
Professor John Varcoe CSci Chem FRSC
Academic and research departments
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences.麻豆视频
Biography
Prof John Varcoe trained at the University of Exeter, receiving a BSc degree in 1995 and PhD in 2000). He then held post-doctoral positions at the 麻豆视频 (1999-2006). He was appointed Lecturer at the 麻豆视频 in August 2006, Reader in April 2011 and Professor of Materials Chemistry in April 2013. He was Faculty Researcher of the Year in 2010 and was awarded an (2010-2015). He is currently Associate Head of School for Research and Innovation for the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
Areas of specialism
University roles and responsibilities
- Associate Head of School - Research and Innovation
- Faculty Research and Innovation Committee
- Fire Marshal AZ Building
My qualifications
Affiliations and memberships
ResearchResearch interests
His research interests are the development of polymer electrolytes, ionomers, and catalysts for fuel cells, alkaline water electrolysers, carbon dioxide electrolyser systems, redox flow batteries, and reverse electrodialysis systems. More specific interests include the use of alkaline anion-exchange membranes (AAEM) and ionomers (AEI) in electrochemical energy technologies, the interface between polymer electrolytes and catalysts, and the use of hydrogen from ammonia cracking in fuel cells. He is co-manager of the EPSRC funded SE-regional Raman Microscopy Facility.
Research projects
Routine, non-destructive water-state sensing in ion-exchange membranes under controlled temperature and humidities using terahertz spectroscopy.
A collaboration led by Dr Hungyen Lin (Lancaster University): Jan 2025 - Dec 2027.
Next generation anion-exchange membranes (AEM) with covalently-bound antiradical functions for enhanced durability (2020 - 2023 Value 拢674K). A 3.5 year partnership with Newcastle University along with the support of two industrial partners (fuel cell and water electrolyser components)
SELECTCO2 Selective Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to High Value Chemicals (Jan 2020 - Dec 2022): A 9 partner consortium led by DTU Physics
REDAEM: Anion-Exchange Membranes for Reverse Electrodialysis (Duration Oct 2018 - Sept 2021 Value 拢430k): A 3-partner consortium led by Surrey
High Spec Raman Spectrometer Regional Facility (Principal Investigator Dr Carol Crean, duration Aug 2015 - Aug 2018, value 拢350k): Twitter @SurreyRaman #SurreyRaman
Fuel Cell Technologies for an Ammonia Economy (Duration April 2015 - March 2019 Value 拢1.15M): A 3-partner consortium led by UCL
Research collaborations
Surrey: Dr Hui Luo, Dr Siddharth Gadkari, Dr Dan Whelligan, Dr Carol Crean, Dr Judy Lee, Dr Rachida Bance-Soualhi, Dr Claudio Avignone-Rossa
United Kingdom: Newcastle University (Dr Mohamed Mamlouk), Lancaster University (Dr Hungyen Lin)
International: University of South Carolina (USA, Prof William Mustain), ICCOM CNR (Florence, Italy, Dr Hamish Miller), Technion (Haifa, Israel, Prof Dario Dekel), DTU (Copenhagen, Denmark, Prof Brian Seger), IPEN (Sao Paulo, Brazil, Dr Elisabete Santiago)
Indicators of esteem
Academic Awards
- 2016: University Health and Safety Champion Award (2015-2016)
- 2010: (2010-2015)
- 2010: Faculty Researcher of the Year (麻豆视频)
- 1997: Lovis Rydon Memorial Prize for best second year Ph.D. performance (University of Exeter)
- 1995: Fisons Prize for best third year results (University of Exeter)
- 1995: White Knight Prize for best inorganic third year project (University of Exeter)
- 1994: Beecham Prize for best second year results (University of Exeter)
- 1993: Dean鈥檚 Commendation for outstanding first year performance (University of Exeter)
Prof Varcoe's entries on:
Research interests
His research interests are the development of polymer electrolytes, ionomers, and catalysts for fuel cells, alkaline water electrolysers, carbon dioxide electrolyser systems, redox flow batteries, and reverse electrodialysis systems. More specific interests include the use of alkaline anion-exchange membranes (AAEM) and ionomers (AEI) in electrochemical energy technologies, the interface between polymer electrolytes and catalysts, and the use of hydrogen from ammonia cracking in fuel cells. He is co-manager of the EPSRC funded SE-regional Raman Microscopy Facility.
