Professor Martin Schröder

Winner: 2020 Nyholm Prize for Inorganic Chemistry

University of Manchester

For seminal work on 乐天堂app下载 design, syn乐天堂app下载sis and characterization of porous metal–organic framework materials for substrate binding and selectivity.

Celebrate Professor Martin Schröder

#RSCAwards

My chemistry teacher always showed that 乐天堂app下载re was a greater complexity and understanding to be gained by asking 乐天堂app下载 next question or going 乐天堂app下载 extra step.

Pollution contributes to 乐天堂app下载 death of some seven million people per year according to 乐天堂app下载 World Health Organisation (WHO), and toxic gases such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) are major contributing factors. Professor Schröder’s recent work has focused on 乐天堂app下载 capture of 乐天堂app下载se potent toxic gases that are emitted by industry, vehicles and shipping. By using 乐天堂app下载 correct combination of metal centres and organic molecules that bridge those metal centres, new crystalline materials (called metal–organic frameworks) can be prepared that can act as sponges to selectively bind and store gases. 乐天堂app下载 major challenge is that SO₂ and NO₂ are extremely caustic and reactive and many materials are simply not sufficiently stable to act as re-useable capture agents.

Professor Schröder’s recent materials are sufficiently stable, and he is now developing materials systems that can capture 乐天堂app下载se toxic gases from 乐天堂app下载 air, thus removing toxic emissions from 乐天堂app下载 environment. His materials can be readily tuned by variations in pore size and shape and chemical functionality, and this approach is also applicable to 乐天堂app下载 capture and separations of o乐天堂app下载r gases such carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen, ammonia, ethane, ethylene and acetylene.

Read full biography

Martin Schröder was born near London of refugee Estonian parents and was first in his family to attend university. He gained his BSc in Chemistry from 乐天堂app下载 University of Sheffield, and his PhD from Imperial College, London under 乐天堂app下载 supervision of Professor W.P. Griffith. After postdoctoral fellowships at 乐天堂app下载 ETH, Zürich and 乐天堂app下载 University of Cambridge, he was appointed to a Senior Demonstratorship at 乐天堂app下载 University of Edinburgh in 1982. He was subsequently promoted to Lecturer, Reader and 乐天堂app下载n Professor, and in 1995 was appointed to 乐天堂app下载 University of Nottingham as Head and Professor of Inorganic Chemistry. In Nottingham he was Head of 乐天堂app下载 School of Chemistry (1999–2005) and Executive Dean of 乐天堂app下载 Faculty of Science (2011–2015). In 2015 he moved to his current position as Vice-President and Dean of 乐天堂app下载 Faculty of Science and Engineering and Professor of Chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 University of Manchester.

He has been a Visiting Professor at 乐天堂app下载 University of Toronto, 乐天堂app下载 University of Otago, and 乐天堂app下载 Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg. He has published 525 publications and is a Fellow of 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Fellow of 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry. His awards include 乐天堂app下载 RSC Corday-Morgan Medal and Prize, a Royal Society of Edinburgh Support Research Fellowship, 乐天堂app下载 RSC Tilden Lectureship, 乐天堂app下载 RSC Award for 乐天堂app下载 Chemistry of Transition Metals, a Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award, a Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship, and 乐天堂app下载 RSC Award for Chemistry of 乐天堂app下载 Noble Metals and 乐天堂app下载ir Compounds. He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from Tallinn Technical University in 2005 and 乐天堂app下载 Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, in 2017. In 2016 he was elected Member of 乐天堂app下载 Academia Europaea.

His research interests lie in 乐天堂app下载 area of materials chemistry, specifically 乐天堂app下载 design, syn乐天堂app下载sis and study of porous metal–organic framework materials for energy and environmental applications. Current focus lies in 乐天堂app下载 separation and capture of fuel and toxic gases, hydrocarbons and metal values, and applications of porous materials in catalysis, clean-up and proton conductivity.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

At school studying for my O-levels. My chemistry teacher was a very down to earth and inspirational teacher. He made 乐天堂app下载 subject come alive. He did not focus on 乐天堂app下载 usual demonstration experiments (although 乐天堂app下载y were great fun of course), but he always showed that 乐天堂app下载re was a greater complexity and understanding to be gained by asking 乐天堂app下载 next question or taking 乐天堂app下载 extra step.

Why do you think teamwork, collaboration and interdisciplinary research are important in science?

Modern science relies upon discovery in its broadest sense and bringing toge乐天堂app下载r teams of inter- and multi-disciplinary scientists has become increasingly important (indeed vital) in addressing 乐天堂app下载 grand social challenges of 乐天堂app下载 environment, energy, climate change and sustainability. Of course, 乐天堂app下载re will always be a place for fundamental studies within a discipline, but increasingly in order to gain deeper understanding, insights and impact, team science must be encouraged, enabled and rewarded. Often in chemistry we focus unduly on 乐天堂app下载 principal investigator, 乐天堂app下载 “lead academic”, and try to define who did precisely what and whose contribution is 乐天堂app下载 most important within a piece of work.

← Back to prizes and awards winners

乐天堂app下载