Career Acceleration Studentship in Materials Chemistry (974618EB)

PhD Supervisors: Andrew Hector and Gill Reid

PhD Description:

A fully-funded 4 year PhD studentship in materials chemistry is available at the University of Southampton. The studentship will be associated with the EPSRC programme grant ADEPT (Advanced Devices by Electroplating; https://www.southampton.ac.uk/adept/index.page). In addition to carrying out PhD research the student will be closely involved in undergraduate teaching (20% time commitment in years 1-3), and will be supported by mentoring to achieve Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

The ADEPT programme will use electrodeposition to structure semiconductors for device applications including thermoelectrics, phase change memory and IR sensors on a micro and nano scale, and involves research groups in physics, chemistry and electronic engineering in the Universities of Southampton, Warwick and Nottingham. A cohort of six students were appointed on the project in 2017, with a further four students starting in 2018. These will work closely with the team of academic investigators and postdoctoral researchers in a highly interdisciplinary project.

The available project is concerned with the production mesoporous silica substrates for use as electrodeposition templates. Using electrochemistry to orient a surfactant, it is possible to produce silica films with strongly aligned pores (http://dx.doi.org/DOI:10.1039/c4cp05730a). To make templates for the electrodeposition of semiconductor nanowire devices, we would like to implement variations in the pore sizes available through this route. This will involve synthetic chemistry to produce new surfactant molecules and electrochemistry for the silica deposition (full training is available). There also will be opportunities to develop expertise in a range of materials characterisation techniques including use of our excellent in-house diffraction, microscopy and spectroscopy facilities and experiments at central facilities such as the Diamond synchrotron.

The student will participate in undergraduate teaching in either inorganic or physical chemistry. In year 1 this will involve teaching lab activities and support teaching with a member of staff (e.g. workshops), but in years 2 and 3 after some experience there will be opportunities to host tutorials or undertake other more responsible roles.

Informal enquiries may be directed to Prof. Andrew Hector (A.L.Hector@soton.ac.uk) or Prof. Gill Reid (G.Reid@soton.ac.uk). The project is funded for 4 years and welcomes applicants from the UK and EU who have or expect to obtain at least an upper second class degree in Chemistry or another relevant discipline. Funding will cover fees and a stipend at current research council rates (201718 and subject to increase in 201819) of £ 14,553 per annum.

Due to funding restrictions this position is only open to UK/EU applicants

Applications for a PhD in Chemistry should be submitted online at https://studentrecords.soton.ac.uk/BNNRPROD/bzsksrch.P_Search

Please ensure you select the academic session 2018-2019 in the academic year field and click on the Research radio button.  Enter Chemistry in the search text field.

Please place Andrew Hector and Gill Reid in the field for proposed supervisor/project. Any queries on the application process should be made to pgafnes@soton.ac.uk

Applications will be considered as they are received, and the position may be filled before the stated deadline if suitable candidates are identified.

Closing Date: 31 Mar 2018
Post Type: PhD Studentship (Funded)