PhD Studentship: Microfluid Synthesis of Metal and Metal-Oxide Foams

Closing Date: 29 April 2024 at 23:59

Eligibility: UK Applicants only

Funding

EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship offering the award of full academic fees, together with a tax-free maintenance grant of £19,237 per year for 3.5 years. 

Lead Supervisor: Dr Robert Menzel – r.menzel@leeds.ac.uk

Co-supervisor name:

Professor Rik Drummond-Brydson – r.m.drummond-brydson@leeds.ac.uk

Project summary

The studentship will investigate advanced chemical fabrication techniques to create unique functional foam materials, in close collaboration with our industrial partner AWE. The project will follow-on from a previous PhD studentship that successfully developed a microfluidics-based platform for the synthesis of polymer template structures, used to fabricate polymer foams with highly controlled internal structures. The aim of this studentship is to translate the microfluidics synthesis technology to the fabrication of metal foams (gold, silver, copper), metal oxide foams (tantalum oxide, titanium oxide) and related core-shell materials. The aim of the project is to utilise the high level of control provided by the microfluidic synthesis to produce foam materials with unique, bespoke internal microstructures, currently not accessible by other fabrication approaches.

Such foam materials are needed in context of advanced plasma physics experiments, linking theoretical predictions with state-of-the-art experimental work. The most promising materials, emerging from the project, will be tested at the national ORION laser facility on the AWE site. Selected foam materials will also be explored in sustainability-related applications, such as electrocatalytic CO2 conversions and energy storage technologies, via academic collaborations.

Materials synthesis and testing will be underpinned by advanced materials characterisation. A particular focus will lie on 3D imaging of the internal foam structures via high-resolution X-ray tomography at the AWE site. This will be complemented by state-of-the-art chemical 3D characterisation (FIB-SIMS, XPS) at the Bragg Centre for Materials Research at Leeds University.

The project will be carried out at Leeds University, with several secondments to the AWE site for X-ray tomography, micromachining and foam testing. The project is supervised by Dr Robert Menzel (materials chemistry), Prof Rik Brydson (advanced materials characterisation), and an industrial supervisor at AWE. Guidance and full support will be provided throughout the studentship from staff at both Leeds University and AWE.

The project will provide the student with training in advanced fabrication of micro- and nano-structured materials as well as state-of-the-art materials characterisation (electron microscopy, X-ray tomography, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) through experts at the University of Leeds and at AWE. The studentship will also provide opportunities to develop networks within academia and industry, including potential collaborations with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and US partner organisations. The studentship provides a standard PhD maintenance grant plus an industrial top of £3,000 per year. This opportunity is open to UK nationals only.

References: None

Entry requirements:

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

Subject Area: Materials Science

Keywords

3D Imaging, Metals and Alloys, Advanced Imaging and Microscopies, Materials Chemistry, Materials Engineering, Microfluids, Porous Materials

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