Dr Alexander Gentleman

Dr Alexander Gentleman

Dr Alexander Gentleman is a College Lecturer in Natural Sciences at Magdalene.

Before arriving in Cambridge, I worked as a Senior College Lecturer in Physical Chemistry at Keble College, Oxford in addition to also holding Postdoctoral Research Associate positions in the research groups of Prof Stuart Mackenzie and Prof Claire Vallance in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford from 2014-2019. I am a graduate of the University of Adelaide, Australia, where I received a B.Sc. degree majoring in both the chemistry of materials and theoretical physics in 2004, followed by a B.Sc. (Honours) degree in chemistry in 2005 and a PhD in Chemical Sciences in 2014.

Research Interests

My primary research interest involves developing new optical detection and spectroscopy methods for optofluidic microreactors based on hollow-core photonic crystal fibres in order to study novel hybrid photocatalytic systems. I also maintain research interests involving: (a) The development and optimisation of colourmetric assays for detecting common nutrients and pollutants in rivers and lakes for their evaluation within an optical microcavity sensor, (b) Investigating the photodissociation dynamics of gas-phase transition metal-containing molecules using the Velocity-Map Imaging (VMI) technique, and (c) using a combination of Infrared (IR) action spectroscopy and computational chemistry to investigate: (i) The structures of gas-phase metal ion-molecule complexes, (ii) the structures of gas-phase transition metal clusters and their small molecule complexes, and (iii) the IR-induced reactivity of small molecules adsorbed to transition metal cluster surfaces. In addition to these research topics, I also have an interest in: (a) High-resolution spectroscopy of small hydrocarbon molecules, and (b) the use of computational chemistry to aid in the elucidation of experimental observations in organic and inorganic reactions, e.g. the product selectivity of P450 enzymes, facile decarboxylation in organometallic reactions.

Qualifications

B.Sc, B.Sc (Hons), PhD (Adelaide)

Selected Publications

Photodissociation dynamics and the dissociation energy of vanadium monoxide, VO, investigated using velocity map
AS Gentleman, A Iskra, H Köckert, SR Mackenzie
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 21 (28), 15560-15567

Infrared spectroscopy of closed s-shell gas-phase M+(N2O)n (M = Li, Al) ion-molecule complexes
EM Cunningham, AS Gentleman, PW Beardsmore, SR Mackenzie
Molecular Physics 117 (21), 2990-3000

Structural isomers and low-lying electronic states of gas-phase M+(N 2 O) n (M= Co, Rh, Ir) ion–molecule complexes
EM Cunningham, AS Gentleman, PW Beardsmore, SR Mackenzie
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 21 (26), 13959-13967

Carbon dioxide binding to metal oxides: Infrared spectroscopy of NbO2+ (CO2) n and TaO2+ (CO2) n complexes
A Iskra, AS Gentleman, EM Cunningham, SR Mackenzie
International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 435, 93-100

IR Signature of Size‐Selective CO2 Activation on Small Platinum Cluster Anions, Ptn− (n=4–7)
AE Green, J Justen, W Schöllkopf, AS Gentleman, A Fielicke, SR Mackenzie
Angewandte Chemie 130 (45), 15038-15042

Infrared Spectroscopy of Au+(CH4)n Complexes and Vibrationally-Enhanced C–H Activation Reactions
AS Gentleman, AE Green, DR Price, EM Cunningham, A Iskra, SR Mackenzie
Topics in catalysis 61 (1-2), 81-91

Infrared Signature of Structural Isomers of Gas–Phase M+(N2O)n (M = Cu, Ag, Au) Ion–Molecule Complexes
EM Cunningham, AS Gentleman, PW Beardsmore, A Iskra, SR Mackenzie
The Journal of Physical Chemistry A 121 (40), 7565-7571

Photofragmentation dynamics and dissociation energies of MoO and CrO
GA Cooper, AS Gentleman, A Iskra, SR Mackenzie
The Journal of chemical physics 147 (1), 013921

Infrared Spectroscopy of Gas-Phase M+(CO2)n (M = Co, Rh, Ir) Ion–Molecule Complexes
A Iskra, AS Gentleman, A Kartouzian, MJ Kent, AP Sharp, SR Mackenzie
The Journal of Physical Chemistry A 121 (1), 133-140

Dissociation energies of Ag-RG (RG = Ar, Kr, Xe) and AgO molecules from velocity map imaging studies
GA Cooper, A Kartouzian, AS Gentleman, A Iskra, R van Wijk, SR Mackenzie
The Journal of Chemical Physics 143, 124302

Facile decarboxylation of propiolic acid on a ruthenium center and related chemistry
JH Bowie, MI Bruce, MA Buntine, AS Gentleman, DC Graham, PJ Low, GF Metha, C Mitchell, CR Parker, BW Skelton, AH White
Organometallics 31 (15), 5262-5273

A density functional theory investigation of the bimetallic clusters Nb2Rh and NbRh2 and the complexes they form with CO
AS Gentleman, MA Addicoat, GF Metha
Australian Journal of Chemistry 64 (12), 1554-1559

Photoionization efficiency spectroscopy and density functional theory investigations of clusters
AS Gentleman, MA Addicoat, V Dryza, JR Gascooke, MA Buntine, GF Metha
The Journal of Chemical Physics 130 (16), 164311

Related websites

Departmental Page (NanoPhotonics Centre)