Research Profile

Trevor Carey

Biography

Born in Cork, Trevor graduated with a B.Sc. Chemistry degree in University College Cork in 2004. He carried out his Ph.D. research under the supervision of Prof. John Wenger at The Centre for Research into Atmospheric Chemistry and at The Environmental Research Institute in UCC. Trevor's research focused on the Atmospheric Simulation Chamber Studies of the Ozonolysis of Green Leaf Volatiles. Trevor completed his Ph.D. in 2010.

Trevor was appointed Technical Officer for the School of Chemistry in 2011 and became Senior Technical Officer in 2016. He is responsible for undergraduate Physical Chemistry practicals and other activities in research and public engagement.

Trevor is very active in outreach activities for the School of Chemistry. He was coordinator of the highly successful RSC/SFI funded scheme 'Spectroscopy in a Suitcase' from 2014-2020 and is heavily involved in the running of the Salters Festival of Chemistry, Open Days and other events. Trevor is sole administrator of the School of Chemistry website, and five social media channels, using modern platforms and methods to communicate positive news on teaching, student awards and research achievements to a far-reaching online audience. In addition, Trevor is editor of the School of Chemistry newsletter.

Trevor's work has been recognised in the form of prestigious awards and nominations internally from the College of SEFS (2020) and UCC (2018), and externally from the Royal Society of Chemistry (2018), Cork City Council (2021) and Times Higher Education (2021).

Research Interests

Thesis title: Atmospheric Simulation Chamber Studies of the Ozonolysis of Green Leaf Volatiles

Supervisor: Prof. John Wenger

Abstract: Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are a family of oxygenated hydrocarbons produced from the biochemical conversion of linoleic and linolenic acid within plants. The compounds (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (Z)-3-hexenol and (Z)-3-hexenal form an important subset of GLVs that are emitted into the atmosphere in large quantities. In order to understand their impact on the atmosphere, information on their atmospheric degradation processes is required. A series of laboratory studies has been performed on the gas-phase ozonolysis of (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (Z)-3-hexenol, (Z)-3-hexenal and the structurally related compound, (Z)-3-hexene. Rate coefficients for the reactions were measured at 295 ± 2 K and atmospheric pressure.

The kinetic data allows conclusions to be made on the effect of various functional groups on the reactivity of the GLVs towards ozone. Yields for the primary carbonyl, propanal, and the OH radical were also measured and the contribution of each Criegee intermediate towards the overall OH radical yield was determined. The molecular composition of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) produced from the ozonolysis of the GLVs was investigated by off-line analysis of filter samples. Many low molecular weight products were identified using two dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry, while liquid chromatography mass spectrometry proved effective in characterization of short and longer chain oligomers.

The extent of oligomer formation showed a large dependence on the functional group within the GLV molecule; although dimer formation was observed for all of the compounds, higher order oligomers were only produced to a significant extent in the SOA from (Z)-3-hexenol. This is attributed to the high reactivity of its first generation oxidation product, 3-hydroxypropanal, which can hydrate and readily undergo further reactions in the particle phase. The yields of SOA produced from the ozonolysis of (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and (Z)-3-hexenol were determined under a variety of reaction conditions.

The results indicate that the SOA yield increases for higher starting concentrations of GLV, lower relative humidity and in the presence of seed aerosol. SOA formation yields from (Z)-3-hexenol are higher than those from (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate. The results suggest that GLVs are a potentially important global source of SOA.

Research Grants

 ProjectFunding
Body
Start DateEnd DateAward
Spectroscopy in a SuitcaseRoyal Society of Chemistry06-MAR-1406-MAR-20€112,491.00
SFI Research Infrastructure AwardUCC Strategic Research Fund01-JUN-1731-DEC-17€27,101.00
Chemistry Week Outreach ActivityRoyal Society of Chemistry01-DEC-1501-JAN-16€1,000.00

