Dr Colin L Freeman

PhD, MSci Chemistry

School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering

Senior Lecturer in Materials Simulation

Director of Materials Education

Profile photo of Colin Freeman
Profile picture of Profile photo of Colin Freeman
c.l.freeman@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 5965
Sir Robert Hadfield Building

Full contact details

Dr Colin L Freeman
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
Profile

I was awarded an MSci in Chemistry from University College London in 2002, then moved to the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bristol where I studied for a PhD in Simulations of Solid Solutions and Interfaces (awarded 2005). I continued at Bristol as a research associate for six months, before moving to Sheffield in 2006.

At Sheffield, I pioneered research into atomic simulations of the material-molecule interface for the study of biominerals. Since completing this project I have been working on a range of simulation projects including functional ceramics, molecular decay, biominerals, nuclear materials, metals and interfaces. I was made a lecturer in materials simulation in September 2012 and senior lecturer in 2018. I was awarded the CCP5 prize in 2022.

Research interests

I use atomic scale computer simulations to model a range of different material systems. These simulations try to use fundamental chemistry and physics modelled through quantum and classical mechanics to understand the structure, properties and the nucleation of material phases. My simulations examine a range of materials with primary specialisation in looking at mineral-liquid-molecular interfaces and functional ceramics.

Key research interests

  • Biomineralisation
  • Functional Ceramics - dielectrics and batteries
  • Molecular binding, decay and survival on material surfaces
  • High entropy materials
  • Nucleation and growth of inorganic salts
     
