Dr Sebastian Sprick

Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow

Pure and Applied Chemistry

Contact

Personal statement

I obtained my PhD in 2013 from The University of Manchester under the supervision of Prof. Michael Turner working on N-heterocyclic palladium carbene catalysts for polytriarylamine synthesis. After this I moved to the University of Liverpool working with Prof. Andrew Cooper as a postdoctoral research associate on soluble conjugated microporous polymers (C-PIMs) and water splitting using conjugated microporous polymers as photocatalysts. In 2015 started my new role as a Research Lead within the group leading the photocatalysis research. In 2020 I started my independent career as a Strathclyde Chancellor’s Fellow.

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Publications

Processing polymer photocatalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution
Lyons Richard Jack, Sprick Reiner Sebastian
Materials Horizons Vol 11, pp. 3764-3791 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4MH00482E
Films of linear conjugated polymer as photoanodes for oxidation reactions
Chai Shuming, Zhao Shun, Su Jiaxin, Zhang Jinshui, Chen Xiong, Sprick Reiner Sebastian, Fang Yuanxing
Chemical Science (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SC03512G
Non-conventional bulk heterojunction nanoparticle photocatalysts for sacrificial hydrogen evolution from water
Mistry Jai-Ram, McQueen Ewan, Nudelman Fabio, Sprick Reiner Sebastian, Wright Iain
Journal of Materials Chemistry. A Vol 12, pp. 23411-23415 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TA03584D
Conjugated polymer/recombinant Escherichia coli biohybrid systems for photobiocatalytic hydrogen production
Yang Ying, Zwijnenburg Martijn A, Gardner Adrian M, Adamczyk Sylwia, Yang Jing, Sun Yaqi, Jiang Qiuyao, Cowan Alexander J, Sprick Reiner Sebastian, Liu Lu-Ning, Cooper Andrew I
ACS Nano Vol 18, pp. 13484-13495 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.3c10668
Polymer photocatalysts with side-chain induced planarity for increased activity for sacrificial hydrogen production from water
Lyons Richard J, Yang Ying, McQueen Ewan, Luo Liang, Cooper Andrew I, Zwijnenburg Martijn A, Sprick Reiner Sebastian
Advanced Energy Materials Vol 14 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202303680
From StrathCEKO to StrathCAN : building a community of climate education ambassadors from the bottom up in a higher education institution
Strachan Scott, Quirke William, Sprick Reiner Sebastian, Gallou Eirini, Collins Robert, Faulkner Suzanne
11th Annual International Conference on Sustainable Development (2023)

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Research Interests

The goal of my group is to address challenges in sustainability. In particular we are aiming to make so-called ‘solar fuels’ (e.g. hydrogen and carbon monoxide) only using renewable resources and sunlight. For this we make organic materials that act as photocatalysts to drive reactions, such as water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction. We utilise a range of different materials, such as small oligomers, polymers, conjugated microporous polymers and conjugated organic frameworks. The modularity and structural diversity of the available building blocks allows for excellent fine tuning of the properties of these organic materials thus optimising their performance. Finally, we are interested in large scale application and working towards making demonstrator devices.

Professional Activities

82nd World Science Fiction Convention: Climate Fresk Workshop
Presenter
5/8/2024
Keynote presentation: “Conjugated polymer photocatalysts for water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction” R. S. Sprick, 24th International Conference on Photochemical Conversion and Storage of solar Energy / International Conference on Artificial Photosynthesis (IPS-24/ICARP2024), Hiroshima, Japan, 28/07/24-02/08/24
Speaker
29/7/2024
Invited departmental seminar: “Sustainable fuels from light: Conjugated polymer photocatalysts for water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction” R. S. Sprick, Department of Applied Chemistry, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan, 26/07/24
Speaker
26/7/2024
Invited contribution: “Using light, water, and carbon dioxide to make fuels: Conjugated polymer photocatalysts for solar fuels generation” R. S. Sprick, ScotChem Polymer & Soft Materials III Conference
Speaker
13/6/2024
Invited departmental seminar: “Sustainable fuels from light: Conjugated polymer photocatalysts for water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction” R. S. Sprick, Faculty of Science, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand, 15/03/24
Speaker
15/3/2024
Invited departmental seminar: “Sustainable fuels from light: Conjugated polymer photocatalysts for water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction” R. S. Sprick, Department of Materials Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, 13/03/24
Speaker
13/3/2024

More professional activities

Projects

Scalable conjugated photocatalysts for visible light-driven photoelectrochemical hydrogen production coupled to plastic waste reforming
Sprick, Seb (Principal Investigator)
31-Mar-2024 - 30-Mar-2026
Efficient 3D-printed polymer photocatalyst composites for sustainable hydrogen production
Sprick, Seb (Principal Investigator)
01-Mar-2024 - 28-Feb-2025
Visit to Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology to learn about polymerisation techniques
Sprick, Seb (Principal Investigator)
27-Aug-2023 - 28-Sep-2023
EPSRC IAA: PE/ citizen science additional allocation
Sprick, Seb (Co-investigator)
01-Apr-2022 - 31-Mar-2025
EPSRC IAA: Standardised metrology of electrical characteristics of carbon fibre composites
Minty, Ross (Academic) Sprick, Seb (Academic) Jones, Catherine (Co-investigator) Seferi, Yljon (Research Co-investigator)
01-Apr-2022 - 31-Mar-2025
Conjugated polymers bearing on-chain metal complexes for photoelectrochemical carbon dioxide reduction
Sprick, Seb (Principal Investigator)
01-Apr-2022 - 30-Nov-2022

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Contact

Dr Sebastian Sprick
Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow
Pure and Applied Chemistry

Email: sebastian.sprick@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 4760