Acknowledgements Acknowledgements

would like to thank my parents Andrew and Angela for their invaluable and selfless help, support, and encouragement over the years. Perhaps you knew where I was heading when I asked for a chemistry set and microscope at the age of 11. I would also like to thank my siblings, Christian and Emillie for having an older brother. Thanks also goes to the extended Galbraith and Thelning families. Thank you to my supervisor, Khris Mahanty, for providing the initial inspiration and the research environment for me to develop as a scientist, and to Juliet Gerrard and Andy Pratt for their invaluable advice and encouragement. An extra thank you to Juliet for all the proofreading, and assistance with 'therefore ' and 'which'. This work could not have been carried out without the excellent background provided by the research of Stephen Giddens, who also deserves thanks for his practical and scientific advice. Some credit must also go to my high school science teacher, Mr. Brian Hall, who provided exciting examples of science to an enquiring mind. Thank you to Piklu Roy Chowdhury and Cynthia Bishop for their friendship, putting up with me in the laboratory, and for proofreading. Many other colleagues have provided helpful discussions and advice, especially Mike Griffin, Renwick Dobson, and Antonia Miller. Valuable technical assistance was provided by Beth Robson, Jackie Healy, and Vera Andjic. Thanks to Matt Walters for his assistance with digital imaging and for general discussions. Thank you to all my friends for helping to keep me (relatively) sane, and not letting me talk about science all the time. Special thanks to Faye Drawneek for her emotional support, and for trying to understand the science I talk about all the time. Scholarships from AGMARDT, the University of Canterbury, and the Todd Foundation are gratefully acknowledged