Dr Davis's research interests centre upon the synthesis and characterisation of polymeric materials for the development of new properties and behaviours. The research involves a mixture of synthetic chemistry together with structural determination using for example x-ray and neutron scattering techniques. He is particularly interested in polymer orientation and electrospinning to generate polymer fibres with sub-micron diameters and is organiser with the Institute of Physics of the series of conferences "Electrospinning, Principles, Possibilities and Practice". In addition he is interested in the application of polymer characterisation techniques to Food Science. For example he is currently involved in a project to produce sustainable polymeric fibres from food waste material.

Tawfeeq, A., Culham, A., Davis, F. and Reeves, M. (2016) Does fertilizer type and method of application cause significant differences in essential oil yield and composition in rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.)? Industrial Crops and Products. ISSN 0926-6690 doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.03.026 Mohan, S. D., Mitchell, G. R. and Davis, F. J. (2016) Development of molecular anisotropy in centrifugally spun fibers as compared to electrospun fibers. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering. ISSN 1439-2054 doi: 10.1002/mame.201600275 Singh, U., Spink, M., Davis, F. and Mitchell, G. (2015) Morphology of polymer networks formed in the chiral and non chiral phases of an anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal. Chemical Physics Letters, 641. pp. 80-83. ISSN 0009-2614 doi: 10.1016/j.cplett.2015.10.047 Ma, F., Bell, A. E. and Davis, F. J. (2015) Effect of high-hydrostatic pressure and pH treatments on the emulsification properties of gum arabic. Food Chemistry, 184. pp. 114-121. ISSN 0308-8146 doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.03.075 Ma, F., Bell, A. E., Davis, F. J. and Chai, Y. (2015) Effects of high hydrostatic pressure and chemical reduction on the emulsification properties of gum arabic. Food Chemistry, 173. pp. 567-576. ISSN 0308-8146 doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.10.046 El-Hadi, A. M., Mohan, S. D., Davis, F. J. and Mitchell, G. R. (2014) Enhancing the crystallization and orientation of electrospinning poly (lactic acid) (PLLA) by combining with additives. Journal of Polymer Research, 21 (12). 605. ISSN 1572-8935 doi: 10.1007/s10965-014-0605-2 Singh, U., Davis, F., Mohan, S. and Mitchell, G. (2013) Electro-active nanofibres electrospun from blends of poly-vinyl cinnamate and a cholesteric liquid crystalline silicone polymer. Journal of Materials Science, 48 (21). pp. 7613-7619. ISSN 1573-4803 doi: 10.1007/s10853-013-7578-0 Mahendra, V., Davis, F. J., Hadley, P. and Gilbert, A. (2013) The design of UV absorbing systems for horticultural applications. ISRN Materials Science, 2013. 604132. ISSN 2090-6099 doi: 10.1155/2013/604132