Professor Richard Horrocks

Professor and SME STEM Champion


Professional Biography:
Class II Honours B.A. (Chemistry), Christ Church, Oxford
• l965 - 67 Ph.D. (Chemistry), The University of East Anglia.
• l967 - 68 Post-doctoral Fellow, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
• l969 - 72 Research Scientist, ICI Fibres, Pontypool.
• l972 - 76 Lecturer in Fibre Science, Bolton Institute of Technology.
• l976 - 88 Senior Lecturer in Fibre Science, Bolton Institute of Higher Education.
• 1986 Elected Fellow, The Textile Institute
• l988 - 89 Reader in Textiles, Bolton Institute of Higher Education.
• l989 - 90 Head of Department of Textile Studies, Bolton Institute of Higher Education.
• l990 - 93 Head of School of Textile Studies, Bolton Institute.
• 1993 - 1996 Director of Research, Bolton Institute.
• 1996 - 2001 Dean, Faculty of Technology
• 2001 - 2003 Director of Research, Bolton Institute
• 2003 - Research Professor
• 2006 Awarded Honorary Life Membership, The Textile Institute
• 2016 – Professor; SME and STEM Champion
• 2017 Awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Current research interests:
• Burning behaviour of fibres and textiles and their consequences; burn hazard assessment
• Flame retardant and heat resistant fibres and textiles
• Flame retardant advanced materials
• Degradation and durability of natural and synthetic fibre-containing textiles
• Degradation and durability of polymers related to textiles (eg coatings, finishes, etc.,)
• Carbon fibres from natural polymers including lignin
Most recent publications in referred journals:
1. “The combined effects of zinc stannate and aluminium diethyl phosphinate on the burning behaviour of glass fibre-reinforced, high temperature polyamide (HTPA)”, A.R. Horrocks, G. Smart, S. Hörold, W. Wanzke, E. Schlosser, J. Williams, Polym Degrad Stab, 104, 95-103, (2014)

2. “The potential of metal oxalates as novel flame retardants and synergists for engineering polymers”, A.F. Holdsworth, A.R. Horrocks, B.K. Kandola, D. Price, Polym Degrad Stab., 110, 290-297 (2014)

3. “The effect of fibrous reinforcement on optical and impact performance of fibre-reinforced transparent glass composites”, M.H. Akonda , B.K. Kandola, A.R. Horrocks, P. Myler, Journal of Materials Science, 49 (4), pp. 1903-1913 (2014)

4. “Fibre-reinforced glass/silicate composites: effect of fibrous reinforcement on intumescence behaviour of silicate matrices as a fire barrier application”, B.K. Kandola, M.H. Akonda, A.R. Horrocks, Mater Design, 86, 80-88 (2015)

5. “Recent developments and challenges in flame retardation of textiles and fibres”, A.R. Horrocks and Wei Liu, Mater China, 34 (7/8), 95-111 (2015)

6. “Flame retardant polyamide fibres: The challenge of minimising flame retardant additive contents with added nanoclays”, A R Horrocks, A Sitpalan, C Zhou and B Kandola, Polymers 2016, 8, 288; doi:10.3390/polym8080288, pages 1-17.

7. “Flammability of natural plant and animal fibers: a heat release survey”, M.L. Galaska, A.R. Horrocks and A.B. Morgan, Fire Materials, 2016, 41(3), 275-288; DOI: 10.1002/fam.2386

8. “Synthesis and thermal analytical screening of metal complexes as potential novel fire retardants in polyamide 6.6” A.F. Holdsworth, A.R. Horrocks, B.K. Kandola, , Polym Degrad Stab., 144, 420-433(2017)

9. “Understanding the thermal and dielectric response of organosolv and modified kraft lignin as a carbon fibre precursor”, M. Culebras, M. J. Sanchis, A. Beaucamp, M. Carsí, B. K. Kandola, A. R. Horrocks, G. Panzetti, C. Birkinshaw and M. N. Collins, Green Chemistry, doi.org/10.1039/C8GC01577E, 20, 4461–4472, 2018

10. “Environmentally Sustainable Flame Retardant Surface Treatments for Textiles: The Potential of a Novel Atmospheric Plasma/UV Laser Technology”, A. R. Horrocks , S. Eivazi, M. Ayesh and B.K. Kandola, Fibres, 2018, 6, 31; doi:10.3390/fib6020031

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