Professor Julia A. Weinstein
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Head of Light-Matter Interactions Research Cluster
Professor of Physical Chemistry
Head of Lord Porter Laser Laboratory
Head of Physical Chemistry Teaching Theme
Full contact details
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Dainton Building
13 Brook Hill
Sheffield
S3 7HF
- Profile
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Dr. Weinstein obtained her Diploma in Chemistry (with honours) from Moscow Lomonosov State University in 1990, followed by a PhD from the same institution in 1994, where she became a member of staff. In 2000 she became a Royal Society/NATO postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Nottingham, which was followed by a temporary lectureship at the same institution.
In 2004 she was appointed as EPSRC advanced Research Fellow and obtained a lectureship at the University of Sheffield. In 2010 she was promoted to senior lecturer, followed by a promotion to reader in 2015, and to professor of physical chemistry in 2016.
Awards
- Lomonosov Award in Science (2003)
 - John Van Geuns Lecture (2004)
 - RSC Chemical Dynamics Award (2017)
 
 
- Qualifications
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- MRSC
 - Member of the ACS and EPA
 
 
- Research interests
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Most broadly, our research group is interested in any aspects of interaction of light with matter in condensed phase.
The main focus of our research is (1) Ultrafast dynamics of electron and energy transfer in condensed phase; and (2) Chemical Approach to Solar Energy Conversion.
The conversion of light into chemical energy lies at the heart of many natural processes and man-made applications. A charge-separated species generated via an excited state is the key intermediate in this process. Stabilisation of this intermediate is the key issue and pivotal to developing efficient artificial systems. We develop methodologies for controlling stability of charge-transfer excited states by manipulating environment and structural properties of model systems based on transition metal complexes, with potential application in molecular wires, electronics and photonics. The interdisciplinary research uses a combination of organometallic synthesis, time-resolved electronic and vibrational spectroscopy and theory to explore the fundamental aspects underlying this work crossing from controlling photomolecular properties of materials to designing molecular architecture for photo-induced electron transfer.
Other research areas include:
- Highly luminescent metal chromophores for imaging and sensing.
 - Development of compounds which emit in the NIR spectral range.
 - Development of photostable photo-sensitisers of singlet oxygen the key recative oxygen species and understanding of underlying chemical rules to the efficiecy of its generation.
 - Free radicals in chemistry and biology.
 
The main techniques involved in our research comprise:
- (Spectro)electrochemistry;
 - Time-resolved electronic spectroscopy absorption and emission;
 - Time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy - infra-red and (resonance) Raman.
 - Pulse radiolysis.
 
We collaborate with the UK National Facility - Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Science and Technology Facilities Council, member of LaserLab Europe, and with various laboratories world-wide, including USA, Switzerland, Germany and Buelorussia.
We have a 4 years PhD position available to start on the 1 October 2020. For more details following this .
 
