Prof. Dr. George Britovsek FRSC

Since his Ph.D. studies in the early 1990's, George Britovsek has been interested in the catalytic properties of transition metal complexes in homogeneous solution.

He earned his M.Sc.-equivalent degree from the Technical University of Aachen, Germany, in 1990. During his Ph.D. studies under the supervision of Prof. W. Keim at the same institution, he investigated the enantioselective co-dimerisation of styrene and ethylene to form 3-phenyl-1-butene, catalysed by palladium complexes.

He was awarded his PhD in 1993 and subsequently continued his research as a postdoctoral fellow under Prof. K. J. Cavell at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Between 1994 and mid-1996, he conducted research on the palladium-catalysed co-polymerisation of CO and ethylene.

From 1996 to October 2000, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. V. C. Gibson FRS at Imperial College London, where he investigated transition-metal-catalysed olefin polymerisation. In collaboration with BP, this work led to the discovery of a new family of ethylene polymerisation catalysts based on iron and cobalt complexes bearing tridentate nitrogen ligands. These catalysts are highly active, straightforward to prepare, and cost-effective.

In October 2000, he was appointed Lecturer in Catalysis at Imperial College. He was promoted to Professor of Chemistry in 2017. His research programme centres on the challenge of carbon management—specifically, how we can meet future carbon demands. His work focuses on the design and application of catalysts for the functionalisation of alkanes, biomass, and CO₂, with the aim of assessing their potential as alternative carbon resources for chemical synthesis.

Present Appointments

• Professor of Chemistry

• Head of Teaching (Inorganic Chemistry)

• Director MRes Catalysis & Engineering