Research projects
Routine, non-destructive water-state sensing in ion-exchange membranes under controlled temperature and humidities using terahertz spectroscopy.
A collaboration led by Dr Hungyen Lin (Lancaster University): Jan 2025 - Dec 2027.
Next generation anion-exchange membranes (AEM) with covalently-bound antiradical functions for enhanced durability (2020 - 2023 Value 拢674K). A 3.5 year partnership with Newcastle University along with the support of two industrial partners (fuel cell and water electrolyser components)
SELECTCO2 Selective Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to High Value Chemicals (Jan 2020 - Dec 2022): A 9 partner consortium led by DTU Physics
REDAEM: Anion-Exchange Membranes for Reverse Electrodialysis (Duration Oct 2018 - Sept 2021 Value 拢430k): A 3-partner consortium led by Surrey
High Spec Raman Spectrometer Regional Facility (Principal Investigator Dr Carol Crean, duration Aug 2015 - Aug 2018, value 拢350k): Twitter @SurreyRaman #SurreyRaman
Fuel Cell Technologies for an Ammonia Economy (Duration April 2015 - March 2019 Value 拢1.15M): A 3-partner consortium led by UCL
Research collaborations
Surrey: Dr Hui Luo, Dr Siddharth Gadkari, Dr Dan Whelligan, Dr Carol Crean, Dr Judy Lee, Dr Rachida Bance-Soualhi, Dr Claudio Avignone-Rossa
United Kingdom: Newcastle University (Dr Mohamed Mamlouk), Lancaster University (Dr Hungyen Lin)
International: University of South Carolina (USA, Prof William Mustain), ICCOM CNR (Florence, Italy, Dr Hamish Miller), Technion (Haifa, Israel, Prof Dario Dekel), DTU (Copenhagen, Denmark, Prof Brian Seger), IPEN (Sao Paulo, Brazil, Dr Elisabete Santiago)
Indicators of esteem
Academic Awards
- 2016: University Health and Safety Champion Award (2015-2016)
- 2010: (2010-2015)
- 2010: Faculty Researcher of the Year (麻豆视频)
- 1997: Lovis Rydon Memorial Prize for best second year Ph.D. performance (University of Exeter)
- 1995: Fisons Prize for best third year results (University of Exeter)
- 1995: White Knight Prize for best inorganic third year project (University of Exeter)
- 1994: Beecham Prize for best second year results (University of Exeter)
- 1993: Dean鈥檚 Commendation for outstanding first year performance (University of Exeter)
Prof Varcoe's entries on:
Teaching
- CHE1044 Principals of Analytical Chemistry (Electrochemistry)
- CHE2038 Materials Chemistry: Fundamentals to Application [Module Leader]
- CHE3046 Topics in Analytical Chemistry (Electrochemistry)
- CHE3065 Polymer Chemistry, Engineering and Technology [Module Leader]
- CHEM028 Advanced Topics in Analytical Chemistry (Electrochemistry)
- CHE3047 BSc Research Project
- CHEM029 MChem Research Project
Prof Varcoe's lecture notes and handout will be on (available in the relevant Semester)
Publications
Highlights
See for a full list of publications and citations
ORCID ID:
All of the below where Surrey is lead affiliation are
INVITED REVIEW: J. R. Varcoe, P. Atanassov, D. R. Dekel, A. M. Herring, M. A. Hickner, P. A. Kohl, A. R. Kucernak, W. E. Mustain, K. Nijmeijer, K. Scott, T. Xu, L. Zhuang,
"",
Energy Environ. Sci., 7, 3135 (2014).
Q. Xu, B. O虂. Joensen, N. C. Kani, A. Sartori, T. Willson, J. R. Varcoe, L. Riillo, A. Ramunni, J. Drnec, I. Chorkendorff, B. Seger,
"",
Angew. Chem. Intl. Ed., e202501505 (2025).
