Dr James Railton

Assistant Professor

School: Geography and Natural Sciences

James obtained his PhD at the University of Sheffield (principal supervisor Dr. Marco Conte) researching the synthesis and application of shape-selective alkane oxidation metal oxide catalysts for the fine chemicals industry. After a PGCE at Newcastle University, James was a research fellow at Northumbria University under the supervision of Prof. Matt Unthank and Prof. Justin Perry. At Northumbria University, James has conducted projects in surface chemistry, sustainability and materials science funded by TransFIRe and Northern Accelerator. As a Research fellow, James independently obtained funding from the TFI Network+ and the Henry Royce Industry Collaboration Program to research surface functionalisation for waste valorisation. In Febuary 2024, James was appointed to a permanent lectureship to continue his work in waste valorisation, and to deliver chemistry teaching to forensic science undergraduates.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Surface Chemistry

Surface Analysis

Industrial Waste Valorisation

Dematerialisation

Heterogenous Catalysis

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Camu camu (Myrciaria dubia) polyphenols modulate rice starch digestibility after thermal complexation but not during storage, Girón-Hernández, J., Carranza Gutierrez, C., Railton, J., Cheung, W., Gentile, P., Benlloch Tinoco, M. 26 Sep 2025, In: Food Hydrocolloids
High hydrostatic pressure modulates the digestive properties of rice starch-gallic acid composites by boosting non-inclusion complexation, Rivero-Ramos, P., Railton, J., Rodrigo, D., Benlloch Tinoco, M. 1 Mar 2025, In: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Conversion of Contaminated Post-Consumer Polyethylene Terephthalate into a Thermoset Alkyd Coating Using Biosourced Monomers, Thomas, B., Lopez,  ., Railton, J., Bousbaa, J., Perry, J., Unthank, M. 29 Apr 2024, In: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Novel multi-scale experimental approach and deep learning model to optimize capillary pressure evolution in early age concrete, Jamali, A., Marani, A., Railton, J., Nehdi, M., Nagaratnam, B., Lim, M., Mendes, J. 1 Jun 2024, In: Cement and Concrete Research

PGR Supervision

Eleanor Gibson Chemical surface functionalisation of waste biomass ash for sustainable dematerialisation of cementitious systems Start Date: 01/10/2025 End Date: 17/10/2025
Eleanor Gibson Chemical surface functionalisation of waste biomass ash for sustainable dematerialisation of cementitious systems Start Date: 01/10/2025