Dr Evelina Liarou

Evelina Liarou

Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow

Evelina.Liarou.1@warwick.ac.uk

About Me

08.2024-present. Assistant Professor of Chemistry (Research Focused)
02.23 & 06.24. Visiting Researcher @ ETH-Zurich - ETH Polymeric Materials, Switzerland
10.2023-present. Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow @ University of Warwick, UK
09.2022-09.2023. Marie Sklodowska-Curie EUTOPIA Science and Innovation Fellow @ University of Warwick, UK
10-12.2022. Visiting Fellow @ Queensland University of Technology - Macroarc, Australia
10.2020-08.2022. Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen (FWO) Fellow @ Ghent University, Belgium
2016-2020 PhD @ University of Warwick, UK
2014-2016 MSc @ National and Kapodistrian Univesrity of Athens, Greece
2009-2013 BSc @ University of Patras, Greece

Current Projects

Research Areas:

Polymer Physics
Advanced Electron Microscopy of Polymers
Polymerization Mechanisms

Ongoing & Past Projects:

Sound-Induced Self Assembly - Donghao Li (MSc, 2024 / joint with R. Becer)
Polymer Liquid Crystals - Dr Samantha Liu / P. Wilson group, 2023-2024
Molecular level understanding of the polymer chain behaviour using STEM - Jared Taylor (MChem, 2023-2024)
Molecular level imaging of star-shaped polymers - Amirah Mohammed (MChem, 2023-2024)
How much do SEM, DOSY, TEM, DLS and SAXS agree on polymer particle size - Chenxue Hu (MSc, 2023)

Research interests

Areas of interest & expertise

Polymerisations
Polymer Physics
Advanced Electron Microscopy ((S)TEM)

Scientific Activity

Member of Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Early Career Member of the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS)
Member of the European Microscopy Society (EMS)
Member of the Macro Group UK
Peer Reviewing

Selected Awards & Distinctions

Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (2023)
Eutopia-SIF (Marie Curie cofund) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2022)
Invited in the 71^st Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting (2022)
Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Medicine PhD Thesis Prize 2021, University of Warwick, UK (2021)
FWO Postdoctoral Researcher Fellowship (2020-2022)
Polymer Chemistry Outstanding Student Research Paper Award, Polymer Chemistry, RSC (2019)

Publications

Publications:

