This page is archived

Links to external sources may no longer work as intended. The content may not represent the latest thinking in this area or the Society’s current position on the topic.

/ Events

Nanolaboratories: physics and chemistry of small-molecule endofullerenes

15 - 16 March 2012 09:00 - 17:00

Organised by Professor Malcolm Levitt FRS, Professor Tony Horsewill, Professor Nick Turro and Professor Yas Murata

Synthetic chemists have generated pure samples in which fullerene (C60) cages encapsulate small molecules. The cages act as nanometre-size laboratories, within which a variety of physical and spectroscopic experiments may be performed. This meeting will bring together expert researchers on the synthesis, spectroscopy, physical properties, and applications of small-molecule endofullerenes.

Biographies of the organisers and speakers are available below.  Audio recordings are freely available and the programme can be downloaded here.  Papers will be published in a future issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A.

Organisers

  • Professor Malcolm Levitt FRS, University of Southampton, UK

    "Prof Malcolm H Levitt FRS, School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, UK: Undergraduate education (Chemistry) at Oxford University, BA (1978), DPhil (1981) on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance with Ray Freeman. Postdoctoral research at the Weizmann Institute, Israel (with Shimon Vega) and ETH-Zürich (with Richard Ernst). Research staff member of the Francis Bitter Magnet Lab, MIT (1985-1990). Research fellow in superconductivity research in Cambridge, UK, 1991. Lecturer then professor at Stockholm University, Sweden (1991-2001). Professor in Physical Chemistry at the University of Southampton since 2001. Honours include the LATSIS prize of the ETH-Zürich (1985), the Göran Gustafsson prize in Chemistry (1996), Fellowship of the Royal Society (2007), and the Laukien prize in magnetic resonance (2008)."

  • Professor Tony Horsewill, University of Nottingham, UK

    Tony Horsewill is Professor of Physics at the University of Nottingham. His interests in low temperature magnetic resonance began during his PhD studies at the University of Sheffield in the 1970s where he worked under the supervision of Professor Neil Atherton on ENDOR and ESR spectroscopy. He arrived in Nottingham in 1979 where he gained a permanent position in 1983. His research interests lie in the quantum motion of atoms and molecules, with particular emphasis on quantum tunnelling. This has entailed the development of specialised cryogenic NMR techniques, many of which involve magnetic field cycling, to explore interactions and level-crossings between spin Zeeman and molecular tunnelling systems. Rotational tunnelling in symmetrical molecular groups such as CH3 and translational tunnelling of 1H in hydrogen bonds have been investigated. In parallel with his NMR work, inelastic neutron scattering experiments have been invaluable in providing a complementary energy window in which to investigate the quantum aspects of molecular dynamics. Notably in recent years this has led to the first neutron scattering studies of small molecule endofullerenes. Tony was elected to a personal Chair in Physics at Nottingham in 2005.

  • Professor Nicholas J Turro, Columbia University, USA

  • Professor Yasujiro Murata, Kyoto University, Japan

    Yasujiro Murata is a Professor at Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University.  He was born in Kanazawa and received his BEng (1993) and PhD degrees (1998) from Kyoto University under the supervision of Professor Koichi Komatsu.  During that time he joined Professor Fred Wudl's group as a summer student (1995).  After working as a postdoctoral fellow at Kyoto University in Komatsu group, he joined Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, as an Assistant Professor in Komatsu group (1999).  After the retirement of Professor Komatsu from Kyoto University, he was promoted as an Associate Professor (2006) and then as a Professor (2009-) succeeding to Professor Komatsu's position.  His research interests include the synthesis of fullerene derivatives having novel structures and properties.