B. O虂. Joensen, Q. Xu, K. Enemark-Rasmussen, V. Frankland, A. P. Periasamy, J. R. Varcoe, I. Chorkendorff, B. Seger,
"",
ACS Catal., 15, 1038 (2025).
A. Salvian, D. Farkas, M. Ramirez-Moreno, D. Torruella-Salas, A. Bern谩, C. Avignone-Rossa, J. R. Varcoe, A. Esteve-N煤帽ez, S. Gadkari,
"",
npj Clean Water, 7, 53 (2024).
E. J. Park, P. Jannasch, K. Miyatake, C. Bae, K. Noonan, C. Fujimoto, S. Holdcroft, J. R. Varcoe, D. Henkensmeier, M. D. Guiver, Y. S. Kim,
"",
Chem. Soc. Rev., 53, 5704 (2024).
C. A. Giron Rodriguez, N. C. Kani, A. B. Moss, B. O. Joensen, S. Garg, W. Deng, T. R. Willson, J. R. Varcoe, I. Chorkendorff, B. Seger,
"",
EES. Catal., 2, 850 (2024).
T. R. Willson, C. A. Giron Rodriguez, Q. Xu, J. Frow, F. Foglia, K. Smith, R. Ravikumar, M. Vinothkannan, N. Mahmoudi, I. Salam, A. P. Periasamy, D. K. Whelligan, M. Mamlouk, H. Lin, B. Seger, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 11, 20724 (2023).
A. Chakraborty, I. Salam, M. Choolaei, J. Lee, C. Crean, D. K. Whelligan, R. Bance-Soualhi, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
Mater. Adv., 4, 2099 (2023).
C. A. Giron Rodriguez, B. O. Joensen, A. B. Moss, G. O. Larraz谩bal, D. K. Whelligan, B. Seger, J. R. Varcoe, T. R. Willson,
"",
ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 11, 1508 (2023).
S. Garg, C. A. Giron Rodriguez, T. E. Rufford, J. R. Varcoe, B. Seger,
",
Energy Environ. Sci., 15, 4440 (2022).
F. Foglia, Q. Berrod, A. J. Clancy, K. Smith, G. Gebel, V. Garc铆a Sakai, M. Appel, J.-M. Zanotti, M. Tyagi, N. Mahmoudi, T. S. Miller, J. R. Varcoe, A. P. Periasamy, D. J. L. Brett, P. R. Shearing, S. Lyonnard, P. F. McMillan,
"",
Nature Mater., 21, 555 (2022).
R. Bance-Soualhi, M. Choolaei, S. A. Franklin, T. R. Willson, J. Lee, D. K. Whelligan, C. Crean, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 9, 22025 (2021).
[A spreadsheet containing the data used to plot the figures in this article can be found at DOI: ]
H. Adabi, A. Shakouri, N. U. Hassan, J. R. Varcoe, B. Zulevi, A. Serov, J. R. Regalbuto, W. E. Mustain,
"",
Nature Energy, 6, 834 (2021).
H. A. Miller, M. V. Pagliaro, M. Bellini, F. Bartoli, L. Wang, I. Salam, J. R. Varcoe, F. Vizza,
"",
ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 3, 10209 (2020).
J. C. Douglin, J. R. Varcoe, D. R. Dekel,
"",
J. Power Sources Adv., 5, 100023 (2020).
X. Peng, D. Kulkarni, Y. Huang, T. J. Omasta, B. Ng, Y. Zheng, L. Wang, J. M. LaManna, D. S. Hussey, J. R. Varcoe, I. V. Zenyuk, W. E. Mustain,
"",
Nature Commun., 11, 3561 (2020).
Y. Zheng, T. J. Omasta, X. Peng, L. Wang, J. R. Varcoe, B. S. Pivovar, W. E. Mustain,
"",
Energy Environ. Sci., 12, 2806 (2019).
T. R. Willson, I. Hamerton, J. R. Varcoe, R. Bance-Soualhi,
"",
Sustainable Energy Fuels, 3, 1682 (2019).
L. Wang, X. Peng, W. E. Mustain, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
Energy Environ. Sci., 12, 1575 (2019).
[Raw data (CC-BY) is available at ]
X. Peng, T. J. Omasta, E. Magliocca, L. Wang, J. R. Varcoe, W. E. Mustain,
""
Angew. Chem. Intl. Ed., 58, 1046 (2019).
