Our vision is to use continuous photochemistry and electrochemistry to transform how fine chemicals, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals are manufactured in the UK. We aim to minimize the amount of chemicals, solvents and processing steps needed to construct complex molecules. We will achieve this by exploiting light and/or electricity to promote more specific chemical transformations and cleaner processes. By linking continuous photochemistry and electro-chemistry with thermal flow chemistry and environmentally acceptable solvents, we will create a toolkit with the power to transform all aspects of chemical synthesis from initial discovery through to chemical manufacturing of high-value molecules. The objective is to increase efficiency in terms of both atoms and energy, resulting in lower cost, low waste, low solvent footprints and shorter manufacturing routes. Historically photo- and electro-chemistry have been under-utilised in academia and industry because they are perceived to be complicated to use, difficult to scale up and engineer into viable processes despite their obvious environmental, energy and cost benefits. We will combine the strategies and the skills needed to overcome these barriers and will open up new areas of science, and deliver a step-change (i) providing routes to novel molecular architectures, hard to reach or even inaccessible by conventional methodologies, (ii) eliminating many toxic reagents by rendering them unnecessary, (iii) minimizing solvent usage, (iv) promoting new methodologies for synthetic route planning. Our proposal is supported by 21 industrial partners covering a broad range of sectors of the chemistry-using industries who are offering £1.23M in-kind support. Therefore, we will study a broad range of reactions to provide a clear understanding of the most effective areas for applying our techniques; we will evaluate strategies for altering the underlying photophysics and kinetics so as to accelerate the efficiency of promising reactions; we will transform our current designs of photochemical and electrochemical reactors, with a combination of engineering, modelling and new fabrication techniques to maximize their efficiency and to provide clear opportunities for scale-up; we will exploit on-line analytics to accelerate the optimisation of continuous photochemical and electrochemical reactions; we will design and build a new generation of reactors for new applications; we will identify the most effective strategies for linking our reactors into integrated multi-step continuous processes with minimized waste; we will demonstrate this integration on at least one synthesis of a representative pharmaceutical target molecule on a larger scale; we will apply a robust series of sustainability metrics to benchmark our approaches against current manufacturing.

Electron transfer is one of the most crucial reactions in biochemistry and the efficient and controlled transfer of electrons is crucial to living organisms. Metalloproteins with copper centres are particularly effective at performing electron transfer and understanding the link between structure and function of proteins lies at the heart of much biochemical and biophysical research. We propose a programme of research that interleaves novel theoretical developments (at Nottingham and Warwick) with new experiments (at Nottingham) to build a detailed understanding of the function of blue copper proteins, such as plastocyanin. Model complexes of the active site will be generated in the gas-phase and their spectroscopy measured. Adopting this approach will allow the oxidised and reduced forms of the active site to be studied directly, and will furnish information on how the presence of the coordinating ligands modulates the behaviour of the active site. Building on this, we plan to design complexes with tunable spectroscopic properties. The application of quantum chemical methods to study biological processes is without doubt an area of research that will grow rapidly in the near future. Molecular dynamics simulations within a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics framework will be performed for the oxidised and reduced forms of the protein, and extended to the ligand-to-metal charge transfer state of the oxidised form. These simulations will form the basis for the development of force fields that will be used to study the charge transfer process and establish the form of the entatic state of the protein directly.

This research will explore the impact of creative 'in-cell' opportunities on the wellbeing of adults living in prison. Framed by socially engaged museum practice (Chynoweth, 2021), it will examine creativity rooted in the heritage of 'illicit' making in prisons (International Red Cross, 2017), utilising museum artefacts made in prison settings as a catalyst for connectivity and lived experience insight. The research follows an extended period of Covid 19 restrictions in English prisons, with people confined to cells for up to 23 hours a day (HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Annual Report 2021-22). The tediousness of this experience, and lack of stimuli to take minds off confinement has contributed to rising levels of poor mental health with 1 in 3 prisoners showing symptoms of severe anxiety disorders (User Voice, 2022). With the increased 'cell-time', selfharm in prisons is at the second highest recorded level with 55,542 annual incidents in 2021 (Bromley Briefing, 2022). It is well documented 'that arts have a profound impact in improving the lives of people in the criminal justice system' (National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance, 2019), with research evidencing the positive impacts of group and practitioner led Page 3 of 6 therapeutic, rehabilitative, and educational art. This project fills a void to explore 'other types' (Fleetwood, 2020) of inventive creativity, to focus specifically on self led in-cell creativity, linked to the restorative benefits of making within a restricted regime. The inquiry will be guided by the following research questions, exploring how access to enriched creative opportunities behind the cell door might improve the wellbeing of adults living in prison: What are adults making in prison cells, of their own volition, with what, for what purpose? What are the wellbeing benefits of enabling opportunities for self-led making behind closed cell doors? What is preventing prison regimes from improving access and opportunity for people to make in their cells? What materials might be useful in performing the role of 'creative first aid' when the cell door closes? I will apply qualitative exploratory research methods underpinned by a reflexive autoethnographic approach (Ellis, C. et al, 2011), centering the lived experience of adults living and working in five mixed security prisons to determine the relevance and impact of crafting objects in-cell. Individual interviews with an intersectional sample of 70 prisoners and 20 staff members will sit alongside small group ideation sessions using design thinking tools (Tschimmel, 2012) museum objects, and creative materials to explore and map the emotional impact of making. The significance of this study lies in its potential to address how enhanced creative opportunities in-cell, inspired by prison made museum objects might have beneficial impacts to counterbalance 'harmful impacts of imprisonment on mental health' (World Health Organisation,2021). I aim for findings to contribute to an interdisciplinary research gap in the fields of museum studies and criminology, support research into socially engaged museum practice and use of artefacts as a source of compassionate creative connection with prison communities (Forster, Page 4 of 6 2016), inform improvements in HMPPS policy and wellbeing strategies and provide pathways to creative first aid for people living in prison.