Office: CAP 2.07 Email: c.pickett@uea.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1603-592486 School Position: Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Energy Materials Laboratory.

PhD Studentship available: Hydrogen Chemistry Related to the Hydrogenases

Chris Pickett joined UEA as Professor of Chemistry in October 2005. He completed his PhD in the Southampton Electrochemistry Group under the guidance of Professor Derek Pletcher in 1975 and was then appointed to the staff of the Unit of Nitrogen Fixation at the University of Sussex. which was then directed by the late Professor Joseph Chatt FRS. He was awarded the Silver Medal for Chemistry and Electrochemistry of the Transition Metals by the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1993 for his work on Nitrogen Fixation which included the discovery of a route for the electrosynthesis of ammonia (Nature 1985, 317, 652).

In July 2009 Chris received the Royal Society of Chemistry Ludwig Mond Award for fundamental contributions to bioinorganic chemistry and electrochemistry (click HERE to view).

 

His group is currently researching into the chemistry of the metallo-sulfur hydrogenase enzymes, (see Chem. Rev., 2009, 109, Issue: 6, Pages: 2245-2274). These enzymes catalyse the reversible uptake/evolution of dihydrogen, chemistry which is of potential technological importance to clean energy transduction. The research has received widespread coverage in the scientific press [Science 2003, ACS Chemistry 2004, Chem. Eng. News 2005 (Feb), New Scientist 2005, Chem. Eng. News 2005(Dec), Fuel Cell Today 2005] with a paper in Nature on the assembly of the H-cluster framework chosen as one of the top twenty publications in chemistry for the year 2005 by Chem. Eng. News.

Recently the group has extended its interests to include artificial photosynthesis, looking at solar driven carbon dioxide fixation linked to alkane oxidation. This is a chemistry ‘grand challenge’, undertaken in collaboration with researchers from five UK laboratories, the SolarCAP Consortium (http://www.solarcap.org.uk). The group also participates in the Supergen V biofuel cells programme, with particular emphasis on structuring electrode interfaces for artificial, enzymic or microbial energy transduction.

Studies on incorporating natural and synthetic clusters in aminoacid/peptide functionalised electropolymers for electrocatalysis led to the recognition of the wider value of these electropolymer materials. In 2002, Chameleon Biosurfaces Ltd was founded to exploit their use as coatings for medical implant devices; the company has its research laboratory based in the School and has received funding from ICENI , Rainbow VCF,and other seed-corn funds.

• Professor Invité, Université de Bretagne Occidentale 1992 - 3
• European Community Chemistry Panel 1997,1998, 2004
• Associate Head of Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre 2001 -2005
• Founder, Chameleon Biosurfaces Ltd., 2002
• RSC Ludwig Mond Award, 2009

Selected Publications

The third hydrogenase: a ferracyclic carbamoyl with close structural analogy to the active site of Hmd.
P. J. Turrell, J. A. Wright, J. N. T. Peck, V. S. Oganesyan and C. J. Pickett, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2010, 49, 7508-7511 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201004189

Structural and Functional Analogues of the Active Sites of the [Fe]-, [NiFe]-, and [FeFe]-Hydrogenases.  
Tard C, Pickett CJ.  CHEMICAL REVIEWS Volume: 109 Issue: 6 Pages: 2245-2274 Published: JUN 2009 DOI:10.1021/cr800542q

Artificial hydrogenases: assembly of an H-cluster analogue within a functionalised poly(pyrrole) matrix.
S .K.Ibrahim, P-M. Woi, Y Alias and C.J.Pickett, Chem. Commun., 2010, 46, 8149 – 8191, DOI: 10.1039/c0cc02962a

Modeling [Fe-Fe] Hydrogenase: Evidence for Bridging Carbonyl and Distal Iron Coordination Vacancy in an Electrocatalytically Competent Proton Reduction by an Iron Thiolate Assembly That Operates through Fe(0)-Fe(II) Levels.  
M H Cheah, C Tard, SJ Borg, X Liu, SK Ibrahim , CJ Pickett and SP Best.  J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2007 129 11085 -11092, 2007. 

Synthesis of the H-Cluster Framework of Iron-Only Hydrogenase
C. Tard, X. Liu. S. K. Ibrahim, M. Bruschi, L. De Gioia, S. Davies, X. Yang, L-S. Wang, G. Sawers and C. J. Pickett
Nature, 2005, 434, 610 – 613.  DOI:  10.1038/nature03298.