Emeritus Professor Patrick W. Fowler, FRS
FRS
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Chemistry
Full contact details
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Dainton Building
13 Brook Hill
葫芦影业
S3 7HF
- Profile
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Professor Fowler obtained a BSc in Chemistry from the University of 葫芦影业 in 1977, after which he obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the same university in 1980. He was a SERC Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cambridge from 1980 to 1983.
In 1984 he became a Senior Demonstrator at the University of Durham, followed by a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Cambridge in 1985. In 1985 he became a Lecturer in Physical Chemistry at the University of Exeter, where he was promoted to Reader in 1990 and Professor in 1995. In 2005 he became professor of Theoretical Chemistry at the University of 葫芦影业. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2012.
Awards
- RSC Corday-Morgan Medal (1992)
- RSC Tilden Lecturer (2004/5)
- Professeur Invit茅, Ecole Nationale Sup茅rieure, Paris (1996-2005)
- Royal-Society-Wolfson Research Merit Award (2004-2009)
- Professeur Invit茅, Universit茅 Paul Sabatier, Toulouse (2007)
- Qualifications
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- FRS
- MRSC
- Research interests
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Aromaticity:
Attribution of aromaticity to a molecule is associated with a loose cluster of criteria based on geometric, energetic and reactivity properties, but one persuasive definition is based on magnetic properties: ability to sustain an induced diatropic ring current. Using modern ipsocentric methods it is possible to perform calculations that map the currents, giving a direct quantitative visualisation of aromaticity and anti-aromaticity, but also explaining the patterns of current in terms of orbitals, energies, nodes and symmetry the standard toolkit of qualitative chemical theory.
Our most recent work includes a qualitative `band theory麓 of the currents in giant graphite-flake molecules. Two new projects investigate the magnetic response of `exotic carbon nanostructures麓, including toroidal and M枚bius-twisted carbon (PhD research project of David Bean) and the connection between induced currents and the ballistic currents in single-molecule devices (PhD research project of Tsanka Todorova). We are working on ring-current aspects of the many proposed types of aromaticity, aiming to supply symmetry/topological criteria for each. We have strong collaborations in this area with Physical Organic and Theoretical Chemistry groups in Utrecht, Warsaw, Modena, Salerno and Toulouse.
Fullerenes:
We are exploring the systematic theoretical chemistry of the fullerenes based on classical chemical ideas e.g. the 60+6k `leapfrog principle麓 equivalent of H眉ckel麓s 4n+2 rule. A series of papers and a book, the `Atlas of Fullerenes麓 (OUP, now in Dover), have contributed to a comprehensive qualitative theory of the fullerenes using graphs, groups, and discrete mathematics to derive principles for enumeration, geometry, electronic structure, spectroscopic signature, isomerisation, growth & destruction, and reactivity.
Rationalisation of stoichiometry, structure, symmetry of species such as fully brominated C60Br24 by purely combinatoric arguments led to our ongoing investigation of `closed-shell independence numbers麓. We are collaborating on graph-theoretical aspects of fullerenes with Mathematics and Computer Science groups at the Universities of Ghent, Malta and Victoria (BC).
Gas-phase reactionsMolecular properties:
Two areas of longstanding interest are the properties of weak complexes, modelled using electrostatic and other considerations from the theory of intermolecular forces, and the properties of ions in crystals, where the focus is on computation of the drastic effects of the crystalline environment on electric properties especially of anions, and the interpretation of these changes in terms of electrostatic and overlap models.
Interdisciplinary:
Group theory as used by chemists has applications in many neighbouring fields. Symmetry generalisations of engineering principles such as Maxwell麓s Rule and Mobility Criteria, symmetry aspects of mathematical theorems such as the Euler Theorem, and symmetry in packing and covering problems are being investigated with research collaborators in Cambridge, Leuven and Budapest.
- Publications
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Books
Journal articles
- Ring currents in a proposed system containing planar hexacoordinate carbon, CB(2-)(6).. Chemistry, 8(5), 1068-1073.
- Ring currents in the porphyrins: a four-orbital model.. Chemphyschem, 3(1), 114-116.
- Gegenl盲ufige Ringstr枚me in Coronen und Corannulen. Angewandte Chemie, 113(2), 375-379.
60 F18 O: Isolation, spectroscopic characterisation and structural calculations. Journal of the Chemical Society. Perkin Transactions 2(7), 1319-1322.
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Chapters
Conference proceedings papers
- Teaching interests
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Physical & Theoretical Chemistry; Mathematics; Physics
- Teaching activities
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Undergraduate and postgraduate taught modules
- Atoms and the periodic table (Level 1)
This course introduces theories of the structure of atoms, with particular emphasis on electronic structure. An exploration of the consequences of the shell structure of atoms with regard to periodicity is included as well. - Quantum mechanics (Level 2)
This lecture course follows on from the qualitative introductory material concerned with atomic and molecular electronic structure in Level 1. It provides an introduction to quantum mechanics and some examples. - Graph Theory for Chemists (Level 4)
This course describes some qualitative methods based on graph theory to illustrate their power as tools for understanding electronic structure and molecular properties of conjugated systems.
Laboratory Teaching:
- Level 4 Research Project
- Atoms and the periodic table (Level 1)