DrTim Connell

Synthetic photocatalysis, the artificial equivalent of photosynthesis in plants, converts visible light (a near limitless resource) into chemical energy. This field has grown rapidly in recent, fuelled by the promise of sustainable alternatives to the conventional energy- and carbon-intensive methods for producing high-value chemicals critical to modern society. Much of this renaissance seeks to increase the scope of possible reactions. By focusing on the how and the why of light-driven reactions, Tim aims to increase understanding of the important mechanistic detail without which photocatalysis cannot evolve.

Luminescence is a sensitive mode of detection for numerous applications including bioimaging and clinical diagnostics. Tim is interested in the design of functional metal containing molecules (particularly the element iridium) capable of luminescence. These may be used to monitor the movement of proteins in live cells; their improved stabilty compared with commercially available dyes allows extended real-time imaging of uptake pathways. These molecules are also capable of electrochemiluminescence, where light is generated following stimulation by an electrical potential. This property is exploited in biological immunoassays, used widely to sensitively detect a variety of biomarkers implicated in everything from pregnancy to COVID-19.