Mountaki, S. A., Whitfield, R., Liarou, E., Truong, N. P., Anastasaki, A.*, Open-Air Chemical Recycling: Fully Oxygen-Tolerant ATRP Depolymerization, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2024 146 (28), 18848-18854.
Brogden, Ε. Μ., Wilson, P. F., Hindmarsh, S., Hands-Portman, I., Unsworth, A., Liarou, E., Bon, S. A. F.*, A Mesh Reinforced Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive for a Linerless Label Design, RSC Appl. Polym., 2024, 2, 248-261.
Mohammed,M., Jones, B. A., Liarou, E., Wilson, P.*, Localised polymerisation of acrylamide using single-barrel scanning electrochemical cell microscopy, Chem. Commun., 2023, 59, 10992-10995
Liarou, E.; Houck, H. A.; Du Prez, F. E.^*, Reversible Transformations of Polymer Topologies Using Visible Light and Darkness, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 15, 6954–6963
Marathianos. A.; Wemyss, A. M.; Liarou, E.; Jones, J. R.; Shegiwal, A.; Town, J. S.; Lester, D. W.; Li, Y.; Haddleton, D. M.*, Controlling the Particle Size in Surfactant-Free Latexes from ω-Propenyl Oligomers Obtained through Catalytic Chain Transfer Polymerization, ACS Appl. Polym. Mater., 2021, 3, 6, 3185–3196.
Tobin, H.; Liarou, E.; Song, J.; Magiakos, A.; Wilson, P.^*, Synthesis and self-assembly of corona-functionalised polymeric arsenical nanoparticles, Eur. Polym. J., 2021, 144, 110235.
Marathianos, A.;^¥ Liarou, E.;^¥ Hancox, E.; Grace, J. L.; Lester, D. W.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, Dihydrolevoglucosenone (CyreneTM) as a bio-renewable solvent for Cu(0)-mediated RDRP without external deoxygenation, Green Chem., 2020, 22, 5833-5837.
Aljuaid, M.; Liarou, E.; Town, J.; Baker, J.; Haddleton, D. M.; Wilson, P.^*, Synthesis and [2+2]-photodimerisation of monothiomaleimide functionalised linear and brush-like polymers, Chem. Commun., 2020, 56, 9545-9548.
Zhang, J.; Liarou, E.; Town, J.; Li, Y.; Wemyss, A. M.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, Aqueous copper-mediated reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) utilizing polyetheramine derived initiators, Polym. Chem., 2020, 11, 5534-5541.
Liarou, E.; Han, Y.; Sanchez, A. M.; Walker, M.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, Rapidly Self-deoxygenating Controlled Radical Polymerization in water via in-situ Disproportionation of Cu(I), Chem. Sci., 2020, 11, 5257-5266.
Ma, C.; Han, T.; Kang, M.; Liarou, E.; Wemyss, A. M.; Efstathiou, S.; Tang, B. Z.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, Aggregation-Induced Emission Active Polyacrylates via Cu-Mediated Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization with Bioimaging Applications, ACS Macro Lett., 9, 5, 769-775.
Theodorou, A.; Liarou, E.; Haddleton, D. M.; Stavrakaki, I.; Skordalidis, P.; Whitfield, R.; Anastasaki, A.^*; Velonia, K.^*, Protein-Polymer Bioconjugates via a Versatile Oxygen Tolerant Photoinduced Controlled Radical Polymerization Approach, Nat Commun., 11, 1486 (2020).
Liarou, E.^*; Staniforth, M.; Town, J. S.; Marathianos, A.; Grypioti, M.; Li, Y.; Chang, Y.; Efstathiou, S.; Hancox, E.; Wemyss, A. M.; Wilson, P.; Jones, B. A.; Aljuaid, M., Stavros, V. G.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, UV irradiation of Cu-based complexes with aliphatic amine ligands as used in living radical polymerization, Eur. Polym. J., 2020, 109388.
Shegiwal, A.; Wemyss, A. M.; Liarou, E.; Town, J; Patias, G.; Atkins, C. J.; Marathianos, A.; Lester, D. W.; Efstathiou, S. and Haddleton, D. M.*, Polymerisable surfactants for polymethacrylates using catalytic chain transfer polymerisation (CCTP) combined with sulfur free-RAFT in emulsion polymerization, Eur. Polym. J., 2020, 125, 109491.
Hancox, E.; Liarou, E.; Town, J. S.; Jones, G. R.; Huband, S.; Topham, P. D. and Haddleton D. M.*, Microphase separation of highly amphiphilic, low N polymers by photoinduced copper-mediated polymerization, achieving sub-2 nm domains at half-pitch, Polym. Chem., 2019, 10 (46), 6254-6259.
Town, J. S.^*; Gao, Y.; Hancox, E.; Liarou, E.; Shegiwal, A.; Atkins, C. J. and Haddleton, D. M.^*, Automatic peak assignment and visualisation of copolymer mass spectrometry data using the ‘genetic algorithm’, Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom., 2020;e8654.
Marathianos A.; Liarou E.; Anastasaki A.; Whitfield R.; Laurel M.; Wemyss A. M. and Haddleton D. M.^*, Photo-induced copper-RDRP in continuous flow without external deoxygenation, Polym. Chem., 2019, 10, 4402-4406.
Alsubaie, F.; Liarou, E.; Nikolaou, V.; Wilson, P.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, Thermoresponsive viscosity of polyacrylamide block copolymers synthesised via aqueous Cu-RDRP, Eur. Polym. J., 2019, 114, 326-331.
Shegiwal, A.; Wemyss, A. M.; Schellekens, M. A. J.; de Bont, J.; Town, J.; Liarou, E.; Patias, G.; Atkins, C. J.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, Exploiting catalytic chain transfer polymerization for the synthesis of carboxylated latexes via sulfur‐free RAFT, J. Polym. Sci. A: Polym. Chem., 2019, 57 (3), E1-E9.
Liarou, E.; Anastasaki, A.; Whitfield, R.; Iacono, C. E.; Patias, G.; Engelis, N. G.; Marathianos, A.; Jones, G. R.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, Ultra-low volume oxygen tolerant photoinduced Cu-RDRP, Polym. Chem., 2019, 10 (8), 963-971.
Jones, G. R.; Anastasaki, A.; Whitfield, R.; Engelis, N.; Liarou, E.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, Copper‐Mediated Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization in Aqueous Media, Angew. Chemie Int. Ed., 2018, 57, 10468–10482.
Liarou, E.^¥; Whitfield, R.^¥; Anastasaki, A.^*; Engelis, N. G.; Jones, G. R.; Velonia, K.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, Copper‐Mediated Polymerization without External Deoxygenation or Oxygen Scavengers, Angew. Chemie Int. Ed., 2018, 57 (29), 8998-9002.
Liarou, E.; Varlas, S.; Skoulas, D.; Tsimblouli, C.; Sereti, E.; Dimas, K.; Iatrou, H.^*, Smart polymersomes and hydrogels from polypeptide-based polymer systems through α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydride ring-opening polymerization. From chemistry to biomedical applications, Prog. Polym. Sci., 2018, 83, 28-78.
Engelis, N. G.; Anastasaki, A.^*; Whitfield, R.; Jones, G. R.; Liarou, E.; Nikolaou, V.; Nurumbetov, G.; Haddleton, D. M.^*, Sequence-Controlled Methacrylic Multiblock Copolymers: Expanding the Scope of Sulfur-Free RAFT, Macromolecules, 2018, 51 (2), 336-342.