A. L. Gon莽alves Biancolli, D. Herranz, L. Wang, G. Stehlikova, R. Bance-Soualhi, J. Ponce-Gonzalez, P. Ocon, E. A. Ticianelli, D. K. Whelligan, J. R. Varcoe, E. I. Santiago,
"",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 6, 24330 (2018).
L. Wang, M. Bellini, H. A. Miller, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 6, 15404 (2018).
J. Ponce-Gonzalez, J. R. Varcoe, D. K. Whelligan,
"",
ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 1, 1883 (2018).
T. J. Omasta, A. M. Park, J. M. LaManna, Y. Zhang, X. Peng, L. Wang, D. L. Jacobson, J. R. Varcoe, D. S. Hussey, B. S. Pivovar, W. E. Mustain,
"",
Energy Environ. Sci., 11, 551 (2018).
J. Ponce-Gonzalez, I. Ouachan, J. R. Varcoe, D. K. Whelligan,
"",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 6, 823 (2018).
L. Wang, J. J. Brink, J. R. Varcoe,
" ",
Chem. Commun., 53, 11771 (2017).
L. Wang, J. J. Brink, Y. Liu, A. M. Herring, J. Ponce-Gonzalez, D. K. Whelligan, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
Energy Environ. Sci., 10, 2154 (2017).
L. Wang, E. Maggliocca, E. L. Cunningham, W. E. Mustain, S. D. Poynton, R. Escudero-Cid, M. M. Nasef, J. Ponce-Gonzalez, R. Bance-Souahli, R. C. T. Slade, D. K. Whelligan, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
Green Chem., 19, 831 (2017).
J. Ponce-Gonzalez, D. K. Whelligan, L. Wang, R. Bance-Soualhi, Y. Wang, Y. Peng, H. Peng, D. C. Apperley, H. N. Sarode, T. P. Pandey, A. G. Divekar, S. Seifert, A. M. Herring, L. Zhuang, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
Energy Environ. Sci., 9, 3724 (2016).
Other showcased publications:
Y. Cui, R. van Gorp, T. Bastos, M. Al Murisi, N. Ul Hassan, S. Lateef, Y. Jang, J. R. Varcoe, M. Shao, A. Forner-Cuenca, W. E. Mustain,
"",
Electrochim. Acta, 512, 145538 (2025).
S. Willdorf-Cohen, A. Zhegur-Khais, J. Ponce-Gonz谩lez, S. Bsoul-Haj, J. R. Varcoe, C. E. Diesendruck, D. R. Dekel,
"",
ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 6, 1085 (2023).
K. Aggarwal, N. Gjineci, A. Kaushansky, S. Bsoul, J. C. Douglin, S. Li, I. Salam, S. Aharonovich, J. R. Varcoe, D. R. Dekel, C. E. Diesendruck,
"",
ACS Mater. Au, 2, 367 (2022)
J. J. Ogada, A. K. Ipadeola, P. V. Mwonga, A. B. Haruna, F. Nichols, S. Chen, H. A. Miller, M. V. Pagliaro, F. Vizza, J. R. Varcoe, D. Motta Meira, D. M. Wamwangi, K. I. Ozoemena,
"",
ACS Catalysis, 12, 7014 (2022).
S. Haj-Bsoul, J. R. Varcoe, D. R. Dekel,
"",
J. Electroanal. Chem., 908, 116112 (2022).
J. C. Douglin, R. K. Singh, S. Haj-Bsoul, S. Li, J. Biemolt, N. Yan, J. R. Varcoe, G. Rothenburg, D. R. Dekel,
"",
Chem. Eng. J. Adv., 8, 100153 (2021).
J. Zhang, Y. He, K. Zhang, X. Liang, R. Bance-Soualhi, Y. Zhu, X. Ge, M. A. Shehzad, W. Yu, Z. Ge, L. Wu, J. R. Varcoe, T. W. Xu,
"",
AIChE J., 67, e17133 (2021).
