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Daniel Slocombe

Professor Daniel Slocombe

Director of Research

School of Engineering

Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

Professor Daniel R. Slocombe BEng PhD FHEA is Director of Research at Cardiff University School of Engineering. He carries out interdisciplinary research in engineering and chemistry, with a focus upon electromagnetics and materials.

He was the recipient of the Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2022 for his pioneering work demonstrating the use of microwave fields in innovative new applications related to decarbonisation, energy and environmental science.

CHFE website: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/explore/research-units/centre-for-high-frequency-engineering 

Publication

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

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Research

I carry out multidisciplinary research bringing microwave science and engineering to fields in which it is not conventionally used. I currently have research collaborations with departments of chemistry, physics, pharmacy, and biosciences, all taking advantage of the unique electromagnetic properties of microwaves in innovative ways. I currently have projects working on microwave catalysis for generation of clean hydrogen fuel, the destruction of plastic waste, manufacture of battery materials and new analytical and spectroscopic techniques for measuring a wide range of chemical processes.

 

Project Focus I – Hydrogen from fossil fuels: Can we decarbonise the entire hydrocarbon fuel industry?

Hydrogen is often described as the fuel of the future since its only by-product as a fuel is water. But there are major barriers to its widespread adoption. We lack cheap, safe and easily produced hydrogen storage materials and the infrastructure to support its distribution.

But in a recent discovery using microwaves, we managed to generate hydrogen from diesel and waxes with >98% purity, rapidly and on demand, with all unwanted by-products such as carbon dioxide and methane being suppressed and the only by-product being solid carbon. By this new approach, we could produce completely clean hydrogen fuel at the point of use using our existing petrochemical infrastructure.

  

Project Focus II: Clean hydrogen fuel and carbon nanotubes from plastic waste

Plastic waste is an increasing problem, with 12 billion tonnes estimated to have accumulated in landfills by 2050. Researchers have studied various ways to convert it into useful products such as fuels, synthetic oils, and carbon nanotubes, but these processes generally involve complex two-step processes requiring high temperatures and produce large amounts of CO2 as a by-product.

In recent work, we’ve demonstrated a simple one-step process for the catalytic deconstruction of plastic waste, which rapidly produces a large volume of hydrogen gas (>90% pure) leaving only a residue of carbonaceous materials, the bulk of which are carbon nanotubes. Within minutes, over 97% of the theoretical mass of hydrogen is extracted from the deconstructed plastic.

 

Teaching

EN3082/ENT782 - HF and RF Engineering (Module leader)

EN4806/ENT776 - High Frequency Electronic Materials (Module leader)

Biography

Professor Daniel R. Slocombe BEng PhD FHEA received the Ph.D. degree in Electronic Engineering from Cardiff University, UK. From 2002 until 2006 he was an engineer in the Royal Air Force and from 2012 until 2015 he was a Research Fellow in the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory at the University of Oxford, UK. He is the Director of Research for Engineering at Cardiff University and is a member of the Centre for High Frequency Engineering. He has carried out research in many areas of microwave science and high frequency materials including microwave activation of catalytic processes, synthesis of functional oxides, dielectric spectroscopy and new methods using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance.

Supervisions

Supervised Students

TitleStudentStatusDegree

ELECTROMAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF SEMICONDUCTING METAL OXIDES UNDER EXTERNAL STIMULATION.

PARTRIDGE Samuel LeeGraduatePhd

RF techniques applied to additive manufacturing

PARKER NyleGraduatePhd

RADIATION-BASED TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCED MICROBICIDAL ACTIVITY OF BIOCIDES

PASCOE MichaelGraduatePhd

MICROWAVE CHARACTERISATION OF AMMINES FOR ENERGY STORAGE APPLICATIONS

BARTER MichaelGraduatePhd

Biomedical Applications of Microwave Engineering

SHKAL Fatma AhmedGraduatePhd

Diamond-Based Optical Field Devices for Functional Ion Channel Imaging

MASON AndrewCurrentPhd

Enhanced Epr Spectroscopy Of Inorganic Materials

HARARI JaafarCurrentPhd