Brief Introduction
Welcome to the Toghill Group website headed by Prof. Kathryn Toghill. The group uses electrochemical methods to improve on and develop new energy materials. Focusses include electrochemical energy storage systems for large scale long duration storage of renewables, to study carbon dioxide utilisation in the conversion to synthetic fuels, green hydrogen strategies, and to advance analytical methods of analyzing small organic compounds in complex media, for health and environmental applications.
Group Ethos
The Toghill Group was established in 2015, with a focus on sustainable electrochemical approaches to energy storage and conversion. Kathryn is passionate about making renewable energy low cost and accessible to all. One dream is to develop means of storing renewable electricity in large scale stationary batteries derived of abundant and environmentally friendly materials.
There will always be a case for liquid fossil fuels for portable power, therefore Kathryn is also interested in converting captured CO2 to synthetic fuels and carbon feedstocks for chemical industry, and in the opportunities surrounding green hydrogen - surplus electricity derived hydrogen fuel and feedstocks. Essentially to use electrochemistry to generate energy rich products of high value. This is an immensely challenging topic, but of considerable worth. Efficient water electrolysis is also a passion, using
Finally, electroanalytical strategies to analyse complex media and develop portable analytical devices with selectivity and high sensitivity will always interest Kathryn. A large body of the work focused on CO2 reduction requires the development of analytical strategies to identify and quantify the variety of products. Electrochemistry is a multidisciplinary tool, which the Toghill Group intends to harness towards a sustainable, low cost and environmentally friendly future.
Research Areas
Here is a selection of the areas the group are interested in and are currently exploring
New chemistries for Redox Flow Batteries – molecular engineering and rational design
Component development towards lower cost flow cells
Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide reduction to synthetic fuels
Waste valorisation - turning waste to energy
Strategies to generate sustainable green hydrogen
Analytical strategies towards identifying and quantifying small organic compounds
Biosensors and sustainable point-of-care technologies
Department of Chemistry, Lancaster University
The Chemistry Department at Lancaster University is a modern and ambitious chemistry department offering amongst the very best in teaching and facilities in the UK. Since its inception in 2012 over £26 million has been invested into the learning and research environment.
The department was ranked 10th in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) for research quality which reflects the passion and dedication of its staff. It has attracted a diverse and expanding team of research-active staff from top universities, who are leaders in their fields. They have a variety of research backgrounds and thus have interests spanning many areas of both fundamental and contemporary chemistry. Perhaps most importantly, they share common ground in research-excellence, an inclusive and collaborative spirit, and a dedication to passing on their knowledge and passion for chemistry to a new generation of researchers.
The environment
We have invested over £26 million in your learning and research environment to provide modern, well-equipped facilities including an impressive range of instrumentation and equipment to support an ambitious teaching programme and research activities.