Publications

Peer Reviewed Journals

 YearPublication
(2011)'Structure-activity relationship (SAR) for the prediction of gas-phase ozonolysis rate coefficients: an extension towards heteroatomic unsaturated species'
McGillen MR, Archibald AT, Carey T, Leather KE, Shallcross DE, Wenger JC, Percival CJ ; (2011) 'Structure-activity relationship (SAR) for the prediction of gas-phase ozonolysis rate coefficients: an extension towards heteroatomic unsaturated species'. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 13 (7):2842-2849 [DOI] [Details]
(2009)'Reactive oxidation products promote secondary organic aerosol formation from green leaf volatiles'
J.F. Hamilton, A.C. Lewis, T.J. Carey, J.C. Wenger, E. Borrás i Garcia, and A. Muñoz; (2009) 'Reactive oxidation products promote secondary organic aerosol formation from green leaf volatiles'. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 9 :3921-3943 [Details]
(2010)'The gas-phase ozonolysis of 1-penten-3-ol, (Z)-2-penten-1-ol and 1-penten-3-one: kinetics, products and secondary organic aerosol formation'
O'Dwyer, M. A.; Carey, T. J.; Healy, R. M.; Wenger, J. C.; Picquet-Varrault, B.; Doussin, J-F. (2010) 'The gas-phase ozonolysis of 1-penten-3-ol, (Z)-2-penten-1-ol and 1-penten-3-one: kinetics, products and secondary organic aerosol formation'. Zeitschrift Fur Physikalische Chemie, 224 :1059-1080 [DOI] [Details]
(2008)'Structure-activity relationship (SAR) for the gas-phase ozonolysis of aliphatic alkenes and dialkenes'
McGillen, M. R.,Carey, T. J.,Archibald, A. T.,Wenger, J. C.,Shallcross, D. E.,Percival, C. J.; (2008) 'Structure-activity relationship (SAR) for the gas-phase ozonolysis of aliphatic alkenes and dialkenes'. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 10 (13):1757-68   [DOI] [Details]
(2008)'Characterization of polar compounds and oligomers in secondary organic aerosol using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry'
Hamilton, J. F.,Lewis, A. C.,Carey, T. J.,Wenger, J. C.; (2008) 'Characterization of polar compounds and oligomers in secondary organic aerosol using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry'. Analytical Chemistry, 80 (2):474-80   [DOI] [Details]

Professional Activities

Honours and Awards

 YearTitleAwarding Body
2021Outstanding Technician of the Year (Shortlisted) Times Higher Education
2021Further Education Award Shortlist (Top 3) Cork Celebrates Lifelong Learning
2020The Annual Student Nominated Outstanding Teaching Staff (Technical) Awards (1st Place) College of SEFS
2018Outstanding Colleague Award University College Cork
2018Higher Education Technical Excellence Award Royal Society of Chemistry

Employment

 EmployerPositionFrom / To
University College Cork Senior Technical Officer01-JUN-16 /
University College Cork Technical Officer01-NOV-11 / 01-JUN-16
University College Cork Research Assistant / Senior Demonstrator01-NOV-09 / 01-NOV-11

Education

 YearInstitutionQualificationSubject
2010University College Cork PhDChemistry
2004University College Cork BSCChemistry
2000North Monastery CBS LEAVING CERT EQUIVNumerous

Professional Associations

 AssociationFunctionFrom / To
Royal Society of Chemistry CChem01-AUG-15 /
Irish Science Teachers Association Technical Member01-SEP-17 /
Royal Society of Chemistry RSCiTech01-JUN-15 /
Royal Society of Chemistry MRSC01-OCT-11 /

Committees

 CommitteeFunctionFrom / To
Equality, Diversity & Inclusivity Committee Working Group Leader2020 /
RSC Technician Commitment Plan School of Chemistry Representative2020 /
Staff-Student Committee Technical Representative2020 /
Teaching Laboratory Working Group Technical Representative2020 /
College of SEFS Student Recruitment and Outreach Committee School of Chemistry Representative2019 /
Royal Society of Chemistry Education Division Awards Committee UCC Representative2019 /
The Executive Advisory Team Technical Representative2017 / 2018
The School Board Technical Representative2017 / 2018
Athena SWAN Committee Working Group Leader2016 / 2020
Teaching, Learning & Examinations Committee Technical Representative2014 / 2017
Technical, Administrative & Support Committee Technical Representative2011 /
Outreach, Public Relation & Admissions Committee Joint-Chair2011 /

Outreach Activities

 Description

SciFest Projects

BT Young Scientist Projects

School of Chemistry Social Media Administrator

School of Chemistry Website Administrator

School of Chemistry Newsletter Editor

UCC Plus+ Easter Camp

SEFS Summer School

SEFS TY Programme

Chemistry Magic Shows

Schools Analyst Competition

UCC Open Days

Salters Festival of Chemistry Coordinator

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase Coordinator

Teaching Activities

Teaching Interests

  • Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Practicals for 2nd Years (CM2003, CM2004, CM2007).
  • Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Practicals for 3rd Years (CM3016, CM3017).
  • Online Assessment (Canvas/Moodle) for Physical Chemistry modules (CM2003, CM2004).

Contact details


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School of Chemistry

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Second Floor, Kane Building, University College Cork, T12 YN60

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