Dr Richard J. Darton

Title: Lecturer in Physical Chemistry
Examinations Officer for Forensic Science
Phone: (+44) 01782 7 33345
Email:
Location: Lennard-Jones 1.08
Role:
Contacting me: Try my office, or email me to make an appointment
Darton_Richard

I obtained my MChem degree from the University of St Andrews in 2001 and remained there to undertake a PhD with Prof. Russell Morris entitled “Structural Studies of Zeolites by Solid State NMR and Microcrystal X-ray Diffraction”.  In 2005 I moved to the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada to undertake a Post Doctoral Research Fellowship with Prof. Colin Fyfe in porous materials chemistry, before returning to the UK in 2008 to work with Dr. Richard Walton at the University of Warwick on the hydrothermal synthesis of complex metal oxides.  In October 2008 I was appointed as a Lecturer in Physical and Analytical Chemistry at Keele.

molecular structure My research is in the area of materials chemistry with a specific focus on understanding the relationships between synthesis, structure and applications of a wide-range of functional inorganic and inorganic-organic hybrid materials. 

In particular I am interested in the hydrothermal synthesis and structural characterization of porous materials such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks for use in catalysis, sensors and for gas storage.  

To fully understand these types of materials and their synthesis mechanisms, we employ a wide range of characterization techniques including solid state NMR, and both X-ray and neutron diffraction.

Selected Publications

  • Fyfe CA, Lin ZS, Tong C, Darton RJ. 2012. Simple, efficient syntheses of zeolite ZSM-11 (MEL) at temperatures below 100 degrees C using very dense gels. MICROPOROUS AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS, vol. 150(1), 7-13. link> doi>
  • Fyfe CA, Darton RJ, Mowatt H, Lin ZS. 2011. Efficient, low-cost, minimal reagent syntheses of high silica zeolites using extremely dense gels below 100 degrees C. MICROPOROUS AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS (vol. 144, pp. 57-66). link> doi>
  • Darton RJ, Turner SS, Sloan J, Lees MR, Walton RI. 2010. Hydrothermal Synthesis of a B-Site Magnetic Ruthenate Pyrochlore. CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN, vol. 10(8), 3819-3823. link> doi>
  • Fyfe CA, Darton RJ, Schneider C, Scheffler F. 2008. Solid-state NMR investigation of the possible existence of "Nanoblocks" in the clear solution synthesis of MFI materials. JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C, vol. 112(1), 80-88. link> doi>
  • Barnett C, Gueorguieva M, Lees M, Darton R, McGarvey D, Hoskins C. 2012. Effect of hybrid composition on physicochemical properties and morphology of iron oxide-gold nanoparticles. Journal of Nanoparticle Research. doi>

Full Publications List show

Journal Articles

  • Fyfe CA, Lin ZS, Tong C, Darton RJ. 2012. Simple, efficient syntheses of zeolite ZSM-11 (MEL) at temperatures below 100 degrees C using very dense gels. MICROPOROUS AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS, vol. 150(1), 7-13. link> doi>
  • Barnett C, Gueorguieva M, Lees M, Darton R, McGarvey D, Hoskins C. 2012. Effect of hybrid composition on physicochemical properties and morphology of iron oxide-gold nanoparticles. Journal of Nanoparticle Research. doi>
  • Brouwer DH, Moudrakovski IL, Darton RJ, Morris RE. 2010. Comparing quantum-chemical calculation methods for structural investigation of zeolite crystal structures by solid-state NMR spectroscopy. MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, vol. 48, S113-S121. link> doi>
  • Sardar K, Playford HY, Darton RJ, Barney ER, Hannon AC, Tompsett D, Fisher J, Kashtiban RJ, Sloan J, Ramos S, Cibin G, Walton RI. 2010. Nanocrystalline Cerium-Bismuth Oxides: Synthesis, Structural Characterization, and Redox Properties. CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, vol. 22(22), 6191-6201. link> doi>
  • Darton RJ, Turner SS, Sloan J, Lees MR, Walton RI. 2010. Hydrothermal Synthesis of a B-Site Magnetic Ruthenate Pyrochlore. CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN, vol. 10(8), 3819-3823. link> doi>
  • Modeshia DR, Darton RJ, Ashbrook SE, Walton RI. 2009. Control of polymorphism in NaNbO(3) by hydrothermal synthesis. Chem Commun (Camb), 68-70. link> doi>
  • Fyfe CA, Darton RJ, Schneider C, Scheffler F. 2008. Solid-state NMR investigation of the possible existence of "Nanoblocks" in the clear solution synthesis of MFI materials. JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C, vol. 112(1), 80-88. link> doi>
  • Burton A, Darton RJ, Davis ME, Hwang SJ, Morris RE, Ogino I, Zones SI. 2006. Structure-directing agent location and non-centrosymmetric structure of fluoride-containing zeolite SSZ-55. J Phys Chem B, vol. 110(11), 5273-5278. link> doi>
  • Darton RJ and Morris RE. 2006. High resolution Si-29 MAS NMR study of the thermal behaviour of the aluminosilicate zeolite ferrierite. SOLID STATE SCIENCES, vol. 8(3-4), 342-345. link> doi>
  • Brouwer DH, Darton RJ, Morris RE, Levitt MH. 2005. A solid-state NMR method for solution of zeolite crystal structures. J Am Chem Soc, vol. 127(29), 10365-10370. link> doi>
  • Zones SI, Darton RJ, Morris R, Hwang SJ. 2005. Studies on the role of fluoride ion vs reaction concentration in zeolite synthesis. J Phys Chem B, vol. 109(1), 652-661. link> doi>
  • Darton RJ, Brouwer DH, Fyfe CA, Villaescusa LA, Morris RE. 2004. Solid-state NMR studies of the fluoride-containing zeolite SSZ-44. CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, vol. 16(4), 600-603. link> doi>
  • Darton RJ, Wormald P, Morris RE. 2004. Variable temperature high resolution Si-29 MAS NMR of siliceous zeolite ferrierite. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY, vol. 14(13), 2036-2040. link> doi>

Other

  • Fyfe CA, Darton RJ, Mowatt H, Lin ZS. 2011. Efficient, low-cost, minimal reagent syntheses of high silica zeolites using extremely dense gels below 100 degrees C. MICROPOROUS AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS (vol. 144, pp. 57-66). link> doi>
  • Darton RJ, Brouwer DH, Fyfe CA, Villaescusa LA, Morris RE. 2004. Measuring the silion fluoride bond distance in zeolites. RECENT ADVANCES IN THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF ZEOLITES AND RELATED MATERIALS, PTS A - C (vol. 154, pp. 1319-1323). link>
  • Villasescusa LA, Lightfoot P, Darton RJ, Morris RE. 2004. Microcrystal X-ray diffraction and NMR studies of thermal expansion properties of pure silica zeolites FER and a comparison with IFR. RECENT ADVANCES IN THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF ZEOLITES AND RELATED MATERIALS, PTS A - C (vol. 154, pp. 1168-1172). link>