Publications

Journal articles

  • Di Pasquale N, Algaba J, Montero de Hijes P, Sanchez-Burgos I, Tejedor AR, Yeandel SR, Blas FJ, Davidchack RL, Espinosa JR, Freeman CL , Harding JH et al (2025) . Chemical Reviews, 125(10).
  • Armstrong E, Yeandel SR, Harding JH & Freeman CL (2025) . Langmuir, 41(12), 8092-8105.
  • Freeman CL, Dieudonn矇 L, Agbaje OBA, 鬚ure M, Sanz JQ, Collins M & Sand KK (2023) . Environmental DNA, 5(6), 1691-1705.
  • Galloway JM, Aslam ZP, Yeandel SR, Kulak A, Ilett MA, Kim Y-Y, Bejarano-Villafuerte A, Pokroy B, Drummond-Brydson RM, Freeman CL , Harding JH et al (2023) . Chemical Science, 14(24), 6705-6715.
  • Handley CM, Ward RE, Freeman CL, Reaney IM, Sinclair DC & Harding JH (2023) . Acta Crystallographica Section A Foundations and Advances, 79(2), 163-170.
  • Handley CM, Gao E, Heath JP, Sinclair DC & Freeman CL (2023) . Acta Materialia, 246.
  • Anand G, Ghosh S, Zhang L, Anupam A, Freeman CL, Ortner C, Eisenbach M & Kermode JR (2023) . Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India): Series D, 104(2), 867-877.
  • Freeman CL & Harding JH (2023) . Journal of Crystal Growth, 603.
  • Fonseca B, Freeman CL & Collins MJ (2022) . Chemical Physics, 561, 111602-111602.
  • Yeandel S, Freeman C & Harding J (2022) . The Journal of Chemical Physics, 157(8).
  • Fantauzzo V, Yeandel SR, Freeman CL & Harding JH (2022) . Journal of Physics Communications, 6(5).
  • Ilett M, Freeman HM, Aslam Z, Galloway JM, Klebl DP, Muench SP, McPherson IJ, Cespedes O, Kim Y, Meldrum FC , Yeandel SR et al (2022) . Journal of Microscopy, 288(3), 155-168.
  • Marinova V, Freeman CL & Harding JH (2022) . Faraday Discussions, 235, 289-306.
  • Ben L, Li L, Harding JH, Freeman CL & Sinclair DC (2022) . Open Ceramics, 9.
  • Stavroulakis P, Freeman CL, Patel D, Utton C & Goodall R (2022) . Materialia, 21.
  • Morales-Garc穩a AL, Walton R, Blakeman JT, Banwart SA, Harding JH, Geoghegan M, Freeman CL & Rolfe SA (2021) . Langmuir, 37(32), 9838-9850.
  • Anand G, Eisenbach M, Goodall R & Freeman CL (2020) . Scripta Materialia, 185, 159-164.
  • Finney AR, Innocenti Malini R, Freeman CL & Harding JH (2020) . Crystal Growth & Design, 20(5), 3077-3092.
  • Ward RE, Freeman CL, Dean JS, Sinclair DC & Harding JH (2020) . Advanced Functional Materials, 30(6).
  • Garcia NA, Malini RI, Freeman CL, Demichelis R, Raiteri P, Sommerdijk NAJM, Harding JH & Gale JD (2019) . Crystal Growth & Design, 19(11), 6422-6430.
  • Innocenti Malini R, L. Freeman C & Harding JH (2019) . CrystEngComm, 21(42), 6354-6364.
  • Finney A, Lectez S, Freeman C, Harding J & Stackhouse S (2019) . Chemistry A European Journal, 25(37), 8725-8740.
  • Allan NL, Thomas L, Hart JN, Freeman CL & Mohn CE (2019) . Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 46(2), 193-202.
  • Grimley ED, Wynn AP, Kelley KP, Sachet E, Dean JS, Freeman CL, Maria J-P & LeBeau JM (2018) . Journal of Applied Physics, 124(20).
  • Kumar V, Barbe J, Schmidt WL, Tsevas K, Ozkan B, Handley CM, Freeman CL, Sinclair DC, Reaney IM, Tsoi WC , Dunbar A et al (2018) . Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 6(46), 23578-23586.
  • Anand G, Wynn AP, Handley CM & Freeman CL (2018) . Acta Materialia, 146, 119-125.
  • Demichelis R, Garcia NA, Raiteri P, Innocenti Malini R, Freeman CL, Harding JH & Gale JD (2018) . Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 122(4), 1471-1483.
  • Innocenti Malini R, Finney AR, Hall SA, Freeman CL & Harding JH (2017) . Crystal Growth & Design, 17(11), 5811-5822.
  • Kim Y-Y, Freeman CL, Gong X, Levenstein MA, Wang Y, Kulak A, Anduix-Canto C, Lee PA, Li S, Chen L , Christenson HK et al (2017) . Angewandte Chemie, 129(39), 12047-12052.
  • Kim Y-Y, Freeman CL, Gong X, Levenstein MA, Wang Y, Kulak A, Anduix-Canto C, Lee PA, Li S, Chen L , Christenson HK et al (2017) . Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 56(39), 11885-11890.
  • Morshead FH, Foeller PY, Freeman CL, Zhang H, Reaney IM, Sinclair DC & Dean JS (2017) . Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 37(8), 2795-2801.
