HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA | CANADA B3H 4R2 | +1 (902) 494-2211
RESEARCH
Traditionally, research in chemistry has been divided into four areas of specialization. Inorganic chemistry deals with all the chemical elements except carbon, and the compounds which these elements form. Organic chemistry is devoted to the study of the almost limitless number of compounds containing carbon. Analytical chemistry is concerned with the determination of the composition of substances, and with the detection of elements in quantities however minute. Physical chemistry provides a means of understanding the physical properties of matter and the processes of its transformations, both at the macroscopic and molecular levels. These barriers have begun to disappear as much of the current research in the Department now crosses these divisions.
Researcher profiles:
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Pyrroles, Dipyrrins and Prodigiosenes: Oh My!
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The Fascinating Nano-science and Nano-technology: Multi-component Nanoparticles
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Getting a Grip on Reactive Metals
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Charged up on Supercapacitors
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Making chemicals "shake hands"
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Investigating "Stuff"
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Nitrogen heterocycles are essential components of many naturally occurring molecules with biological or medicinal activity. Alison Thompson and her group are dedicated to finding new uses for these building blocks and producing new molecules with superior properties and therapeutic efficacy. 
Peng Zhang and his group are conducting research on metal nanoparticles (the fundamental building blocks of nano-technology). Peng is searching for new applications in catalysis and biological and biomedical technology. His research falls into the rapidly growing field of nano-science and nano-technology and centres around the studies of metal nanoparticles, the fundamental building blocks of nanotechnology. 
Laura Turculet and the members of her research group refer to themselves first and foremost as synthetic chemists – that is, they are in the business of making molecules. Laura is engaged in the design and synthesis of ancillary ligands that will endow the resulting transition metal complexes with specific properties, properties that she anticipates will lead to new reactivity and increased catalytic activity. 
The use of electrochemistry to study and optimise alternative energy storage is the focus of researcher Heather Andreas. Their research concentrates on supercapacitors, and is particularly focused on researching the causes of supercapacitor self-discharge. A more complete understanding of the self-discharge process will help the researchers in the Andreas lab to minimise or even prevent self-discharge altogether, extending the life and applicability of supercapacitors worldwide. 
Comparing a catalytic reaction to a "handshake" with two hands (the substrate and the catalyst) interlocking perfectly to fit, Mark Stradiotto targets appropriately designed metal complexes to use as catalysts to best fit certain chemical transformations. 
Josef Zwanziger is in the business of investigating "stuff" and wondering why "things" are the way they are. To be exact, the "stuff" and "things" that interest Zwanziger are materials, like optical glass and the guts of lithium-ion batteries. They´re materials that we rely upon every day, when we pick up the phone or turn on a laptop computer.