PhD Studentship - Mechanochemistry with Mechanical Bonds

This 3.5 year PhD project is fully funded for UK students. Your tuition fees will be paid, and you will receive a tax free stipend set at the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26). We expect this to increase each year.

The start date is January 2026 or April 2026.

Exceptional overseas students are also encouraged to apply.

Any force developed at the macroscopic scale can induce dramatic changes at the molecular scale, even breaking covalent bonds. Indeed, mechanical force is a formidable source of energy that, with its ability to distort, bend and stretch chemical bonds, is unique in its ability to promote reaction pathways that are otherwise inaccessible to traditional methods of activation. A precise control of this force can be achieved when the chemical entity that is the subject of the mechanical force (a “mechanophore”) is embedded within a polymeric backbone. Pulling both ends of a macromolecule apart creates highly directional strain with its highest intensity in the middle of the chain in a way reminiscent to a tug-of-war. The activation can be performed in solution, with the help of ultrasounds, or in the solid state, by simple stretching.

Mechanical bonds have always fascinated chemists because of their intriguing nature and an undeniable aesthetic appeal. Since the first synthesis of a catenane in 1960, mechanical bonds have been used in a variety of contexts, and their dynamic properties have been exploited to build molecular machines and new materials. The ability of their subcomponents to undergo large amplitude displacement, such as macrocycle shuttling in a rotaxane, make them ideal structures for mechanical coupling. We are currently investigating the rich array of mechanochemical behaviours displayed by catenanes, rotaxanes, and knots. We have recently described a rotaxane-based molecular device that can release multiple and diverse cargo molecules with high efficiency. The unique mechanochemical reactivity of interlocked molecules will lead to further advances in the design of responsive smart-materials and molecular devices.

In this project you will use interlocked architectures (catenane/rotaxane) to promote unusual mechanochemical transformations and processes. You will investigate their activation both in solution, using ultrasounds, and in the solid-state by mechanical stretching, and explore their properties. This project could lead to the development of self-healing materials and to the creation of chemical systems able to perform complex synthetic tasks.

You will be trained in synthetic organic, polymer, and supramolecular chemistry.

We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisor for this project, Prof De Bo - guillaume.debo@manchester.ac.uk before you apply. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience, include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project and your CV.

For more information on the group visit: www.deboresearchgroup.com

Contact Prof. Guillaume De Bo: guillaume.debo@manchester.ac.uk

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