- Publications
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Journal articles
- . Chemistry A European Journal.
 - . Nature Communications, 16(1).
 - . Advanced Energy Materials, 15(18).
 - . Journal of the American Chemical Society, 147(1), 662-668.
 - . ACS Physical Chemistry Au, 4(6), 761-772.
 - . Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 67(18).
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 63(19), 8526-8530.
 - . Journal of the American Chemical Society, 146(18), 12836-12849.
 - . Nanoscale, 16(23), 10947-10974.
 - . JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, 29(1), 113-125.
 - . Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, 1004.
 - . Chemical Science, 14(41), 11417-11428.
 - . Faraday Discussions, 244, 391-410.
 - . Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 7(14), 3284-3293.
 - . Journal of the American Chemical Society, 145(22), 12081-12092.
 - . Scientific Reports, 13.
 - . JPhys Materials, 5(4).
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 61(34), 13281-13292.
 - . mSystems, 7(4).
 - . Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 23(38), 21652-21663.
 - .
 - . Materials Advances, 1(9), 3417-3427.
 - . Nature Chemistry, 12(9), 789-790.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 59(15), 10430-10438.
 - . Journal of the American Chemical Society, 142(2), 1101-1111.
 - . Dalton Transactions, 48(18), 6132-6152.
 - . Chemical Science, 10(12), 3502-3513.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 58(8), 4954-4961.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 58(4), 2386-2396.
 - . Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 379, 2-29.
 - . Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 376, 588-589.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry , 57(21), 13201-13212.
 - . RSC ADVANCES, 8(18), 9670-9676.
 - . Journal of the American Chemical Society, 140(5), 1924-1936.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 57(4), 2332-2332.
 - . Materials Research Innovations, 22(4), 231-236.
 - . CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, 23(72), 18239-18251.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 56(24), 15259-15270.
 - . Angewandte Chemie, 129(41), 12802-12807.
 - . Scientific Reports, 7.
 - . Nature Chemistry, 9(11), 1099-1104.
 - . European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2017(14), 2112-2121.
 - . Nature Communications.
 - . Chemistry A European Journal, 23(2), 234-238.
 - . Chemistry - A European Journal, 23(2), 234-234.
 - . Chemical Communications, 53(2), 408-411.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 55(24), 12568-12582.
 - . Molecules , 21(10).
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 55(17), 8251-8253.
 - . Chemical Science, 7(9), 5908-5921.
 - . Chemistry - A European Journal, 22(17), 5996-6000.
 - . SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 6.
 - . Faraday Discussions, 185, 69-86.
 - . Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy, 12(3), 338-339.
 - . Nature Chemistry, 7(9), 689-695.
 - . Chemistry A European Journal, 21(33), 11865-11871.
 - . Chemistry A European Journal, 21(39), 13723-13731.
 - . Dalton Transactions, 44(26), 11705-11716.
 - . Accounts of Chemical Research, 48(4), 1131-1139.
 - . Structure and Bonding, 165, 205-256.
 - . Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 16(47), 25775-25788.
 - . Science, 346(6216), 1492-1495.
 - . Chemistry A European Journal, 20(52), 17242-17242.
 - , 205-256.
 - . The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 118(40), 11781-11791.
 - . RSC Advances, 4(66), 35003-35008.
 - . Chemistry A European Journal, 20(31), 9770-9783.
 - . Chemistry, 20(29), 8898-8903.
 - . ECS Meeting Abstracts, MA2014-01(17), 762-762.
 - . Angew Chem Int Ed Engl, 53(13), 3367-3371.
 - . Chemical Science, 5(3), 879-886.
 - . Inorg Chem, 53(2), 1021-1031.
 - . Dalton Trans, 43(17), 6414-6428.
 - . Chem Commun (Camb), 50(5), 521-523.
 - . Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 1(48), 8075-8085.
 - . International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks.
 - . Inorg Chem, 52(18), 10500-10511.
 - . Photochem Photobiol Sci, 12(9), 1666-1679.
 - . Pure and Applied Chemistry, 85(7), 1331-1348.
 - . J Am Chem Soc, 135(8), 3095-3103.
 - . Dalton Trans, 41(42), 13003.
 - Charge-separated excited states in platinum(II) chromophores: Photophysics, formation, stabilization and utilization in solar energy conversion. Coordination Chemistry Reviews.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 51(24), 13181-13194.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 51(18), 9748-9756.
 - Lighting the way to see inside the live cell with luminescent transition metal complexes. Coordination Chemistry Reviews.
 - . Nature Chemistry, 4(3), 157-158.
 - . Chem Commun (Camb), 48(22), 2749-2751.
 - . Dalton Trans, 41(8), 2408-2419.
 - . Inorg Chem, 51(1), 463-471.
 - . Proceedings of the International Conference on Numerical Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices Nusod, 99-100.
 - . Inorg Chem, 50(22), 11323-11339.
 - . Chemistry A European Journal, 17(16), 4333-4333.
 - . Chemistry A European Journal, 17(16), 4385-4395.
 - . Inorg Chem, 49(21), 10041-10056.
 - . J Phys Chem A, 113(46), 12754-12762.
 - . DALTON T(20), 3879-3879.
 - . Angewandte Chemie, 121(15), 2749-2752.
 - . ANGEW CHEM INT EDIT, 48(15), 2711-2714.
 - . SPIE 壅翌腦瞳room.
 - . Inorg Chem, 47(22), 10432-10445.
 - . Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 105(42), 16071-16076.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 47(18), 8242-8257.
 - . Free Radic Biol Med, 45(9), 1271-1278.
 - . High Energy Chemistry, 42(4), 287-289.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 47(15), 6974-6983.
 - . Inorg Chem, 47(5), 1532-1547.
 - . Dalton Transactions(39), 4446-4456.
 - . Dalton Trans(15), 1484-1491.
 - . Inorganica Chimica Acta, 360(2), 700-704.
 - . J ORGANOMET CHEM, 692(4), 921-925.
 - . Inorg Chem, 45(23), 9410-9415.
 - . Dalton Transactions(37), 4465-4473.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 45(16), 6105-6107.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 45(11), 4544-4555.
 - Chemistry of electronically excited intermediates (radicals, radical ions, excited states of coordination compounds). Matrix effects and molecular organization of processes. Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta Seriya 2 Khimiya, 46(3), 168-200.
 - Chemistry of electronically excited intermediates (Radicals, radical-ions, excited state of coordination compounds) matrix effects and molecular organization of processes. Moscow University Chemistry Bulletin, 60(3), 29-63.
 - . Dalton Transactions(12), 2092-2097.
 - . Dalton Transactions(21), 3748-3748.
 - . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(13), 4673-4678.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 42(26), 8609-8611.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 42(22), 7077-7085.
 - . Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences, 2(5), 542-554.
 - . Applied Spectroscopy, 57(4), 367-380.
 - . Dalton Transactions(9), 1693-1700.
 - . Journal of the Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions(14), 2857-2861.
 - . Chemical Communications(8), 872-873.
 - . Chemical Communications(4), 382-383.
 - . Journal of the Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions(18), 2587-2592.
 - . Inorganic Chemistry, 40(16), 4053-4062.
 - . Journal of the Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions(15), 2459-2466.
 - . Journal of Chemical Sciences, 105(6), 637-649.
 - . Materials Advances, 5(23), 9501-9501.
 - . Faraday Discussions, 244, 336-355.
 - . Faraday Discussions, 244, 210-221.
 - . Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 25(16), 11205-11215.
 - . Faraday Discussions, 237, 327-352.
 - . Faraday Discussions, 237, 198-223.
 - . Chemical Science, 11(9), 2566-2566.
 - . Dalton Transactions, 49(14), 4230-4243.
 - . Chemistry - A European Journal.
 - . Faraday Discussions, 185, 529-548.
 - . Faraday Discussions, 185, 187-217.
 - . Faraday Discussions, 185, 311-335.
 - .
 - . Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 17(3), 1688-1696.
 - . Dalton Trans., 43(47), 17565-17566.
 - . Faraday Discuss., 171, 323-356.
 - . Dalton Trans., 43(47), 17677-17693.
 
