PhD Opportunity at Imperial College London
Designing nanostructured advanced polymer materials for gas adsorption and sensing
This project seeks to understand the thermodynamics, phase behaviour and nanostructure formation of polymer adsorbers for gas sensing applications. This polymer material is based on a based on 2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide, with high glass transition and crystallinity from which it derives high thermal stability, and is widely used as an adsorbent in both air collection and purge trap applications. The material is manufactured in a demixing process from solution (assisted by 2 co-solvents) via spinodal decomposition. Its morphology provides unique adsorption/desorption characteristics compared to other porous polymers and is currently exploited by the Health & Safety Laboratory (HSL, UK) as a sensing material for environmental and security applications. The ability to tune its structure and properties would enable a significant widening of its applications, in terms selectivity and sensitivity. While the synthesis of polymer is known and the process technology is established, there is surprisingly limited understanding of its nanostructure and the pathways for structure formation. In turn, this limits the control over the material morphology and function. The bottleneck lies in a systematic and rigorous material characterisation and thermodynamic understanding of this multiphase system and the demixing process. The project therefore seeks to (i) map the thermodynamics of the multicomponent polymer solution, (ii) determine the possible pathways for controlled demixing and nano-to-micro structure formation, (iii) fully characterise the morphology and control variables, and (iv) design tuneable porous materials with wider applications, focusing on environmental sensing.
The outcomes of the project have a significant potential impact in security and health monitoring, via the project partners, building on this fundamental understanding. The successful candidate would acquire unique skills in polymer thermodynamics (phase behaviour and demixing, mass transfer), advanced material design and characterisation (SEM,TEM, AFM, spectroscopy, calorimetry, light and X-ray scattering), in the context of designing a process to deliver materials with an important societal application. The polymer manufacturer (Tenax, tbc) and Health & Safety Laboratory (HSL) will be involved as project partners and co-supervisor, and the student will benefit from placements (expected 3-month period) throughout his/her PhD project. The project thus offers and exciting training opportunity in designing, characterising and optimising an advanced material with important applications, supported by an interdisciplinary team of academic, industrial, and government laboratory experts.
We seek candidates for January 2017application cycle, for an October 2017 start. You will hold, or be expected to achieve, a Master's degree in addition to a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) at 2:1 level (or above) in a relevant subject (e.g. Physics, Chemistry, Materials, or Engineering).
Applications will be handled in two stages:
Stage 1: Send a full CV, including the marks (%) for all (undergraduate) modules completed to date and including a clear description of previous research project experience, as well as a covering letter and contact details of two academic referees,to Dr.Joao Cabral (). Applications that do not provide this information cannot be considered.
Stage 2: Suitable applicants will be interviewed, and if successful invited to make a formal application.