DrChristopher Barnett
Research Fellow
Faculty of Science
Research projects & supervision summary
Dr Barnett's research combines mechanistic understanding, catalyst development, and technology translation.
His work on NHC catalysts has established quantitative relationships between catalyst structure and performance, enabling more informed catalyst selection and design. He is currently extending this work towards immobilised and heterogeneous catalyst systems designed for continuous-flow manufacturing.
He has also contributed to sustainable catalysis through studies of electrochemical ammonia synthesis, biomass valorisation, hydrothermal processing, and plasma-assisted conversion of methane and carbon dioxide into higher-value chemical feedstocks.
To support this research, Dr Barnett develops enabling technologies including automated data-analysis tools, custom scientific hardware, and open-source reactor platforms. Most recently, he developed Bayadjamara, an open-source, 3D-printable gas-diffusion electrochemical reactor designed to improve accessibility and reproducibility in electrochemical research.
He welcomes collaborations in catalysis, organocatalysis, electrochemistry, reaction engineering, automation, and sustainable chemical manufacturing.