Book chapters
- , Advances in Inorganic Chemistry (pp. 223-267). Elsevier
 - , Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry III (pp. 511-573). Elsevier
 - , Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 477-489). Springer International Publishing
 - In Leal Filho W, Azul AM, Brandli L, Lange Salvia A & Wall T (Ed.), Clean Water and Sanitation Springer Nature
 - , Methods in Cell Biology (pp. 69-87). Elsevier
 - , Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 1-14). Springer International Publishing
 - , Transformations (pp. 657-680). De Gruyter
 - , Applied Photochemistry (pp. 105-148). Springer Netherlands
 
Conference proceedings
- Electron transfer in transition metal complexes. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 258
 - Optical measurement of oxygen concentration in melanoma spheroid and skin engineered models. European Cells and Materials (ECM), Vol. Collection 5 (pp 8-8)
 - Probing and exploiting vibronic coupling in charge transfer processes in metal chromophores. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 252
 - . SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 9549 (pp 95490U-95490U)
 - Oxygen difference in live melanoma muticellular tumour spheroids using novel platinum compound and time-resolved imaging microscopy. JOURNAL OF TISSUE ENGINEERING AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, Vol. 8 (pp 314-314)
 - Transition metal photocatalysts for heterogeneous H2 production and CO2 reduction. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 245
 - Modulating electron transfer in transition metal complexes by perturbing bridge vibrations in electronically excited states. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 245
 - Ultrafast photoinduced charge-separation in molecular systems: Time-resolved IR, transient 2DIR, and controlling the rates and the pathways by vibrational perturbation. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 245
 - Time-resolved two-photon emission imaging microscopy with transition metal complexes (TPE-TREM). ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 245
 - CO2 reduction utilising photo-electro-catalytic approach based on transition metal complex catalysts anchored to semiconductors. 4th EuCheMs Chemistry Congress Book of Abstracts
 - . CHIMIA, Vol. 62(4) (pp 287-290)
 
 
- Teaching interests
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Photochemistry; Mathematics, Chemical Kinetics
 
- Teaching activities
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Undergraduate and postgraduate taught modules
- Mathematics for Chemists 2 (Level 1)
This course teaches basic practical skills in performing differentiation and integration; it introduces the link between those and practical chemistry (kinetics, thermodynamics, synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry, polymer chemistry, practical laboratory work and others); and creates a basis for the courses where more advanced mathematics will be introduced. - Chemical Reaction Kinetics (Level 2)
This module provides an introduction into kinetic analyses of complex reaction mechanisms. - Photochemistry and Molecular Photonics (Level 4)
This lecture course describes basic theoretical considerations, experimental methods, and applications of one of the key fundamental processes - electron transfer - in chemistry, photochemistry, biochemistry and related disciplines. 
Support Teaching:
- Tutorials: Level 1 General Chemistry
 - Tutorials: Level 2 Physical Chemistry
 - Level 3 Literature Review
 
Laboratory Teaching:
- Level 4 Research Projec
 
 - Mathematics for Chemists 2 (Level 1)