Dr Tristan H Borchers PhD

Dr Tristan Borchers

School of Chemistry
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

Contact details

Email
t.h.borchers@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Chemistry
Molecular Science Building
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Tristan H. Borchers is a 2nd year Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of Chemistry. His research interests lie in the crossroads of materials discovery, green chemistry, and theoretical calculations with a large focus on both theoretical and experimental examination of low-frequency phonons.

In addition to studying low-frequency vibrations, Tristan designs and develops novel in situ monitoring techniques to follow mechanochemical reactions in real-time. Lately, Tristan has developed the use of Low-frequency or THz-Raman as a way to monitor the interconversion of chemically identical but structurally unique (polymorphs) crystalline materials without the use of ionizing radiation. A method that will aide researchers in novel phase discovery, and understanding the underlying mechanisms occurring in mechanochemical reactions.

Tristan is enthusiastic about any opportunities to collaborate with talented academics based at UoB, within the UK, or around the globe.

A full list of Tristan’s recent publications can be found on Tristan’s google scholar page.

Qualifications

Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow.

Biography

Tristan H. Borchers graduated with a BSc (Honours) in Chemistry from the University of Victoria in 2016. He began his Doctorate at McGill University in 2017, under the guidance of Prof. Christopher J. Barrett, and later cosupervisor Prof. Tomislav Friščić. Successfully defending his PhD in early 2023, the focus of his Doctoral work was on light-responsive crystalline materials, heavily focused on crystallography, spectroscopy, and laser optics.

Following his doctorate, Tristan continued his mentorship under Prof. Tomislav Friščić at the University of Birmingham (March 2023 – August 2024), before accepting the Leverhulme early career research fellowship. During his post-doctoral work, Tristan began familiarizing himself with a variety of mechanochemical methods and new spectroscopic techniques.

Tristan remained in the School of Chemistry after starting his independent career in September 2024. His fellowship is based on elucidating crystallographic structure and reactivity via THz-Raman spectroscopy.

Research

Tristan H. Borchers' research is primarily focused on the understanding of reactivity in the solid-state, based on vibrational analysis of crystalline materials.

He believes vibrations that occur in the solid-state are fundamental in the stability of a material, but also may drive reactivity through activation of “soft” phonon modes.

He is particularly interested in how low-frequency vibrational methods can give insights into the crystallographic packing of solids, and how those same vibrational bands will dictate reactivity in the solid-state.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Kim, M, Borchers, TH, Lin, M, Barrett, CJ & Han, L (ed.) 2025, 'Acid Yellow 9 Azo Dye Gets the Blues: An Optical Spectroscopy and DFT Study of Unusual Photochemistry in Multilayer Films with PAH and Chitosan', Molecules, vol. 30, no. 19, 3850. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30193850

Borchers, TH, Topić, F, Arhangelskis, M, Ferguson, M, Lennox, CB, Julien, PA & Friščić, T 2024, 'Terahertz-Raman spectroscopy for in situ benchtop monitoring of changes to extended, supramolecular structure in milling mechanochemistry', Chem. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2024.09.018

Lennox, CB, Borchers, TH, Gonnet, L, Barrett, CJ, Koenig, SG, Nagapudi, K & Friščić, T 2023, 'Direct mechanocatalysis by resonant acoustic mixing (RAM) †', Chemical Science. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sc01591b

Vainauskas, J, Borchers, TH, Arhangelskis, M, McCormick McPherson, LJ, Spilfogel, TS, Hamzehpoor, E, Topić, F, Coles, SJ, Perepichka, DF, Barrett, CJ & Friščić, T 2023, 'Halogen bonding with carbon: directional assembly of non-derivatised aromatic carbon systems into robust supramolecular ladder architectures †', Chemical Science. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sc04191c

Kaabel, S, Arciszewski, J, Borchers, TH, Therien, JPD, Friščić, T & Auclair, K 2023, 'Solid-State Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Mixed PET/Cotton Textiles**', ChemSusChem, vol. 16, no. 1, e202201613. https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202201613

Gonnet, L, Borchers, TH, Lennox, CB, Vainauskas, J, Teoh, Y, Titi, HM, Barrett, CJ, Koenig, SG, Nagapudi, K & Friščić, T 2023, 'The “η-sweet-spot” (ηmax) in liquid-assisted mechanochemistry: polymorph control and the role of a liquid additive as either a catalyst or an inhibitor in resonant acoustic mixing (RAM)', Faraday Discussions, vol. 241, pp. 128-149. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2fd00131d

Borchers, TH, Topić, F, Arhangelskis, M, Vainauskas, J, Titi, HM, Bushuyev, OS, Barrett, CJ & Friščić, T 2023, 'Three-in-One: Dye-Volatile Cocrystals Exhibiting Intensity-Dependent Photochromic, Photomechanical, and Photocarving Response', Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 145, no. 45, pp. 24636–24647. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c07060

Borchers, TH, Topić, F, Christopherson, JC, Bushuyev, OS, Vainauskas, J, Titi, HM, Friščić, T & Barrett, CJ 2022, 'Cold photo-carving of halogen-bonded co-crystals of a dye and a volatile co-former using visible light', Nature Chemistry, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 574-581. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-022-00909-0

Topić, F, Marrett, JM, Borchers, TH, Titi, HM, Barrett, CJ & Friščić, T 2021, 'After 200 Years: The Structure of Bleach and Characterization of Hypohalite Ions by Single-Crystal X-Ray Diffraction**', Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, vol. 60, no. 46, pp. 24400-24405. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202108843

Comment/debate

Angerhofer, A, Auvray, T, Balema, V, Baláž, M, Batteas, JD, Blair, RG, Boldyreva, E, Bolm, C, Borchardt, L, Borchers, TH, Braunschweig, AB, Browne, DL, Carpick, RW, Ciaccia, M, Craig, S, Emmerling, F, Ferguson, M, Fiore, C, Friščić, T, Grätz, S, Halasz, I, Hamzehpoor, E, Ito, H, James, S, Kim, JG, Lamaty, F, Lampronti, GI, Laurencin, D, Leitch, J, Lu, E, Lukin, S, Mack, J, Maini, L, Martini, A, Mazzeo, PP, Michalchuk, AAL, Mittelette, S, Mohamed, S, Moores, A, Mortera-Carbonell, ADJ, Nagapudi, K, Niidu, A, Puccetti, F, Stahorský, M & Vugrin, L 2023, 'Kinetics and basic understanding: general discussion', Faraday Discussions, vol. 241, pp. 306-340. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2FD90082C

Letter

Hamzehpoor, E, Effaty, F, Borchers, TH, Stein, RS, Wahrhaftig-Lewis, A, Ottenwaelder, X, Friščić, T & Perepichka, DF 2024, 'Mechanochemical Synthesis of Boroxine-linked Covalent Organic Frameworks', Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, vol. 63, no. 51, e202404539. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202404539

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