  • Handley CM & Freeman CL (2017) . Phys Chem Chem Phys, 19(21), 14185-14186.
  • Handley CM & Freeman CL (2017) . Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 19(3), 2313-2321.
  • Anand G, Goodall R & Freeman CL (2016) . Scripta Materialia, 124, 90-94.
  • Demarchi B, Hall S, Roncal-Herrero T, Freeman CL, Woolley J, Crisp MK, Wilson J, Fotakis A, Fischer R, Kessler BM , Jersie-Christensens RR et al (2016) . eLife, 5.
  • Kim YY, Carloni JD, Demarchi B, Sparks D, Reid DG, Kunitake ME, Tang CC, Duer MJ, Freeman CL, Pokroy B , Penkman K et al (2016) . Nature Materials, 15(8), 903-910.
  • Malini RI, Bushuev YG, Hall SA, Freeman CL, Rodger PM & Harding JH (2016) . CrystEngComm, 18(1), 92-101.
  • Sparks DJ, Romero-Gonzalez ME, El-Taboni E, Freeman CL, Hall SA, Kakonyi G, Swanson L, Banwart SA & Harding JH (2015) . Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 17, 27357-27357.
  • Freeman CL, Harding JH, Quigley D & Rodger PM (2015) . Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 17(26), 17494-17500.
  • Dawson JA, Sinclair DC, Harding JH & Freeman CL (2014) . Chemistry of Materials, 26(21), 6104-6112.
  • Freeman CL & Harding JH (2014) . Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 118(3), 1506-1514.
  • Harding JH, Freeman CL & Duffy DM (2014) . Crystengcomm, 16(8), 1430-1438.
  • (2013) . Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 1(48), 8222-8222.
  • Wright LB, Freeman CL & Walsh TR (2013) . Molecular Simulation, 39(13), 1093-1102.
  • Stennett MC, Casey LD, Corkhill CL, Freeman CL, Gandy AS, Heath PG, Pinnock IJ, Reid DP & Hyatt NC (2013) . Ceramic Transactions, 241, 11-22.
  • Dean J, Thomson K, Hollands L, Bates J, Carter M, Freeman C, Kapranos P & Goodall R (2013) . Physics Education, 48(4), 465-471.
  • Dawson JA, Freeman CL, Harding JH & Sinclair DC (2013) . Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 200, 310-316.
  • Co簾t矇 AS, Freeman CL, Darkins R & Duffy DM (2013) . Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 117(14), 7148-7153.
  • Darkins R, C繫t矇 AS, Duffy DM & Freeman CL (2013) . Journal of Crystal Growth.
  • Freeman CL, Dawson JA, Chen HR, Ben L, Harding JH, Morrison FD, Sinclair DC & West AR (2013) . Advanced Functional Materials, 23(31), 3925-3928.
  • Freeman CL, Hu Q, Nielsen MH, Tao J, De Yoreo JJ & Harding JH (2013) . Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 117(10), 5154-5163.
  • Dawson JA, Li X, Freeman CL, Harding JH & Sinclair DC (2013) The application of a new potential model to the rare-earth doping of SrTiO3 and CaTiO3 (vol 1, pg 1574, 2013). JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C, 1(48), 8222-8222.
  • Dawson JA, Li X, Freeman CL, Harding JH & Sinclair DC (2013) . JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C, 1(8), 1574-1582.
  • Stennett MC, Backhouse DJ, Freeman CL & Hyatt NC (2013) . Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, 1518, 111-116.
  • Freeman CL, Dawson JA, Harding JH, Ben LB & Sinclair DC (2013) . Advanced Functional Materials, 23(4), 491-495.
  • Hu Q, Nielsen MH, Freeman CL, Hamm LM, Tao J, Lee JRI, Han TYJ, Becker U, Harding JH, Dove PM & De Yoreo JJ (2012) . Faraday Discussions, 159, 509-523.
  • Stennett MC, Freeman CL, Gandy AS & Hyatt NC (2012) Crystal structure and non-stoichiometry of cerium brannerite: Ce 0.975Ti 2O 5.95. Journal of Solid State Chemistry.
  • Stennett MC, Freeman CL, Gandy AS & Hyatt NC (2012) . Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 192, 172-178.
  • Freeman CL, Harding JH, Quigley D & Rodger PM (2012) . Phys Chem Chem Phys, 14(20), 7287-7295.
  • Harding JH, Freeman CL, Quigley D & Rodger PM (2012) Nucleation and growth of biomaterials: The role of simulations for understanding, 295-311.
  • Chen HR, Freeman CL & Harding JH (2011) . PHYS REV B, 84(8).
  • Dawson JA, Freeman CL, Ben LB, Harding JH & Sinclair DC (2011) . J APPL PHYS, 109(8).
  • Freeman CL, Dawson JA, Chen HR, Harding JH, Ben LB & Sinclair DC (2011) . J MATER CHEM, 21(13), 4861-4868.
