Peter McNeice

Postdoctoral researcher
University of Groningen

Department

Stratingh Institute

Contact information

Room
Linnauesborg – 5172.0935

Email address
p.mcneice@rug.nl

Key expertises

Homogeneous catalysis, heterogeneous catalysis, gels, ionic liquids, cellulose chemistry

About me

I completed my masters degree at Queen's University Belfast (QUB), during which I conducted a research project under Dr Patricia Marr on low molecular weight ionic liquid gels. I stayed at QUB, joining the Queen's University Ionic Liquids Laboratories (QUILL) for a PhD on the development of base stable and basic ionic liquids for catalysis, supervised by Drs Andrew and Patricia Marr, and Prof. Kenneth Seddon. I then conducted a post-doc with Prof. Matthias Beller at LIKAT (Rostock, Germany) where I developed nanoparticle catalysts for alkyne semi-hydrogenation.

About my research

I am working with Nouryon in order to develop analogues of cellulose which are water soluble. I use my previous experience of ionic liquids to help solubilize the cellulose and facilitate transformations. Through modifications of the alcohol groups on cellulose I disrupt the hydrogen bonding structure which allows the cellulose to dissolve in water.

Academic career

Postdoctoral experience
2020- 2022: Postdoctoral research fellow in the group of Prof. Matthias Beller at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Rostock.

Awards and scientific honors

2021 Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) Short Term Research Grant

2019 QUB Emily Sarah Montgomery Travel Scholarship

2019 Royal society of Chemistry Competitive Travel Grant

2018 Royal society of Chemistry Non-Competitive Travel Grant

2016 Cecil Wilson Graduate Prize for the top MSci Graduate

ARC CBBC publications

Cellulose modification for sustainable polymers: overcoming problems of solubility and processing

P. McNeice, G.H. ten Brink, U. Gran, L. Karlson, R. Edvinsson and B.L. Feringa