School of Chemistry

Steve Scott

Professor of Mathematical Chemistry
Research section: Physical Chemistry

Contact details

Keywords

Oscillations
Chaos
Chemical waves
Mathematical chemistry

Research interests

My research centres on the kinetics of reactions that show oscillations, chaos, chemical waves or pattern formation and on the application of these to areas such as combustion, chemical engineering, and model for biochemical systems. We undertake a full range of experiment, numerical modelling and mathematical theory. Recent work has concentrated on controlling the pH in chemical system and developing new pH clock reactions and oscillators in solution-phase, in dispersions of nano-sized droplets (nanoreactors) and in oxidative carbonylation reactions of relevance in organic synthesis for which several possible products can be obtained under different operating conditions. The latter is being undertaken in a joint project with colleagues in Newcastle and Durham as part of a systematic approach to determining chemical mechanisms from kinetic data.

Selected publications

S.K. Scott, Oscillations, Waves and Chaos in Chemical Kinetics, Oxford University Press, (1994)

R. McIlwaine, K. Kovacs, S.K. Scott and A.F. Taylor A novel route to pH oscillators Chem. Phys. Lett., 2006, 417, 39-42

K. Kovacs, R. McIlwaine, S.K. Scott and A.F. Taylor pH oscillations and bistability in the methylene glycol–sulfite–gluconolactone reaction Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2007, 9, 3711-6

K. Novakovic, C. Grosjean, S.K. Scott, A. Whiting, M.J. Willis and A.R. Wright Achieving pH and Qr oscillations in a palladium-catalysed phenylacetylene oxidative carbonylation reaction using an automated reactor system. Chem. Phys. Lett., 2007, 435, 142-7