Research
in the UK for Research Intensity in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
*(Complete University Guide 2021)Wolrd-Leading Research Impact
*(REF 2021)in the UK for Graduate Prospects
*(Complete University Guide 2025)In the UK for Research Impact
*(REF 2021)We bring together fundamental and applied research, generating real-world impact, evidenced by vibrant spin-out activity and high-profile industrial collaborations.
Healthcare, sustainability and fundamental studies
Our research falls under three themes: Health, Sustainability and Fundamental Science. Our work on Sustainability spans five focus areas: CO2 capture and utilisation, clean water, hydrogen and bioenergy, sustainable manufacturing and circular economy. Research on Health covers clean synthesis, antimicrobials and sensors. Our fundamental work, particularly focused on supramolecular chemistry and frontiers of the liquid phase, is the foundation on which we build our more applied projects.
Research Centres
QUILL – Queen’s University Ionic Liquid Laboratories CO2@QUB – Carbon Capture and Utilisation Research Lab CASE – Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy
Research Centres
Working together
We are continuously working to nurture a friendly, creative and collaborative research environment. The School is proud of its Silver Athena SWAN Award, a vibrant program of seminars and a strong outreach profile, all of which are described in this section. Visit to learn more about our Early Career Forum, Postgraduate Researchers Forum and research technicians.
Research Environment
Making a difference
Research impact comes in many flavours: impactful papers, growing spin-out companies, technologies developed and implemented with industrial partners, as well as policies and roadmaps. Our School was ranked #3 (joint) in the UK for Research Impact in Research Excellence Framework 2021; browse this section to learn more.
Research ImpactLatest Publications
Optimizing cathode contact layer thickness for enhanced efficiency and durability in solid oxide fuel cell stacks
- Yingfa Tian
- Haiyang Zhang
- Guangyuan Li
- Yue Hu
- Liyuan Fan
- Lichao Jia
First-principles insights into the direct synthesis of acetic acid from CH4 and CO2 over TM-Si@2D catalysts
- Mingyuan Zhang
- Linxia Cui
- Yang Jiang
- Rui Gao
- Haigang Hao
- Meilan Huang
Decoding enzyme–substrate specificity with EZSpecificity
23 December 2025Achievements and challenges in deciphering heterogeneous catalytic reaction mechanisms using operando infrared spectroscopies
- Frederic C. Meunier
- Alexandre Goguet