Chris Grovenor

Chris Grovenor has interests in the application of advanced analytical techniques to understanding the relationship between chemistry and microstructure and the properties of a wide range of functional materials.  Current areas of research include:

• Oxidation and hydriding mechanisms of Zr nuclear fuel cladding alloys (with Rolls Royce, Westinghouse, EPRI, EDF, CNL, Manchester University and Imperial College)
• Synthesis and characterisation of the new superconducting materials (with Prof. Susannah Speller).  I am the Director of the £6.5M Centre for Applied Superconductivity funded by the Oxfordshire LEP and working with local companies and research organisations, and with the Clarendon Laboratory, on industrially relevant problems in applied superconductivity.
• I am the lead investigator of the NNUF management group overseeing the installation around the UK of £80m of new facilities for nuclear science and technology (www.nnuf.ox.ac.uk), including an access scheme for all UK researchers to use this state of the art equipment.
• Leadership of the group using high resolution SIMS analysis to study a variety of industrially relevant problems, including additives to improve the performance of perovskite solar cells, hydrogen (deuterium) pickup mechanisms in zirconium alloys and the mechanisms of degradation of solid state Li-on batteries. 
• The application of thin film science for improving the performance of solid state batteries.