Jumping in the Deep End:
me as a young scientist
Martyn Poliakoff (& Jon McMaster)
martyn.poliakoff@nottingham.ac.uk
Aim of my talk
How good is my idea
for a sixth form project?
About me!
•Research Professor in Chemistry,
working in Green Chemistry
•Born London (UK) 1947 (Russian father)
•My father and Russian grandfather were
both physicists
•But what about me?
My father
always
intended me
to be a
scientist
One of my
earliest
memories
Starting in Science
My first Scientific
Observation
Cold
Lying in bed
Hot
My top ear was cold and
the bottom one was hot
My “explanation”
Cold
Hot
There was a metal wire inside my head
that took heat from the top ear to the bottom
What was wrong with my
“explanation”
• Contradicts the Second Law of
Thermodynamics
“Heat cannot flow from Cold to Hot”
• Nothing metallic inside one’s body
• Could not be verified experimentally
(at least by the young me)
My “explanation”
BUT
It did suggest the correct solution
to making the top ear warmer
Turn over in bed!
Aged 8, I went to
boarding school
I wasn’t
happy!
I hated the
food and
wasn’t
good at
sport
The Problem
How could I learn to swim quickly
(and stop people making fun of me)?
The Hypothesis
If I jumped into the deep end of
the swimming pool,
I would have to swim!
The Experiment
• I jumped into the deep end
(with the whole school watching)
• I sank to the bottom and had to be
rescued with a long pole
• BUT I became the Hero of the
School!
How to become a hero in
your school
By Martyn Poliakoff
Marlborough House School
What Referees might have
said
• The experiment was only
performed once
• Cannot be used by swimmers
• The method is unreliable
Verdict – Reject!
There were NO books about
science in the school
library!
So I had to find my own
My Mother’s
Science
Book
published
1902
Take home lesson
If you really want to make
science exciting at school,
Tell the pupils that they are
forbidden from doing it!
Cathedral in Pisa
Aged nearly 14,
I start Science at School
My First
Inorganic
Chemistry
textbook
1961
I set up a lab in my parents’
basement in London
I made lots of mistakes
• I tried to distil formic acid out of
oven cleaner (HCOOH + H2O)
without knowing that the difference
in boiling points was less than 2oC
• Result: I superheated the flask
and the whole basement was
filled with fumes and had to be
evacuated!
By summer 1964, when I was 16,
I had taken all possible
Chemistry exams (A levels, etc)
So I was free to do
what I liked in the
School labs!
My “Research” topic 1964/5
What was I trying to find out?
[Cu]2+ + xNH3 + [CrO4]2[Cu(NH3)x]2+ [CrO4]2What was the value of x ?
Precipitating and Weighing
Titrations:
plotting pH
until I broke
the pH meter!
Paper Chromatography
Measuring Conductivity of the paper
Conductivity Results
Start
Electrophoresis
Colour of the Reaction Product
Copper Chromate + Ammonia is GREEN
Copper Sulphate + Ammonia is BLUE
Chromate is YELLOW
Spectroscopy??
Spectroscope
Spectrum of Sodium Lamp
Spectroscope Results
Reaction was more
complicated than I thought
Rapid Scan Spectrometer that I
built with my friend John (1964/5)
Lamp
What was wrong with my
project?
[Cu]2+ + xNH3 + [CrO4]2[Cu(NH3)x]2+ [CrO4]2No one told me that the value of x
changes as the conditions are
varied!
I went to University
• I studied Chemistry (nearly failing my
final exams!)
• I studied for a doctorate
• I became a spectroscopist and did
photochemistry!
My PhD Thesis
Moved to Newcastle upon Tyne
I designed and built apparatus for
spectroscopy & photochemistry
I moved to Nottingham in 1979
I became fascinated
by Supercritical Fluids
• Gases e.g. CO2, H2O compressed
until they are nearly as dense as
liquids
• SCFs can dissolve solids and
can be used as solvents for
chemical reactions
Green Chemistry (early 1990s)
Cleaner approaches to
making chemicals & materials
Highlighted the need
for “greener” solvents
Lab Reactor
Reactor
Pete
Licence
scCO2
Chemical
Plant
• continuous
• multipurpose
• 1000 ton p.a.
We still measure IR spectra
RCH2CH2CHO
2.4
2.2
Absorbance
2.0
RCH=CH2
RC(O)Rh(CO)3P
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
2000
Wavenumbers (cm-1)
1800
We still do
photochemistry
Cleaner ways
for making
antimalarial
drugs
Why have I been
successful?
I have had outstanding
people to advise me
My PhD supervisor
Jim Turner FRS
5 generations of PhDs
2
3
1
4
5
My “research family” tree
Norman Sheppard
Jim Turner
me
L Gmelin
JJ Berzelius
1788-1853
1779-1848
F Wöhler
H Kolbe
GBBM Sutherland
N Sheppard
HE Armstrong
TM Lowry
JJ Turner
me
Enormous thanks to my Co-workers,
Colleagues, Collaborators, Technicians
and Funders past and present
Aim of my talk
How good is my idea
for a sixth form project?
Y
O
U
N
G
Yes, it's interesting
Original, not done before?
Understandable to everyone
Not too complicated
Good advice available
S
C
I
E
N
C
E
Scientifically sound
Clear question to answer
Individual AND Group work
Existing theoretical background
Not too expensive
Could be fun
Excellent chance of success
??
??
N
N
NN
Y
N
Y
Y but
Y
Y
N
Yes, it's interesting
Original, not done before?
Understandable to everyone
Not too complicated
Good advice available
Scientifically sound
Clear question to answer
Individual AND Group work
Existing theoretical background
Not too expensive
Could be fun
Excellent chance of success
https://youtu.be/pp2
WrHc4rmI
Y
O
U
N
G
Yes, it's interesting
Original, not done before?
Understandable to everyone
Not too complicated
Good advice available
S
C
I
E
N
C
E
Scientifically sound
Clear question to answer
Individual AND Group work
Existing theoretical background
Not too expensive
Could be fun
Excellent chance of success