Phone 0114 225 3428
Email S.Spells@shu.ac.uk
BSc, PhD, MInstP, C Phys
Research interests
Crystallisation and Structure of Polymers and Oligomers
This work makes use of vibrational spectroscopy and neutron scattering to analyse details of molecular conformation.
Structural Changes on Stretching and Annealing Polymers
The molecular rearrangements on stretching a polymer and their relationship to polymer morphology have long been poorly understood. Studies of polyethylene and its copolymers have clarified structural changes related to deformation. This work has made use of spectroscopic and neutron scattering techniques.
Depth Profiling of Surface-Modified Polymers
Chemical modification of the surfaces of polymer films allows the tailoring of physical properties, while retaining the good mechanical and optical properties of the bulk. The analysis of confocal Raman data is being developed to correct for some of the shortcomings in the technique.
Use of Imaging in Polymer Spectroscopy
Spectroscopic imaging has the potential to provide detailed spatial information on polymer systems, although a substantial amount of data pre-processing processing is required to make full use of the technique. This is being applied to systems of pharmacological significance (PhD project: Chemometrics tools for characterising drug/polymer systems)
Testing and Characterisation of Sport Surfaces
Standard tests are carried out, together with the development of characterisation techniques.
Research collaborations
Structure and behaviour of Polyethylene Oligomers - collaboration with the universities of Durham and Sheffield.
Key publications
All of Steve's papers can be acessed at SHURA.
X-B. Zeng, G. Ungar, SJS and S.M. King "Real time neutron scattering study of transient phases in polymer crystallisation" Macromolecules 38, 7201 (2005)
SJS and S. Coutry "Mixed crystal infrared spectroscopy of uniaxially drawn polyethylene films" Appl. Spectroscopy 61, 276 (2007)
P.A.S.R. Wickramarachchi, SJS and D.S.M. de Silva "Study of disorder in different phases of tetratriacontane and a binary alkane mixture, using vibrational spectroscopy" J. Phys. Chem. B, 111, 1604 (2007)
R.C. Coupe and SJS "Towards a methodology for comparing the effectiveness of different alpine ski waxes" Sports Eng. 12, 55 (2009)