Book Chapters

1. Anastasaki, A.; Whitfield, R.; Nikolaou, V.; Truong, N. P.; Jones, G. R.; Engelis, N. G.; Liarou, E.; Whittaker, M. R; and Haddleton, D. M., One-Pot Sequence-Controlled (SC) Multiblock Copolymers via Copper-Mediated Polymerization, Sequence‐Controlled Polymers, John Wiley & Sons, 2018, 417-434.

Research Highlights

PhD & Postdoctoral Research

Liarou, E.; Houck, H. A.; Du Prez, F. E., Reversible Transformations of Polymer Topologies Using Visible Light and Darkness, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 15, 6954–6963

Liarou, E.; Han, Y.; Sanchez, A. M.; Walker, M.; Haddleton, D. M., Rapidly Self-deoxygenating Controlled Radical Polymerization in water via in-situ Disproportionation of Cu(I), Chem. Sci., 2020, 11, 5257-5266.

Liarou, E.; Anastasaki, A.; Whitfield, R.; Iacono, C. E.; Patias, G.; Engelis, N. G.; Marathianos, A.; Jones, G. R.; Haddleton, D. M., Ultra-low volume oxygen tolerant photoinduced Cu-RDRP, Polym. Chem., 2019, 10 (8), 963-971.

Liarou, E.; Whitfield, R.; Anastasaki, A.; Engelis, N. G.; Jones, G. R.; Velonia, K.; Haddleton, D. M., Copper‐Mediated Polymerization without External Deoxygenation or Oxygen Scavengers, Angew. Chemie Int. Ed., 2018, 57 (29), 8998-9002

Liarou, E.; Varlas, S.; Skoulas, D.; Tsimblouli, C.; Sereti, E.; Dimas, K.; Iatrou, H., Smart polymersomes and hydrogels from polypeptide-based polymer systems through α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydride ring-opening polymerization. From chemistry to biomedical applications, Prog. Polym. Sci., 2018, 83, 28-78.

Teaching Activity

Lecture on Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization (2024-, University of Warwick)
Lecture on Ionic Polymerization (2023-, University of Warwick)
Guest lecture on Degradable Polymers in Marine Environments & Self-immolative polymers (2021-2023, Ghent University)
Guest lecture on Light-Stabilized Dynamic Materials (2021-2022, Ghent University)
Guest lecture on Post-Polymerization Modification (2021, Ghent University)