I returned to the UK at the end of 1981 to work with Prof. Don Bradley FRS at Queen Mary College London from January 1982. After developing some organoimido chemistry of Group 6 transition metals I transferred to a project involving chemical vapour deposition of III/V semiconductor materials. During this inroduction to materials chemistry I demonstrated the use of di-t-butyl phosphine as a source of P in the CVD of InP. Around this time I also became interested in polyoxometalates and the possibility of replacing some (or all) of the surface oxygens with organoimido groups, although this would have to wait until I began work at Newcastle University in 1984. I was appointed to a lectureship at Newcastle University in 1984 and began a programme to investigate the non-aqueous synthesis and reactivity of early transition metal polyoxoanions (polyoxometalates).

My interests lie at the interface between molecular solution chemistry and the solid state chemistry of oxide materials. As a consequence, our work centres around a wide range of metal complexes in which the metal is bonded to oxygen donor ligands, particularly polyoxometalates and metal alkoxides and their derivatives

Errington RJ. Non-Aqueous Polyoxometalate Synthesis for Systematic Studies of Hydrolysis, Protonation and Reduction. Advances in Inorganic Chemistry 2016, 69. In Preparation. Canioni R, Cadot E, Errington RJ, Leclerc-Laronze N, Roche-Marchal C. Synthesis, Structural and Electrochemical Properties of the [SbIII2SiMo12O40]4– anion, a Bicapped Keggin Polyoxometalate. Current Inorganic Chemistry 2016. Submitted. Pascual-Borras M, Lopez X, Rodriguez-Fortea A, Errington RJ, Poblet JM. 17O NMR chemical shifts in oxometalates: from the simplest monometallic species to mixed-metal polyoxometalates. Chemical Science 2014, 5(5), 2031-2042. Klonowski P, Goloboy JC, Uribe-Romo FJ, Sun FR, Zhu LY, Gandara F, Wills C, Errington RJ, Yaghi OM, Klemperer WG. Synthesis and Characterization of the Platinum-Substituted Keggin Anion α-H2SiPtW11O404-. Inorganic Chemistry 2014, 53(24), 13239-13246. Long D-L, de la Oliva AR, Yan J, Busche C, Miras HN, Errington J, Cronin L. A redox-triggered structural rearrangement in an iodate-templated polyoxotungstate cluster cage. Chemical Communications 2013, 49(84), 9731-9733. Kandasamy B, Wills C, McFarlane W, Clegg W, Harrington RW, Rodriguez-Fortea A, Poblet JM, Bruce PG, Errington RJ. An Alkoxido-Tin-Substituted Polyoxometalate [(MeO)SnW5O18](3-): The First Member of a New Family of Reactive {SnW5} Lindqvist-Type Anions. Chemistry: A European Journal 2012, 18(1), 59-62. Coyle L, Middleton PS, Murphy CJ, Clegg W, Harrington RW, Errington RJ. Protonolysis of [(iPrO)TiMo5O18](3-): access to a family of TiMo5 Lindqvist type polyoxometalates. Dalton Transactions 2012, 41(3), 971-981. Bakri R, Booth A, Harle G, Middleton PS, Wills C, Clegg W, Harrington RW, Errington RJ. Rational addition of capping groups to the phosphomolybdate Keggin anion [PMo12O40]3– by mild, non-aqueous reductive aggregation. Chemical Communications 2012, 48(22), 2779-2781. Errington RJ, Coyle L, Middleton PS, Murphy CJ, Clegg W, Harrington RW. Synthesis and Structure of the Alkoxido-Titanium Pentamolybdate (nBu4N)3[(iPrO)TiMo5O18]: An Entry into Systematic TiMo5 Reactivity. Journal of Cluster Science 2010, 21(3), 503-514. Errington RJ, Harle G, Clegg W, Harrington RW. Extending the Lindqvist Family to Late 3d Transition Metals: A Rational Entry to CoW5 Hexametalate Chemistry. European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry 2009, 2009(34), 5240-5246. Clegg W, Elsegood MRJ, Errington RJ, Wingad RL. Bis(tetrabutylammonium) -oxalato-bis[dibromidodioxidotungstate(VI)]. Acta Crystallographica. Section E: Structure Reports Online 2007, 63(5), m1269-m1270. Errington RJ, Petkar SS, Middleton PS. INOR 440-Protonolysis and related reactions of alkoxo-hexametalates [(RO)nM'xM6-xO19-n]z-: Insights into solution dynamics, steric effects and higher aggregation processes. In: Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society. 