Research Interests

The behavior of liquids and their interfaces underlies many important phenomena across the biological and physical sciences. I use molecular simulations and statistical mechanics to elicit the microscopic details of interfacial systems, with an emphasis on perhaps the most important of all liquids: water and its salt solutions. 

Recent research has focused on improving simulations methods to give a better description of ions adsorbed to charged interfaces [1], which is important for tackling complex problems such as ice nucleation [2]. I also have a keen interest in understanding dielectric response in water [3,4] and its implications for aqueous ion solvation [5].

Dr Cox discusses his research

[1] T Sayer & SJ Cox, J. Chem. Phys. 153, 164709 (2020) [publisher,arXiv]

[2] T Sayer & SJ Cox, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 21, 14546 (2019) [publisher,arXiv]

[3] SJ Cox, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 117, 19746 (2020) [publisher,arXiv]

[4] SJ Cox & M Sprik, J. Chem. Phys. 151, 064506 (2019) [publisher,arXiv]

[5] SJ Cox, DG Thorpe, PR Shaffer & PL Geissler, Chem. Sci. 11, 11791 (2020) [publisher,arXiv]

 

Recruitment

Possible PhD projects involve improving simulation methodology to understand the structure and dynamics of charged interfaces in solution; using molecular simulations to understand how polar crystals grow; or pursuing theoretical approaches to improve our understanding of complex fluids. 

If you are interested in joining the team, please get in touch to discuss opportunities.

 

Biography

  • 2021-present: Royal Society University Research Fellow, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, UK
  • 2017-2021: Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellow, visiting Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, UK
  • 2018-present: College lecturer, Churchill College, University of Cambridge, UK
  • 2020-2021: Undergraduate Tutor, Churchill College, University of Cambridge, UK
  • 2015-2017: Postdoctoral research fellow, Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Ca. USA
  • 2010-2014: PhD student, Department of Chemistry, University College London, UK

 

Awards

Publications

Microscopic Kinetics Pathway of Salt Crystallization in Graphene Nanocapillaries
L Wang, J Chen, SJ Cox, L Liu, GC Sosso, N Li, P Gao, A Michaelides, E Wang, X Bai
Physical Review Letters
(2021)
126
Macroscopic surface charges from microscopic simulations.
T Sayer, SJ Cox
The Journal of chemical physics
(2020)
153
Assessing long-range contributions to the charge asymmetry of ion adsorption at the air-water interface.
SJ Cox, DG Thorpe, PR Shaffer, PL Geissler
Chemical science
(2020)
11
Computing Surface Acidity Constants of Proton Hopping Groups from Density Functional Theory-Based Molecular Dynamics: Application to the SnO2(110)/H2O Interface.
M Jia, C Zhang, SJ Cox, M Sprik, J Cheng
Journal of chemical theory and computation
(2020)
16
Dielectric response with short-ranged electrostatics.
SJ Cox
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
(2020)
117
Finite field formalism for bulk electrolyte solutions
SJ Cox, M Sprik
The Journal of Chemical Physics
(2019)
151
Stabilization of AgI's polar surfaces by the aqueous environment, and its implications for ice formation.
T Sayer, SJ Cox
Phys Chem Chem Phys
(2019)
21
Ice is born in low-mobility regions of supercooled liquid water.
M Fitzner, GC Sosso, SJ Cox, A Michaelides
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
(2019)
116
Interfacial ion solvation: Obtaining the thermodynamic limit from molecular simulations
SJ Cox, PL Geissler
The Journal of chemical physics
(2018)
148
Formation of Methane Hydrate in the Presence of Natural and Synthetic Nanoparticles
SJ Cox, DJF Taylor, TGA Youngs, AK Soper, TS Totton, RG Chapman, M Arjmandi, MG Hodges, NT Skipper, A Michaelides
Journal of the American Chemical Society
(2018)
140

Research Group

Research Interest Group

Telephone number

01223 336384 (shared)

Email address