Supporting and Nurturing Adventurous Chemistry Research in Cardiff

In the grant application, four specific adventurous research projects were identified, and procedures for promoting further adventurous research projects during the 24 month period of the grant were also proposed. However, the Panel has indicated that funding will be provided only to support Project 3 (one of the specific initial pilot studies in the grant application), and has requested that the original summary of the grant application should be modified to reflect only the funded component of the proposed research. The summary of this specific funded project is as follows:Project 3: Many important materials (including pharmaceuticals, pigments and other industrially important compounds) are prepared by the formation of crystals from solution. In the design of new materials, it is important to be able to induce a specific type of molecule to form a desired structural arrangement in the crystals that are formed in the crystallization process. To achieve this aim requires an understanding of how crystallization processes occur. Unfortunately, we currently have very little understanding of what happens in the crucial early stages of crystallization processes, and hence our ability to control such processes is severely limited. The proposed project will assess a new idea for gaining insights into the early stages of crystallization processes, by focusing on the molecular aggregates that are initially formed on the way to the formation of the final crystalline product.