Prof Christopher Baddeley

Professor

Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 3804
Email: cjb14@st-andrews.ac.uk

Research areas

My research interests lie in area of Surface Chemistry with projects in the fields of heterogeneous catalysis and corrosion inhibition. Much of our research utilises ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) techniques. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) is used to provide atomic-scale information on surface structure, while X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) provides information on surface composition. Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and surface vibrational spectroscopy (reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) and high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS)) probe the reactivity and orientation of molecular adsorbates. Recent work has mainly focused on the adsorption of triazoles and N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) on metallic and bimetallic surfaces with the aims of understanding the operation of existing corrosion inhibitors and of developing new molecular corrosion inhibitors. The adsorption of chiral NHCs on metal surfaces has been investigated with the objective of developing new chiral modifiers for enantioselective heterogeneous catalysis. Techniques are also available for characterisation of surfaces at the liquid-solid interface or under controlled gas environments to facilitate measurements on samples under more realistic conditions. For example, the use of IR-based techniques to probe molecular adsorption on powder catalysts. In addition, the predictions from UHV-based model investigations on chiral surfaces are tested by carrying out hydrogenation reactions on novel catalysts at high pressure.

PhD supervision

Ines Bertaso
Michel Zeitoun

Selected publications

Open access
Investigating the effect of zinc on the behaviour of the copper corrosion inhibitor benzotriazole at a molecular scale
Rossin, A. J., Grillo, F., Hunt, G. J. & Baddeley, C. J., 15 May 2026, In: Applied Surface Science. 728, 11 p., 165948.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
One-dimensional heterocyclic carbene–Au metal–organic frameworks bridging ultra-high vacuum models and scalable liquid-phase growth
Cielo, L., Cattelan, M., Schio, L., Longo, L., Grillo, F., Qie, B., Wang, Z., Floreano, L., Baddeley, C. J., Sedona, F., Tubaro, C., Fischer, F. R. & Agnoli, S., 28 Feb 2026, In: Applied Surface Science. 720, Part C, 10 p., 165322.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Understanding the passivation layer formed by tolyltriazole on copper, bronze, and brass surfaces
Rossin, A. J., Grillo, F., Francis, S. M., Miller, D. N., Rossall, A. K., van den Berg, J. A., Hunt, G. J. & Baddeley, C. J., 1 Oct 2024, In: Applied Surface Science. 669, 8 p., 160585.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Adsorption of the prototypical organic corrosion inhibitor benzotriazole on the Cu(100) surface
Turano, M., Walker, M., Grillo, F., Gattinoni, C., Hunt, G., Kirkman, P., Richardson, N. V., Baddeley, C. J. & Costantini, G., Oct 2022, In: Corrosion Science. 207, 10 p., 110589.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Highly ordered N-heterocyclic carbene monolayers on Cu(111)
Angove, E., Grillo, F., Fruchtl, H. A., Veinot, A. J., Singh, I., Horton, J. H., Crudden, C. M. & Baddeley, C. J., 24 Feb 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. 13, 8, p. 2051-2056
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Surface confined hydrogenation of graphene nanoribbons
Sung, Y.-Y., Vejayan, H., Baddeley, C. J., Grillo, F., Richardson, N. V. & Schaub, R., 26 Jul 2022, In: ACS Nano. 16, 7, p. 10281–10291 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Thermal behaviour of Cu and Au nanoparticles grown on CeO₂ thin films
Megginson, R., Grillo, F., Francis, S. M., Paes, V. Z. C., Trombini, H., Grande, P. L., Rossall, A. K., van den Berg, J. A. & Baddeley, C. J., 28 Oct 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Applied Surface Science. In press, 151656.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Understanding the interaction of organic corrosion inhibitors with copper at the molecular scale: benzotriazole on Cu(110)
Turano, M., Walker, M., Grillo, F., Gattinoni, C., Edmondson, J., Adesida, O., Hunt, G., Kirkman, P., Richardson, N. V., Baddeley, C. J., Michaelides, A. & Costantini, G., 30 Dec 2021, In: Applied Surface Science. 570, 151206.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
N-heterocyclic carbenes reduce and functionalize copper oxide surfaces in one pot
Veinot, A., Al-Rashed, A., Padmos, J. D., Singh, I., Lee, D. S., Narouz, M. R., Lummis, P. A., Baddeley, C. J., Crudden, C. M. & Horton, J. H., 7 Aug 2020, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Chemistry - A European Journal. Early View
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Phenylacetylene hydrogenation coupled with benzyl alcohol dehydrogenation over Cu/CeO₂: a consideration of Cu oxidation state
Pischetola, C., Francis, S. M., Grillo, F., Baddeley, C. J. & Cárdenas-Lizana, F., 13 Nov 2020, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Catalysis. In press
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

See more publications

Breadcrumbs navigation