Credit: SYNETIX

The phrase 'a coordinated approach' has an extra meaning for inorganic chemists. Coordination compounds — complexes that generally feature a central metal ion to which other atoms are bound — are at the heart of many important applications. One of the most notable uses for such compounds is in catalysis.

In the United Kingdom, catalysis is an area of opportunity, according to Brian Harrison, technology director of the chemicals division at materials manufacturer Johnson Matthey. There is strong industrial interest from firms such as Matthey and Synetix, the international catalyst arm of ICI.

Harrison says that many university departments around the world are making significant advances in catalysis — research that is important for industry. For David Prest, research director at Synetix, collaborating with academia is a vital part of his company's work.

Optimistic: Malcolm Halcrow believes coordination chemistry could have a bright future.

For example, Synetix has relatively extensive academic collaborations across Britain in inorganic chemistry generally and also in coordination chemistry. These include sponsored lectureships at several universities and a professorship at the university of Glasgow. He adds that the future looks bright — the investment in universities is likely to continue as time goes on.

The next important question is who will do the work that seems to be on the horizon. “The number of people doing inorganic is small because it is daunting — you need lots of background,” says Jon McLeverty, professor of chemistry at the University of Bristol.

For example, chemists who want to go into biomimetics — which involves modelling biological processes using wholly chemical systems — need to understand the biological processes that they will be emulating before they start their work. They also must be able to synthesize chemical compounds as well as learn spectroscopic techniques to analyse their work, says Sean McWhinnie, science-policy officer at the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Although individuals who have such mixed sets of skills are in short supply, employers are increasingly trying to turn that deficit into an advantage. By telling potential employees of the broad range of skills they will learn as coordination chemists, they are hoping that more of them will consider a career in the field.

The main gripe Harrison has is that UK-generated PhDs do not seem to have as well-developed problem-solving skills as their continental counterparts. McWhinnie agrees, noting that PhD students from European universities tend to have been at university for longer and are more mature.

Another problem is that the career paths for inorganic chemists can sometimes be so diverse as to be confusing. “The jobs are not in obvious places,” says McLeverty. “Bio-organic PhD students knew they could go into the pharmaceutical industry. People with inorganic PhDs could go into catalysis, paints, coatings, cement and analytical agencies.

For Prest, the opportunities are clear. “I expect that recruitment will never be smooth but, in general, we'll be doing steady and increasing recruitment,” he says.

Malcolm Halcrow, a coordination chemist at the University of Leeds, is optimistic. As more academics come through the system and more money flows in, he expects that there will definitely be more opportunities in coordination chemistry, even if there are not many increases for chemistry as a whole.