson L. 2006. Recent advances in nanoparticle synthesis with reversed micelles. Adv Colloid Interface Sci, vol. 128-130, 5-15. link> doi>
  • Seguin C, Eastoe J, Rogers S, Hollamby M, Dalgliesh RM. 2006. Unexpected adsorption behavior of nonionic surfactants from glycol solvents. Langmuir, vol. 22(26), 11187-11192. link> doi>
  • Hollamby M, Babu SS, Aimi J, Ozawa H, Saeki A, Seki S, Kobayashi K, Hagiwara K, Yoshizawa M, Möhwald H, Nakanishi T. Nonvolatile liquid anthracenes for facile full-colour luminescence tuning at single blue-light excitation. Nature Communications, vol. 4, 1-8. doi>

Chapters

  • Hollamby M and Nakanishi T. 2012. Self-Assembly Properties of Fullerenes. In Handbook on Fullerene. Verner RF and Benvegnu C (Eds.). Nova Science Publishers.

Modules that I will be involved with:

  • CHE-10047 Chemical Concepts and Structure
  • CHE-20029 Radicals, Phases and Supramolecular Chemistry