  • Freeman CL, Harding JH, Quigley D & Rodger PM (2011) . J PHYS CHEM C, 115(16), 8175-8183.
  • Macluskey M, Durham J, Balmer C, Bell A, Cowpe J, Dawson L, Freeman C, Hanson C, McDonagh A, Jones J , Millsopp L et al (2011) . European Journal of Dental Education, 15(4), 244-249.
  • Quigley D, Freeman CL, Harding JH & Rodger PM (2011) . J Chem Phys, 134(4), 044703.
  • Hrkac G, Woodcock TG, Freeman C, Goncharov A, Dean J, Schrefl T & Gutfleisch O (2010) . Applied Physics Letters, 97(23).
  • Durham J, Balmer C, Bell A, Cowan G, Cowpe J, Crean SJ, Dawson L, Evans A, Freeman C, Jones J , Macluskey M et al (2010) . European Journal of Dental Education, 14(4), 210-214.
  • Dean J, Bryan MT, Hrkac G, Goncharov A, Freeman CL, Bashir MA, Schrefl T & Allwood DA (2010) . J APPL PHYS, 108(7).
  • Freeman CL, Harding JH, Quigley D & Rodger PM (2010) . Angewandte Chemie, 122(30), 5261-5263.
  • Freeman CL, Harding JH, Quigley D & Rodger PM (2010) . Angew Chem Int Ed Engl, 49(30), 5135-5137.
  • Quigley D, Rodger PM, Freeman CL, Harding JH & Duffy DM (2009) . J CHEM PHYS, 131(9).
  • Harding JH, Freeman CL, Quigley D & Rodger PM (2009) Controlling crystal growth using organic molecules, biomolecules, and arrays. ABSTR PAP AM CHEM S, 238.
  • Harding JH, Freeman CL, Yang MJ, Cooke DJ, Elliott JA, Duffy DM, Lardge J, Quigley D & Rodger PM (2009) Models for the nucleation and growth of calcium carbonate. ABSTR PAP AM CHEM S, 238.
  • Freeman CL, Asteriadis I, Yang MJ & Harding JH (2009) . J PHYS CHEM C, 113(9), 3666-3673.
  • Claeyssens F, Freeman CL, Harding JH & Allan NL (2008) A theoretical study of ultra-thin films with the wurtzite and zinc blende structures. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, 1035, 122-127.
  • Freeman CL, Harding JH & Duffy DM (2008) . Langmuir, 24(17), 9607-9615.
  • Macluskey M, Durham J, Cowan G, Cowpe J, Evans A, Freeman C, Jephcott A, Jones J, Millsopp L, Oliver R , Renton T et al (2008) . European Journal of Dental Education, 12(1), 48-58.
  • Freeman CL, Harding JH, Cooke DJ, Elliott JA, Lardge JS & Duffy DM (2007) . J PHYS CHEM C, 111(32), 11943-11951.
  • Allan NL, Barrera GD, Lavrentiev MY, Freeman CL, Todorov IT & Purton JA (2006) . COMPUTATIONAL MATERIALS SCIENCE, 36(1-2), 42-48.
  • Freeman CL, Claeyssens F, Allan NL & Harding JH (2006) . Phys Rev Lett, 96(6), 066102.
  • Freeman CL, Allan NL & van Westrenen W (2006) . PHYSICAL REVIEW B, 74(13).
  • Lavrentiev MY, van Westrenen W, Allan NL, Freeman CL & Purton JA (2006) . CHEMICAL GEOLOGY, 225(3-4), 336-346.
  • Purton JA, Allan NL, Lavrentiev MY, Todorov IT & Freeman CL (2006) . CHEMICAL GEOLOGY, 225(3-4), 176-188.
  • Freeman CL, Lavrentiev MY, Allan NL, Purton JA & van Westrenen W (2005) . JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE-THEOCHEM, 727(1-3), 199-204.
  • Mohn CE, Allan NL, Freeman CL, Ravindran P & Stolen S (2005) . JOURNAL OF SOLID STATE CHEMISTRY, 178(1), 346-355.
  • Claeyssens F, Freeman CL, Allan NL, Sun Y, Ashfold MNR & Harding JH (2005) . J MATER CHEM, 15(1), 139-148.
  • Mohn CE, Allan NL, Freeman CL, Ravindran P & Stoelen S (2004) . ChemInform, 35(38).
  • Mohn CE, Allan NL, Freeman CL, Ravindran P & Stolen S (2004) . PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS, 6(12), 3052-3055.
  • Todorov IT, Allan NL, Lavrentiev MY, Freeman CL, Mohn CE & Purton JA (2004) . JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-CONDENSED MATTER, 16(27), S2751-S2770.
  • Anderson M, Bennett M, Cedeno R, Dudek MK, Fichthorn K, Finney AR, Ford I, Freeman C, Hare A, Hewson C , Hill A et al () . Faraday Discussions, 235, 383-405.
  • Robens E, Rauschen R, Kaub J, Parras JP, Kemp D, Freeman CL & De Souza RA () . Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 10(5), 2388-2397.
  • Dimosthenous S, Handley CM, Blackburn LR, Freeman CL & Hyatt NC () . RSC Advances, 11(41), 25179-25186.
  • Bye JW, Freeman CL, Howard JD, Herz G, McGregor J & Falconer RJ () . Journal of Solution Chemistry.

