Sylvia Draper

Biography

Prof. Sylvia Draper graduated in Chemistry from the University of Exeter (1:1) in 1988. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1991, working with Dr. C. Housecroft on 'Boron Butterfly Clusters' and since 1993, after a short PD fellowship with Prof. D. Cardin, has worked as a lecturer, fellow and now associate Professor in Inorganic and Synthetic Materials Chemistry in Trinity College Dublin. Prof. Draper is a recipient of both a Provost Teaching Award and a National Award for the Integration of Research Teaching and Learning (NAIRTL, excellence award)(2008), and held the position of Head of Discipline in Inorganic and Synthetic Materials from 2003-11. She is currently the Head of School of Chemistry, a position she has held since 2013. In 2017 she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. She is the Irish Representative on the RSC Heads of Chemistry UK standing committee and a fellows representative on the Board of the College.

Research Interest

I am a synthetic chemist with particular expertise in functional molecular materials and their opt-electronic applications. My early research publications sit at the forefront of emerging fields and are testament to my collaboration with some leading research figures at home and abroad. They contribute to a body of work in supramolecular and bio-inorganic chemistry and include the concept of methionine-baiting in the development of new palladium therapeutics (with the Centre for Chemical Synthesis and Chemical Biology, CSCB), the co-crystallisation of TRH-DE inhibitors (with the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience), and the exploration of NIR photosensitisers for application in Photodynamic Therapy (with Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, TBSI). The above satellite outputs however are heavily underpinned by a sustained interest into carbon-rich aromatic materials. The underlying achievements of my research therefore are in the creation and improvement of synthetic routes to highly, sought after molecular materials. The routes developed have opened-up new opportunities in the activity and function of tunable luminescent materials e.g. as photosensitisers in opto-electronic applications and devices such as solar cells and Light Emitting Diodes. My interest in carbon-based compounds arose from our early investigations into delocalized alkynes as electronic linkers in metal clusters. The latter are precursors to polyaromatic and heteroaromatic compounds and led me to develop a pathway to, and hence a unique class, of electron-accepting planar molecules: the Nitrogen-heterosuperbenzenes. This pioneering work spawned a significant number highlighted and prestigious publications, and it stimulated new directions within the field of molecular materials. In particular it prompted the advent of on-surface enabled CC coupling and served to ignite the heteroatom- nanographene world. My research group has a consistent record of achievement, marked by some major research milestones. These include the synchrotron molecular structures of founding members of the nitrogen heterosuperbenzene family, the use of large-surface ligands in photoresponsive, coordination compounds and a host of structurally versatile supramolecular and polymeric networks based on a novel sets of polyphenyl pyridines, phenathroline, pyridazine and fluoranthenes. Recent successes include the delivery and evaluation of molecular upconversion materials that exhibit the highest recorded singlet oxygen and upconversion quantum yields. The impact of this work is far-reaching and transformative in driving new industrial processes and technologies. Its quality has ensured that the group continues to be at the forefront of cutting-edge developments and to attract the support of major funding agencies.