Ilya Popov
Role
Postdoctoral Fellow
Room
A48
Email
Biography
Ilya obtained his MSc Degree in Chemistry from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2019 majoring in Physical Chemistry. During his study, under the supervision of Dr. Andrei Tchougreeff,
he worked on various scientific projects related to the development and implementation of quantum chemical methods. He then joined Elena Besley's group at the University of Nottingham to pursue a PhD in theoretical chemistry. In 2025, Ilya received his PhD from the University of Nottingham for a thesis entitled Hybrid quantum chemistry method for strongly correlated crystals containing transition metals
. Currently, Ilya is a postdoctoral fellow in Elena Besley's group.
Current Research Project
- Development of hybrid quantum chemical methods to describe transition metal atoms embedded into solids.
- Applying kinetic theories to study nucleation of metal nano-clusters on various surfaces.
- Theoretical study of the sputter deposition methods.
Research Interests
- Development of quantum chemical methods.
- Catalytic properties of single transition metal atoms and nano-clusters.
- Metal nanocluster production and characterization.
- Green's function theory applied to chemical problems.
List of Publications
1.
| Spin crossover in metal–organic frameworks: A crystal embedded multi-reference study. Ilya Popov, Andrei Tchougréeff, Elena Besley. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 2025, 163, 054117. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0246625 |
2.
| Timing the escape of a photoexcited electron from a molecular cage. Connor Fields, Aleksandra Foerster, Sadegh Ghaderzadeh, Ilya Popov, Bang Huynh, Filipe Junqueira, Tyler James, Sofia Alonso Perez, David A. Duncan, Tien-Lin Lee, Yitao Wang, Sally Bloodworth, Gabriela Hoffman, Mark Walkey, Richard J. Whitby, Malcolm H. Levitt, Brian Kiraly, James N. O’Shea, Elena Besley, Philip Moriarty. Nature Communications, 2025, 16, 5062. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60260-z |
3.
| A descriptor guiding the selection of catalyst supports for ammonia synthesis. Andreas Weilhard, Ilya Popov, Emerson C. Kohlrausch, Gazi N. Aliev, L. Scott Blankenship, Luke T. Norman, Sadegh Ghaderzadeh, Louise Smith, Mark Isaacs, James O'Shea, Anabel E. Lanterna, Wolfgang Theis, David Morgan, Graham J. Hutchings, Elena Besley, Andrei N. Khlobystov, Jesum Alves Fernandes. Chemical Science, 2025, 16, 4851-4859. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SC08253B |
4.
| Chemical Kinetics of Metal Single Atom and Nanocluster Formation on Surfaces: An Example of Pt on Hexagonal Boron Nitride. Ilya Popov, Sadegh Ghaderzadeh, Emerson C. Kohlrausch, Luke T. Norman, Thomas J. A. Slater, Gazi N. Aliev, Hanan Alhabeadi, Andre Kaplan, Wolfgang Theis, Andrei N. Khlobystov, Jesum Alves Fernandes, Elena Besley. Nano Letters, 2023, 23, 8006–8012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c01968 |
5.
| Electronic Structure and d–d Spectrum of Metal–Organic Frameworks with Transition-Metal Ions. Popov Ilya, Raenko Dmitrii, Tchougréeff Andrei, Besley Elena. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2023, 127, 21749–21757. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c05025 |
6.
| Effective hamiltonian of crystal field method for periodic systems containing transition metals. Popov Ilya, Plekhanov Evgeny, Tchougréeff Andrei, Besley Elena. Molecular Physics, 2022, Peter Gill Special Issue, e2106905. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00268976.2022.2106905 |
7.
| Analytical Model of CVD Growth of Graphene on Cu(111) Surface. Popov Ilya, Bügel Patrick, Kozlowska Mariana, Fink Karin, Studt Felix, Sharapa Dmitry I. Nanomaterials, 2022, 12(17), 2963. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12172963 |
8.
| Local perturbations of periodic systems. Chemisorption and point defects by GoGreenGo. Popov Ilya, Kushnir Timofei, Tchougréeff Andrei. Journal of Computational Chemistry, 2021, 42(32), 2352-2368. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jcc.26766 |
9.
| Minimum atomic parameter basis sets for elements 1–54 in a Hartree–Fock setting. Reinhardt Peter, Popov Ilya, Tchougréeff Andrei. International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, 2021, 121(16), e26687. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/qua.26687 |
10.
| Spatial distribution of atomic electronic density for elements 1–54 as coming from a Hartree–Fock treatment within the minimum atomic parameters paradigm. Reinhardt Peter, Popov Ilya, Tchougréeff Andrei. International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, 2021, 121(17), e26690. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/qua.26690 |
11.
| Deductive molecular mechanics of four-coordinated carbon allotropes. Popov Ilya, Slavin Viktor, Andrei Tchougréeff, Richard Dronskowski. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2019, 21, 18138-18148. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C9CP03504D |
12.
| Relative stability of diamond and graphite as seen through bonds and hybridizations. Popov Ilya, Görne Arno, Andrei Tchougréeff, Richard Dronskowski. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2019, 21, 10961-10969. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c8cp07592a |
13.
| Atomic orbitals revisited: generalized Hydrogen-like basis sets for 2nd row elements. Popov Ilya, Andrei Tchougréeff. Theoretical Chemistry Accounts, 2018, 138, 9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00214-018-2386-x |