He has developed novel DNA-binding ligands, such as bis-intercalating compounds and peptide nucleic acids (PNA), and demonstrated DNA-ligand reorganisations between groove-binding and intercalation binding geometries involving extreme activation energies and recognition due to kinetic (in contrast to thermodynamic) selection.
Dr. Whittingham is a key figure in the history of the development of Lithium-ion batteries discovering the concept of intercalation electrodes.
Silicon has been considered as an anode material because it supports larger amounts of lithium-ion intercalation.
It led to the reform of the Lex Acilia in 191 BC, the details of which are unclear, but it appears to have successfully regulated intercalation for over a century.