Conference proceedings

  • Harding J, Freeman C, Fantauzzo V, Armstrong E, Marinova V & Yeandel S (2021) . Goldschmidt2021 abstracts, 4 July 2021 - 9 July 2021.
  • Harding J, Freeman C, Finney A & Malini RI (2018) Understanding the mechanisms of biomineralisation: a grand challenge. Abstracts of papers of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 255. New Orleans, LA, 18 March 2018 - 18 March 2018.
  • Yandun Z, Freeman CL, Lin Y, LiJin T, Xijun L, Juntao W & Han W (2015) Exploring the mixing properties of ceramic materials. 14th Biennial Worldwide Congress on Unified International Technical Conference on Refractories Unitecr 2015 in Conjunction with the 58th International Colloquium on Refractories
  • Yandun Z, Freeman CL, Lin Y, LiJin T, Xijun L, Juntao W & Han W (2015) Exploring the mixing properties of ceramic materials. 14th Biennial Worldwide Congress on Unified International Technical Conference on Refractories, UNITECR 2015, in conjunction with the 58th International Colloquium on Refractories
  • Rodger PM, Quigley D, Harding JH & Freeman CL (2010) Simulating crystal nucleation: Seeing the infrequent with Molecular dynamics. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA, Vol. 74(12) (pp A875-A875)
  • Freeman CL, Harding JH, Allan NL & Pinilla C (2009) Adsorption and segregation at surfaces in minerals and biominerals. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA, Vol. 73(13) (pp A396-A396)
  • Duffy DM, Freeman CL, Harding JH, Quigley D & Rodger PM (2009) Modelling biomineralization processes. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA, Vol. 73(13) (pp A311-A311)
  • Freeman CL, Claeyssens F, Allan NL & Harding JH (2006) . JOURNAL OF CRYSTAL GROWTH, Vol. 294(1) (pp 111-117)

Other

  • Finney AR, Lectez S, Freeman CL, Harding JH & Stackhouse S (2019) . Chemistry - A European Journal, 25(37).

Preprints

  • Di Pasquale N, Algaba J, de Hijes PM, Sanchez-Burgos I, Tejedor AR, Yeandel SR, Blas FJ, Davidchack RL, Espinosa JR, Freeman CL , Harding JH et al (2024) , arXiv.
  • Fonseca B, Freeman CL & Collins MJ (2024) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Freeman CL, Dieudonn矇 L, Agbaje OBA, Zure M, Sanz JQ, Collins M & Sand KK (2020) .
  • Anand G, Eisenbach M, Goodall R & Freeman CL (2019) , arXiv.
Teaching activities

MAT109 Skills for Engineers
MAT113 Biology and Chemistry of Materials
MAT2220 Functional Materials
MAT2840 Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Materials
MAT4610 Atomistic and Mesoscale Modelling of Materials
Materials Tutor

Professional activities and memberships

Head of CCP5 Summer School

Links