Dr Adam Michalchuk MChem, PhD

School of Chemistry
Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry

Contact details

Email: a.a.l.michalchuk@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @amichalchuk

Address: School of Chemistry
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Adam is an Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry in the School of Chemistry.

Adam leads an interdisciplinary research team with the aim of understanding how to control chemical reactivity (usually in the solid state) using mechanical force. This includes using and developing atomistic simulation tools to understand mechanochemical reactivity, and a focus on studying mechanochemistry experimentally using international synchrotron and neutron facilities.

Further details can be found on the group website

Qualifications

PhD Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, 2019
MChem in Materials Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, 2014

Biography

Originally from Canada’s west coast, Adam moved to Scotland where he obtained his MChem (1^st Class, Materials Chemistry) from the University of Edinburgh in 2014.

Adam then pursued his PhD research split between the University of Edinburgh, UK (with Prof Carole Morrison and Prof Colin Pulham) and Novosibirsk State University, Russia (with Prof Elena Boldyreva), completing his studies in late 2018. At the University of Edinburgh his research combined neutron spectroscopy and ab initio simulation to study the structural dynamics of molecular solids, complemented by experimental solid-state research at Novosibirsk State University.

Following this, Adam moved to Berlin, Germany as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr Franziska Emmerling at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). Here his research focused on developing synchrotron-based diffraction and spectroscopic methods to study solid-state reactions in situ. Adam was simultaneously a guest scientist at the Free University Berlin in the Department of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry hosted by Prof Beate Paulus. He was promoted to Senior Scientist at the BAM in 2021.

In October 2022 Adam moved to the University of Birmingham as an Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry.

Research

Our research focuses on understanding the atomistic origins of mechanically driven transformations in and between solids.

Our research consists of active programmes in both computational and experimental solid-state chemistry, spanning a broad range of topics including:

Lattice dynamics
High pressure chemistry
Mechanochemical processes
Energetic materials
Synchrotron and neutron methods for in situ investigations

Other activities

Associate Editor for Solid State Chemistry, Frontiers in Chemistry

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Linberg, K, Sander, PC, Emmerling, F & Michalchuk, AAL 2024, 'In situ investigation of controlled polymorphism in mechanochemistry at elevated temperature†', RSC Mechanochemistry. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3mr00019b

Bhattacharya, B, Michalchuk, AAL, Silbernagl, D, Yasuda, N, Feiler, T, Sturm, H & Emmerling, F 2023, 'An atomistic mechanism for elasto-plastic bending in molecular crystals', Chemical Science, vol. 14, no. 13, pp. 3441-3450. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2SC06470G

Atceken, N, Hemingway, J, Bull, CL, Liu, X, Michalchuk, AAL, Konar, S, Morrison, C & Pulham, CR 2023, 'High-pressure Structural Studies and Pressure-induced Sensitisation of 3,4,5-trinitro-1H-pyrazole', Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CP04526A

Christopher, IL, Pulham, C, Michalchuk, AAL & Morrison, CA 2023, 'Is the impact sensitivity of RDX polymorph dependent?', Journal of Chemical Physics, vol. 158, 124115. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0145259

Feiler, T, Yasuda, N, Michalchuk, AAL, Emmerling, F & Bhattacharya, B 2023, 'Mechanistic Investigation of an Elastically Flexible Organic Crystal', Crystal Growth and Design, vol. 23, no. 9, pp. 6244-6249. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.3c00473

Ghiringhelli, LM, Baldauf, C, Bereau, T, Brockhauser, S, Carbogno, C, Chamanara, J, Cozzini, S, Curtarolo, S, Draxl, C, Dwaraknath, S, Fekete, Á, Kermode, J, Koch, CT, Kühbach, M, Ladines, AN, Lambrix, P, Himmer, M, Levchenko, SV, Oliveira, M, Michalchuk, A, Miller, RE, Onat, B, Pavone, P, Pizzi, G, Regler, B, Rignanese, G, Schaarschmidt, J, Scheidgen, M, Schneidewind, A, Sheveleva, T, Su, C, Usvyat, D, Valsson, O, Wöll, C & Scheffler, M 2023, 'Shared metadata for data-centric materials science', Scientific Data, vol. 10, no. 1, 626. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02501-8

Linberg, K, Szymoniak, P, Schönhals, A, Emmerling, F & Michalchuk, AAL 2023, 'The origin of delayed polymorphism in molecular crystals under mechanochemical conditions', Chemistry: A European Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202302150

Driscoll, L, Driscoll, L, Dong, B, Sayed, F, Wilson, J, O'Keefe, CA, Grey, C, Allan, P, Michalchuk, A & Slater, P 2023, 'Under Pressure: Offering Fundamental Insight into Structural Changes on Ball Milling Battery Materials', Energy & Environmental Science, vol. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3EE00249G

Mazzeo, PP, Lampronti, GI, Michalchuk, AAL, Belenguer, AM, Bacchi, A & Emmerling, F 2022, 'Accurate extrinsic and intrinsic peak broadening modelling for time-resolved in situ ball milling reactions via synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction', Faraday Discussions. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2FD00104G

Linberg, K, Röder, B, Al-Sabbagh, D, Emmerling, F & Michalchuk, AAL 2022, 'Controlling polymorphism in molecular cocrystals by variable temperature ball milling', Faraday Discussions. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2FD00115B

Lakshmipathi, M, Dey, S, Emmerling, F, Bhattacharya, B, Michalchuk, AAL & Ghosh, S 2022, 'Designing Dual Mechanical Response in Molecular Crystals through Cocrystallization', Crystal Growth and Design, vol. 22, no. 12, pp. 6838-6843. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.2c00913

Guilherme Buzanich, A, Cakir, CT, Radtke, M, Haider, MB, Emmerling, F, De oliveira, PFM & Michalchuk, AAL 2022, 'Dispersive x-ray absorption spectroscopy for time-resolved in situ monitoring of mechanochemical reactions', Journal of Chemical Physics, vol. 157, 214202. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0130673

Chapter

Michalchuk, A 2023, The Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Mechanochemical Reactions: An Experimental Approach. in Mechanochemistry and Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Chemical Manufacturing. 1 edn, Routledge. <https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9781003178187-4>

Comment/debate

Belenguer, AM & Michalchuk, AAL 2023, 'Grinding the way to enantiopurification', Chem, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 1076-1079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2023.04.018

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

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