PhD Studentship: Future Carbon-Neutral Fuels: The Chemistry of Ammonia on Steel Surfaces

Closing Date: 29 April 2024 at 23:59

Eligibility: UK Applicants only

Funding

EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship offering the award of fees, together with a tax-free maintenance grant of £19,237 per year for 3.5 years.  Training and support will also be provided.

Lead Supervisor’s full name and email address

Professor Sven Schroeder – s.l.m.schroeder@leeds.ac.uk

Co-supervisor name: Dr David Harbottle – d.harbottle@leeds.ac.uk

Project summary

This project will examine how ammonia, a carbon-free fuel considered a replacement for diesel, impacts on the longevity and performance of existing engine technologies. There is a global effort, both through industrial R&D and fundamental research, to develop ammonia fuel technology, especially for maritime transport of goods and power generation. A major innovation challenge is the unknown effect of ammonia on the internal steel surfaces of engines, especially corrosion by ammonia oxidation products (NOx). This project will systematically examine the interfacial chemistry of ammonia on steel surfaces, with a special focus on how ammonia affects the performance of lubricants in the prevention of corrosion and wear of steel surfaces. The project aims to generate a systematic understanding of the relevant surface chemistries by applying state-of-the-art surface analytical infrastructure in the Bragg Centre at Leeds and at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron radiation source. At the core of the project will be near-ambient pressure (NAP) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS) measurements, which will identify the surface reactions of pure ammonia and its mixtures with other fuels (e.g., diesel and hydrogen) on clean and lubricated steel surfaces. 

Measurements will be performed in situ under simulated engine conditions, as a function of temperature, pressure and time. High-resolution electron and X-ray microscopies will visualise the microscopic changes associated with steel corrosion and deposition of reaction products formed with lubricant components. This work will be complemented by the use of infrared and terahertz spectroscopies to probe both surface interactions and ammonia reactions with components in the liquid lubricant phase.

Entry requirements

First or Upper Second Class UK Bachelor (Honours) degree or equivalent.

Subject Area

Physical Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Energy, Nanotechnology, Applied Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Materials Science

Keywords

Sustainable Power, Analytical Science, Applied Chemistry, Corrosion Science, Energy and Decarbonisation, Formulation Science, Molecular & Nanoscale Physics, Physical Chemistry, Surface Analysis, Surface Engineering, Surface Science, Transport Decarbonisation, Transport Sustainability

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