Professor Sir Peter G. Bruce
Prof Bruce's research interests are in the fields of solid state chemistry and electrochemistry; particularly solid state ionics, which embraces ionically conducting solids and intercalation compounds. The group is interested in the fundamental science of ionically conducting solids (ceramic and polymeric materials) and intercalation compounds, in the synthesis of new materials with new properties or combinations of properties, in understanding these properties and in exploring their applications in new devices, especially energy storage devices such as rechargeable lithium batteries. Although ionically conducting solids represent the starting point for much of our research, we have extended our interests well beyond the confines of this subject alone.
Recent efforts have focused on the synthesis and understanding of new materials for lithium and sodium-ion batteries, in particular understanding anomalous oxygen redox processes in transition metal oxides used as high capacity Li-ion cathodes, understanding the mechanisms undepinning processes occuring in solid-state batteries and the challenges of the lithium–air battery.
Prof Bruce received the Tilden Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2008, the Carl Wagner Award of the Electrochemical Society in 2011, the Liversidge Award of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2016, the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society in 2017 and the Royal Society of Chemistry's Longstaff Prize in 2022. He has also been selected as a Highly Cited Researcher by Thomson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics each year since 2015.
His contribution to science has been recognised in the UK and overseas. In Her Majesty's 2022 Birthday Honours he received a knighthood for his contribution to science and innovation. In 2024 he was elected a Foreign Member of the the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Member of the Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences.
Prof Bruce is a founder and Chief Scientist of the Faraday Institution, the UK Centre for Research on Electrochemical Energy Storage. Between 2018 and 2023 he served as the Physical Secretary and Vice President of the Royal Society (UK’s national academy).