R. Ren, X. Wang, H. Chen, H. A. Miller, I. Salam, J. R. Varcoe, L. Wu, Y. Chen, H.-G. Liao, E. Liu, F. Bartoli, F. Vizza, Q. Jia, Q. He,
"",
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 60, 4049 (2021).
Y. Zheng, G. Huang, M. Mandal, J. R. Varcoe, P. A. Kohl, W. E. Mustain,
"",
J. Electrochem. Soc., 168, 024504 (2021).
K. M. Meek, C. M> Reed, B. Pivovar, K.-D. Kreuer, J. R. Varcoe, R. Bance-Soualhi,
"",
RSC Adv., 10, 36467 (2020).
J. Muller, A. Zhegur, U. Krewer, J. R. Varcoe, D. R. Dekel,
"",
ACS Mater. Lett., 2, 168 (2020).
M. N. Sweilam, S. F. Cordery,S. Totti, E. G. Velliou, P. Campagnolo, J. R. Varcoe, M. Bego帽a Delgado-Charro, C. Crean,
"",
Biosensors & Bioelectronics, 150, 111897 (2020).
X. Liang, M. A. Shehzad, Y. Zhu, L. Wang, X. Ge, J. Zhang, Z. Yang, L. Wu, J. R. Varcoe, T. Xu,
"",
Chemistry of Materials, 31, 7812 (2019).
M. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Thirunavukkarasu, I. Salam, J. R. Varcoe, P. Mardle, X. Li, S. Mu, S. Du,
"",
ACS Energy Lett., 4, 2104 (2019).
M. Bellini, M. V. Pagliaro, A. Lenarda, P. Fornasiero, M. Marelli, C. Evangelisti, M. Innocenti, Q. Jia, S. Mukerjee, J. Jankovic, L. Wang, J. R. Varcoe, C. B. Krishnamurthy, I. Grinberg, E. Davydova, D. R. Dekel, H. A. Miller, F. Vizza,
"",
ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 2, 4999 (2019).
R. E. Smith, S. Totti, E. Velliou, P. Campagnolo, S. M. Hingley-Wilson, N. I. Ward, J. R. Varcoe, C. Crean,
"",
Sensors Actuators B: Chem., 287, 338 (2019).
Y. Zhu, L. Ding, X. Liang, M. A. Shehzad, L. Wang, X. Ge, Y. He, L. Wu, J. R. Varcoe, T. Xu,
"",
Energy Environ. Sci., 11, 3472 (2018).
M.N. Sweilam, J.R. Varcoe, C. Crean,
"",
ACS Sensors, 3, 1802 (2018).
Y. Zheng, U. Ash, R. P. Pandey, A. G. Ozioko, J. Ponce-Gonz谩lez, M. Handl, T. Weissbach, J. R. Varcoe, S. Holdcroft, M. W. Liberatore, R. Hiesgen, D. R. Dekel,
"",
Macromolecules, 51, 3264 (2018).
W.H. Lee, C.Crean, J. R. Varcoe, R. Bance-Soualhi,
"",
RSC Adv., 7, 47726 (2017).
Y. Lu, L. Wang, K. Preuss, M. Qiao, M.-M. Titirici, J. R. Varcoe, Q. Cai,
"",
J. Power Sources, 372, 82 (2017).
T. J. Omasta, L. Wang, X. Peng, C. A. Lewis, J. R. Varcoe, W. E. Mustain,
"",
J. Power Sources, 375, 205 (2018).
J. R. Varcoe featured in W. Germer,
"",
Fuel Cell Bulletin, volume 2014, Issue 10, pp. 12-15.
T. P. Pandey, A. M. Maes, H. N. Sarode, B. D Peters, S. Lavinia, Ki Vezzu, Y. Yang, S. Poynton, J. R. Varcoe, S. Seifert, M. Liberatore, V. Di Noto, A. Herring,
"",
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 17, 4367 (2015).
A. Ong, K. K. Inglis, D. K. Whelligan, S. Murphy, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 17, 12135 (2015).
S. D. Poynton, R. C. T. Slade, T. Omasta, W. E. Mustain, R. Escudero Cid, P. Oc贸n, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2, 5124 (2014).
C. A. Hancock, A. Ong, P. R. Slater, J. R. Varcoe,
"",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2, 3047 (2014).