2007, American Chemical Society. Errington RJ, Petkar SS, Middleton PS, McFarlane W, Clegg W, Coxall RA, Harrington RW. Non-aqueous synthetic methodology for TiW5 polyoxometalates: Protonolysis of [(MeO)TiW5O18]3- with alcohols, water and phenols. Dalton Transactions 2007, (44), 5211-5222. Errington RJ, Petkar SS, Middleton PS, McFarlane W, Clegg W, Coxall RA, Harrington RW. Synthesis and reactivity of the methoxozirconium pentatungstate ( nBu4N)6[{(μ-MeO)ZrW5O 18}2]: Insights into proton-transfer reactions, solution dynamics, and assembly of {ZrW5O18}2- building blocks. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2007, 129(40), 12181-12196. Errington RJ, Petkar SS, Horrocks BR, Houlton A, Lie LH, Patole SN. Covalent immobilization of a TiW5 polyoxometalate on derivatized silicon surfaces. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 2005, 44(8), 1254-1257. Kessler VG, Seisenbaeva GA, Errington RJ. The structural characterization of the first mononuclear alkoxide cation: Isolation and X-ray study of [Mo(OMe)5(CH3CN)]Bi 2Cl7. Inorganic Chemistry Communications 2005, 8(6), 503-505. Doherty S, Errington RJ, Housley N, Clegg W. Dimeric aluminum chloride complexes of N-alkoxyalkyl-β-ketoimines: Activation with propylene oxide to form efficient lactide polymerization catalysts. Organometallics 2004, 23(10), 2382-2388. Errington RJ, Tombul M, Coxall RA, Clegg W. An alkoxide cluster with 18 Li+ ions encapsulating two borate anions, [tBuO)12Li18(BO3)2\]. Acta Crystallographica. Section C: Crystal Structure Communications 2003, 59(6), M231-M233. Errington RJ. General Strategies for Non-Aqueous Polyoxometalate Synthesis. In: Polyoxometalate Molecular Science: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute. 2003, Tenerife, Spain: Springer. Errington RJ. General strategies for non-aqueous polyoxometalate synthesis. In: Polyoxometalate Molecular Science. 2003, Tenerife, Spain: Springer. Errington RJ. Structure of Oxo Metallic Clusters. In: McCleverty, J.A., Meyer, T.J, ed. Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II: From Biology to Nanotechnology. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Science, 2003, pp.759-773. Tombul M, Errington RJ, Coxall RA, Clegg W. Tetrakis(μ3-phenoxo-acetonitrilelithium), a tetrameric lithium aryloxide with a cubane core. Acta Crystallographica Section E: Structure Reports Online 2003, 59(3), m137-m139. Tombul M, Errington RJ, Coxall RA, Clegg W. Tetrakis(mu-3-phenoxo-acetonitrilelithium), a tetrameric lithium aryloxide with a cubane core. Acta Crystallographica. Section E: Structure Reports Online 2002, E59(3), M137-M139. Errington RJ. Rational Approaches to Polyoxometalate Synthesis. In: Pope M.T., Müller A, ed. Polyoxometalate Chemistry: From Topology via Self-Assembly to Applications. Dordrecht: Springer, 2001, pp.7-22. Errington RJ, Wingad RL, Clegg W, Elsegood MRJ. Direct bromination of Keggin fragments to give [PW9O28Br6]3-: A polyoxotungstate with a hexabrominated face. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 2000, 39(21), 3884-3886.