Prof. Kenneth G. McKendrick: Homepage

Prof. Kenneth G. McKendrick Chemical Dynamics Group Institute of Chemical Sciences Heriot-Watt University

Phone: +44 (0)131 451 3109 E-mail: K.G.McKendrick@hw.ac.uk

Research Overview

In my group, we study the dynamics of reactions and collisions in both the gas phase and at the gas-liquid interface, using a variety of laser-based experimental approaches. Our investigations provide detailed information on reaction mechanisms and translational and internal energy transfer processes. These interactions are both fundamentally important and relevant to the understanding of a wide range of real-world phenomena. Recent applications include, for example, uptake of radicals on the surfaces of atmospheric aerosols and the surface structures of widely used classes of ionic liquids.

Current Research Funding

EPSRC Programme Grant EP/T021675/1 'New Directions in Molecular Scattering'

I am principal investigator on this grant, along with co-investigators Matt Costen, Martin Paterson and Stuart Greaves. This is a 'Programme' grant, which funds all of our work in molecular scattering dynamics. It is jointly held with Prof Mark Brouard, Prof Claire Vallance and Prof Stuart Mackenzie at the University of Oxford.

EPSRC Grant EP/T03114X/1 'Ionic-Liquid Mixtures: from Surface Structure to Catalytic Performance'

I am principal investigator on this Standard mode grant, along with co-investigator Matt Costen. It is a joint grant with our collaborators Prof Duncan Bruce and Prof John Slattery at the University of York. At Heriot-Watt, we are using Al atoms, produced in a laser ablation source, as a novel reactive atom probe of ionic liquid surface chemical structures, in particular elucidating the presence of F-atoms at the IL surface.

Recent Research Funding

EPSRC Grant EP/P001459/1 'Dynamical Chemical Processes'

I was principal investigator on this grant, along with co-investigators Matt Costen, Martin Paterson, Dave Townsend and Stuart Greaves. This was a 'Platform' grant, enabling us to retain our core post-doctoral staff and to develop their careers. We used it to develop our collaborations between experiment and theory, both internally and with external collaborators. We also performed 'proof-of-concept' studies, which lead to the develop of new, large-scale, proposals.

EPSRC Grant EP/M021823/1 'Reactive Scattering Dynamics at the Gas-Liquid Interface: Bridging the Gap between the Gas-Phase and Solution'

I was a co-investigator on this grant, along with Stuart Greaves, while Matt Costen was the principal investigator. The project used applies NIR and IR Frequency-Modulated Transient Absorption Spectroscopy to the study of reactive and inelastic collisions of CN and HCN with gas-liquid interfaces. It is co-funded with a theoretical project (EP/M022129/1) led by Dr Dave Glowacki (Bristol, UK).

EPSRC Grant EP/K032062/1 'Ionic-Liquid surface structures: informing applications through dynamical measurements'

I was the principal investigator on this grant, along with co-investigators Matt Costen, John Slattery and Duncan Bruce (York, UK). Our US collaborators, Tim Minton (Montana State University, USA) and George Schatz (Northwestern, USA), were funded by a parallel grant from NSF. This joint project used reactive scattering of oxygen atoms, in lower (HWU) and higher (MSU) energy regimes, to probe the structure and composition of the extreme outer layers of ionic liquids and ionic liquid crystals. The interpretation of the experiments was aided by computational molecular dynamics simulations and selected quantum scattering calculations.

EPSRC Grant EP/J017973/1 'Start the clock: a new direct method to study collisions of electronically excited molecules'

I was a co-investigator on this grant, along with Dave Townsend, while Matt Costen was the principal investigator. The project used crossed-molecular beams and velocity-map imaging to study the state-to-state stereodynamics of the scattering of electronically excited NO radicals.

Selected Publications

About me

I am Professor of Physical Chemistry at Heriot-Watt University. I have previously been Director of Research for the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences and Chairman of the ScotCHEM research-pooling initative. Before moving to Heriot-Watt in 2000, I was a Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. I was an SERC NATO Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Dick Zare at Stanford and did my DPhil at Oxford with Gus Hancock.

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