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The University of Southampton
Chemistry
Phone:
(023) 8059 2776
Email:
B.E.Hayden@soton.ac.uk

Professor Brian E Hayden BSc, PhD, FRSC, FIoP

Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, Chief Scientific Officer of Ilika Technologies

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Professor Brian E Hayden is Professor of Physical Chemistry within Chemistry at the University of Southampton.

Expert in the development of solid-state materials for devices, and in particular solid state lithium ion batteries.

Brian Hayden obtained his PhD in Bristol in 1979 in Surface Science through studies of adsorption, oxidation and exo-electron emission at metal and alloy surfaces. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (1979-1984) developing surface sensitive optical spectroscopies, including ellipsometry and reflection absorption infra-red spectroscopy, for the investigation of adsorbed molecules on single crystal surfaces. Appointed lecturer at the University of Bath (1984-1988), he developed supersonic molecular beam techniques to study reaction dynamics at single crystal metal surfaces. He was appointed lecturer at the University of Southampton in 1988, promoted to senior lecturer in 1990, reader in 1993, and appointed to a Personal Chair in 1995.

In 2000 he extended thin film methodologies to the combinatorial synthesis and screening of solid state materials. Synthetic methods involving MBE and high intensity plasma atom sources provided a unique route to the high throughput discovery and optimisation of multi-component alloys, oxides, nitrides, hydrides, sulphides and carbides, as well as supported metal nano-structures. Screening of material libraries was facilitated often "on chip" through the micro-fabrication of MEMS screening arrays. Interests include the development and optimisation of electrocatalysts for PEM fuel cells, active layers for thin film PV cells, 2-D materials for electronics and optoelectronics, phase change materials for memory applications, functional oxides for ferroelectric and piezoelectric devices and for tunable dielectrics in phase shifters for 5G communication
, and materials for solid-state lithium ion batteries.

Brian's research group is housed in the newly established Advanced Composite Materials Facility (he is acting director). The tools available include a UHV High Throughput Thin Film Synthesis line (incorporating two multisource MBE chambers with plasma sources, and spot XPS and sputtering chambers), a UHV low temperature STM chamber (incorporating sample preparation and LEED chamber), and a UHV cluster tool for manufacture of novel materials into devices on 150mm wafers. The laboratory also houses a wide range of analytical tools for high throughput thin film material and device characterisation.

He is a founder (2004), an executive director and Chief Scientific Officer of Ilika plc (AIM 2010 in the Guardian/Library House Clean Tech 100), a £50M spin-out company (£3M annual turnover) involved in materials discovery and development for the electronics and energy sectors, and with strong partnerships with multinational corporations. He is author of over 140 refereed papers {h-index 38} and over 18 active patent families including new catalysts and materials for low temperature fuel cells and solid state Li-ion batteries. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Fellow of the Institute of Physics.

Research interests

Combinatorial synthesis using evaporative physical deposition (e-PVD), and high throughput characterisation and on chip screening methods are applied to the development of new solid-state materials, and in their incorporation in device structures. Materials classes are wide ranging including multi-component metal oxides, hydrides, silicates, borates, phosphates, chalcogenides, metal alloys and 2D materials. Investigated properties range from electro-catalytic activity, optical response, electronic behaviour, ionic conductivity, dielectric and ferroelectric and piezoelectric response, and mechanical properties.

These materials are synthesised as compositional gradient thin films a UHV line incorporating a sputter chamber and high throughput XPS chamber, in the Advanced Composite Materials Facility in Chemistry. This line also allows the fabrication of devices incorporating functional materials on 4-inch wafers. In addition, a robotic cluster tool incorporating two e-PVD chambers, a 4-target sputter tool, and a preparation chamber is capable of materials deposition for processing devices on 6-inch wafers.

There is a close collaboration with Ilika Technologies in the area of high throughput materials discovery, and in the pilot manufacture of solid-state lithium-ion batteries. The Advanced Composite Materials Facility was established by Brian Hayden in 2014 following a successful Capital Funding grant from EPSRC (£3.3M), Industrial Partners Support – Ilika Plc. and DCA Oy (£600k) and support from the University of Southampton (£700k). An upgrade of the high throughput was also supported by Ilika Plc. in 2020 with the incorporation of new combinatorial e-PVD chambers and associated analytical tools.

Research Funding

2013                            EPSRC The Development and manufacture of advanced composite materials.  (PI-Hayden) £3.3M.

2014-2018                  EPSRC Manufacture and application of next generation chalcogenides. (PI-Hewak)  £3.1M

2014-2020                  EPSRC The physics and technology of photonic metadevices and metasystems. (PI-Zheludev)  £5.6M

2016-2021                 EPSRC Lead niobate based tunable dielectrics for smart microwave systems. (PI-Hayden) £849K

2018-2021                 EPSRC JUICED HUB (PI-Darr, UCL).     £1.8M

Research group

Electrochemistry

Research project(s)

High-Throughput Electrochemistry

Hayden: High Throughput Synthesis and Screening of Hydrogen Storage Alloys

Hayden: High Throughput Synthesis and Screening of Electrocatalysts

Hayden: Surface Electrochemistry

Hayden: Surface Science Model Heterogeneous Catalysis

Hayden: HT Screening of Corrosion Resistant Materials

Hayden: HT Screening of Functional Oxides

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Key Publications

    Professor Brian E Hayden
    Chemistry University of Southampton Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ

    Room Number : 27/2057

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