Dr Calum TJ Ferguson PhD

• PhD in Biology/Chemistry, University of Leeds  2018
• MChem in Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, 2013

Calum is originally from Dumfries, in southwest Scotland. He obtained an integrated Master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh in 2013.

This was followed by a PhD from the University of Leeds in 2018, which was supervised by Dr Olivier Cayre and Prof. R. Elwyn Isaac. During his PhD, he was split between Biological Sciences and Chemical Engineering. His PhD focused on developing new methods for delivering biopesticides (e.g. peptides and dsRNA) to help control an invasive pest.

After completing his doctoral studies, he joined the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, as a postdoctoral researcher in 2018. Here, he pioneered the formation of vinyl-based photocatalytic polymers to create responsive photocatalysts.

He was then promoted to group leader in 2020 to continue this work. He began the Ferguson group with the first PhD form this group, graduating in 2024.

He returned to the UK in April 2022, joining the O’Reilly group at the University of Birmingham as a group leader whilst continuing his role in Germany.

In 2024, Calum was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the University of Birmingham, where his research group is now located.

Calum currently lectures the third-year Organic module in Polymer Chemistry. He also tutors Second-year organic chemistry.

My research combines state-of-the-art polymer chemistry with photochemistry to answer fundamental questions required to create the next generation of photocatalysts, which will help achieve net-zero goals.

In 2019, I published the first example of a photocatalytic vinyl-based polymer in which the macromolecular design was used to determine the photocatalyst's physical properties. This was achieved by modifying small molecule photocatalysts to allow them to be directly polymerised. Since then, I have used this method to create photocatalytic polymers that can be easily recycled and used in ways that homogeneous photocatalysts cannot.

Specifically, I have produced scalable photocatalytic hydrogels for wastewater pollutant remediation; pH-responsive photocatalysts that can be readily recovered using external stimuli; and photocatalysts that can regenerate enzyme cofactors to enable continuous biocatalytic reactions. I have also investigated the impact of various comonomers on photocatalyst performance, and shown that reaction dynamics can be controlled by tuning the microenvironment around a photocatalytic active centre.

Further to incorporating small conjugated molecular photocatalysts into polymeric structures, I have also produced functional conjugated porous polymer photocatalytic nanoparticles. I recently reported on combining conjugated photocatalytic network polymers with secondary linear polymers, which enables their use in greener, more sustainable solvents. I have also dramatically enhanced the conversion rate of selected substrates by grafting binding groups that target certain functional groups onto the surface of the photocatalytic nanoparticles. Moreover, I have explored the impact of surface area and substrate permeation on reaction efficiency by developing a new synthetic route that allows control over the size of the photocatalytic conjugated nanoparticles.

The photocatalytic materials I have developed are highly modular and tuneable, and I will use them as a platform to address current critical challenges in photocatalytic chemistry.

My current research is centred on three key themes:

• Heterogeneous Conjugated Polymer Photoredox Catalysis. Investigating new material classes of heterogeneous photoredox catalysts by incorporating multiple different catalysts into conjugated networks or investigating self-assembly of conjugated polymers to create photocatalytic nanomaterials.

• Photocatalytic Vinyl-based Polymers. The flexibility of vinyl-based polymers allows us to investigate the fundamental properties required to dictate photocatalytic performance. With this we are investigating controlling the selectivity of photocatalysts.

• Photocatalysis with Biological Systems.  Creating photobiocatalytic systems where photocatalysts work synergistically with enzymes to produce new sustainable routes to commodity chemicals.