Alan Brisdon's Fluorine Research Group

This is the Home Page of Alan Brisdon's (linkedIn page) fluorine research group from the School of Chemistry at The University of Manchester, formerly UMIST. Here you will find details of our research in fluorine chemistry which covers the synthesis of inorganic, organometallic and organofluorine compounds as well as their spectroscopy, characterisation and applications. You will also find information of our group, facilities and publications.

Fluorine Chemistry underpins all of our research work

Fluorine is one of the most reactive elements in the periodic table yet some of its compounds are the most stable and least reactive; while others are more reactive than fluorine itself! It is the ability of fluorine to drastically alter the steric and electronic properties of its compounds that fascinate us.

Compounds of fluorine find applications in almost all areas of modern life. From fluoride in modern toothpaste to the many different fluorinated plastics and materials, including polytetrafluoroethene, PTFE (tradename Teflon) which is the inert plastic used in "non-stick" pans. Very many modern pharmaceutical compounds (anti-cancer, antibiotics, anti-malerials etc) include fluorine, or fluorinated groups. Fluorine is also heavily involved in environmental chemistry, for example the generation of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) arose because of the phaseout of their ozone-depleting cousins, CFCs.

Fluorine and HFC chemistry

The introduction of fluorine and fluorine-containing groups into molecules, based on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs, the replacements for CFCs) such as HFC-134a (CF₃CH₂F) and HFC-245fa (CF₃CH₂CHF₂) and related materials.

Fluorine-containing phosphines

The synthesis of fluoroalkyl, fluoroalkenyl and fluoroalkynyl fluorine-containing phosphines, their properties, coordination complexes, uses and applications in catalysis.

Fluoro-organometallics

Organofluorine-containing organometallic complexes, their structures and chemistries including catalysis, such as trifluorovinyl and trifluoropropynyl complexes of main-group and transition-metals.

Fluorine-containing materials

The synthesis of fluorine-containing functional materials, such as our work on polymer precursors, fluorographene and room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs).

Structural Fluorine Chemistry

Fluorine-containing molecules give rise to some unusual structural properties including fluorous domains and halogen-bonding, which we study by Xray crystallography.

Spectroscopy and Analysis Tools

Examples and theory behind multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, on-line tools to calculate elemental (microanalysis) figures, mass spec patterns, 31-P nmr chemical shifts for phosphines, J-coupling patterns, mass spectrometry isotope patterns and our spectroscopy database (19F, 31P and IR)

Publications

We have published in areas ranging from CFC-related compounds, HCF-chemistry, organofluorine chemistry, fluorovinyls, fluoroalkynes, fluorine-containing phosphorus ligands, fluoro-organometallic systems, catalysis, metal-fluorides coordination chemistry and ionic liquids.