My research interests are centred on the synthesis, structure, and applications of Lewis acidity of organoborates/organosilicates and the  syntheis of new polyborate salts. Several novel and unique isolated polyborate species have been discovered as a result of crystal engineering by cation templated self-assembly from aqueous solution. An internationally accepted method for measuring Lewis acidity by nuclear magnetic resonanance (NMR) spectroscopy has been established.

Top Cited Publications

A convenient NMR method for the measurement of Lewis acidity at boron centres: correlation of reaction rates of Lewis acid initiated epoxide polymerizations with Lewis acidity, M.A. Beckett, G.C. Strickland, J.R. Holland, and K.S. Varma, Polymer, 1996, 37, 4629-4631. [531 citations].

Lewis acidity of tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane: crystal and molecular structure of B(C6F5)3.OPEt3, M.A. Beckett, D.S. Brassington, S.J. Coles, and M.B. Hursthouse, Inorg. Chem. Commun., 2000, 3, 530-533. [230 citations].

Recent advances in crystalline hydrated borates with non-metal or transition-metal cations, M.A. Beckett, Coord. Chem. Rev., 2016, 323, 2-14. [107 citations].

email: [email protected]

telephone: 01248 382378

Professor Mike Beckett is Emeritus Professor of Inorganic Chemistry within the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences and he is a specialist in the chemistry of boron. He has published more than 150 articles (h = 28) and has co-written a text book ('Periodic Table at a Glance', Wiley, 2006). His research papers on Lewis acidity measurement are internationally recognised and often cited as the 'Gutmann-Beckett method'. Mike Beckett is a Chartered Chemist and Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (CChem FRSC), a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and was an elected UK representative (2012-2025) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).