Research Fellow in Electron Nano-analysis of Amorphous-crystalline MOFs

Are you interested in the atomic structure of amorphous materials and disordered and strained crystals? Would you like to develop new electron nanobeam approaches for spatially resolved analysis of metal–organic frameworks and their composites?

Metal–organic framework (MOF) materials have shown exciting performance characteristics across a tremendous range of applications, from chemical separations to proton and ion conductive membranes in fuel cells to MOF glasses as encapsulating matrices for halide perovskites. Yet MOFs are often prepared first as crystalline powders. Fusing MOFs with polymers or glasses made from other MOFs creates materials with the right form factors for use in devices. These MOF composites, though, contain incredible structural variety. Not only are there amorphous components with possibly spatially varying amorphous structure, but the interface and strain in the embedded crystalline phases may also be altered by the composite formation process. In short, the defining non-periodic structures remain unresolved.

In this post, you will explore the atomic structure of amorphous components, distortions in crystals, and changes at interfaces in MOF composites using cutting-edge, low-dose electron beam techniques. You will advance scanning transmission electron microscopy-based electron pair distribution function analysis (STEM-ePDF) and examine strain using precession electron diffraction. You will work with synthetic collaborators and make your own MOF samples to optimise sample preparation, particularly for examining crystal melting and composite sintering processes using in situ heating approaches. You will make fundamental breakthroughs in our understanding of on amorphous and crystal structure in MOF materials.

You will use microscopy facilities at the Leeds Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopy Centre (LEMAS) as well as at SuperSTEM, the EPSRC National Research Facility for Advanced Electron Microscopy and the national and international centres including the Electron Physical Sciences Imaging Centre at the Diamond Light Source. You will join a wider team in advanced electron microscopy at Leeds and the Bragg Centre for Materials Research as well as a network of academic and industrial collaborators in the UK and internationally.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Sean Collins, University Academic Fellow

Tel: +44 (0)113 343 2798 or email: S.M.Collins@leeds.ac.uk

Location: Leeds - Main Campus

Faculty/Service: 

School/Institute: 

Category: 

Research

Grade: 

Grade 7

Salary: 

£ p.a.

Working Time: 

37.5 hours per week

Post Type: 

Full Time

Contract Type: 

Fixed Term (3 years due to grant funding)

Release Date: 

Wednesday 27 September 2023

Closing Date: 

Thursday 26 October 2023

Interview Date: 

To be confirmed

Reference: 

EPSPE1095

Advert information