Russell Morris

Prof Russell Morris is the Bishop Wardlaw Professor at the School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews. His research focuses on porous materials, ionothermal synthesis, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and their applications in medicine and energy storage. He pioneered the ADOR principle for synthesizing 'unfeasible' porous materials and ionothermal methods for creating novel materials, including quantum spin liquids. Morris has spun out companies like Zeomedix and MOFgen to commercialize his work.

• Research Interests:
  • Development of ADOR methodology for zeolite synthesis
  • Ionothermal synthesis of functional materials
  • Medical gas delivery via MOFs and zeolites
  • Characterization via X-ray diffraction and NMR

His work bridges chemistry, biology, and materials science, with notable achievements like first demonstrations of anti-thrombosis activity in MOFs and NO delivery systems. Morris has been recognized with awards such as the Royal Society Brian Mercer Award and holds eight of the top-cited ionothermal synthesis papers.

• Awards:
  • Donald Breck Award nomination
  • Royal Society Brian Mercer Award
  • GEMI Award
  • Royal Society of Chemistry Applied Inorganic Chemistry Award

Morris advises PhD students in materials chemistry and collaborates with industry through roles like Royal Society Industry Fellow with Sasol Technology UK. His research groups focus on sustainable synthesis, energy storage materials, and advanced characterization techniques.