Postdoctoral position in Solid State Chemistry
Applications are invited for a postdoctoral researcher to join a project to investigate materials for thermoelectric energy harvesting. The project is funded through the EPSRC Global Challenges Research Fund initiative and seeks to develop new solid-state materials for the extraction of electrical power from traditional Indian cookstoves (Chulhas). The project will focus on new mixed-metal chalcogenides related to Earth-abundant copper sulfide minerals. The Postdoctoral Research Associate will be responsible for the synthesis of materials and for the characterization of their physical properties, including the measurement and interpretation of data. Both conventional high-temperature processing and mechanochemical synthesis will be used. In addition to carrying out measurements in-house, the researcher will also perform diffraction and inelastic scattering experiments at central facilities.
The successful applicant will join the Solid-State Chemistry Group at the Department of Chemistry, under the supervision of Prof Anthony Powell and Dr Paz Vaqueiro. The project will be carried in a multi-institutional team, involving collaboration with the University of Manchester and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, India.
This is a full-time, fixed-term Post-Doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) position of up to 21 months duration.
Closing date: 24 April 2020.
Applications should be submitted online.
PhD Studentship available
New Metal-Oxide Materials for Thermal Batteries
A fully-funded PhD studentship is available
to work on new metal-oxide materials, with applications in
solid-state thermal batteries. These are batteries in which the
electrolyte, a solid under stored conditions, becomes molten on
application of a thermal pulse, leading to charge flow and normal
battery operation.
The project will focus on the synthesis and characterization of new
framework oxides with large unit cells. A combination of chemical
substitution, the introduction of weakly-bonded non-framework
species and nanostructuring will be used to tune the properties of
the oxide materials.
The project will involve a combination of solid-state synthesis, including high-temperature methods as well as mechanochemical and solution-based approaches to produce nanoparticles of the oxide materials. Physical properties will be measured using equipment within the research group. Detailed structural analysis will be carried out through powder X-ray and neutron diffraction, using both laboratory-based instruments and those at large-scale central facilities in the UK and overseas, coupled with electron microscopy. The experimental program will be complemented by computational studies of the properties of the materials.
Eligibility:
- Candidates should hold or expect to gain a minimum of an upper
second class honours degree in chemistry, physics, or materials
science.
- Due to restrictions on the funding, this studentship is only open
to candidates from the UK/EU
Funding Details:
This studentship is fully funded for 3.5 years and covers PhD
tuition fees, together with a tax-free stipend (currently £15,009
per year). The studentship is expected to commence in October 2020,
although the start date is negotiable.
How to apply: To apply for this studentship please submit an application for a PhD in New Metal Oxide Materials for Thermal Batteries at: http://www.reading.ac.uk/Study/apply/pg-applicationform.aspx
quoting the reference GS19-038 in the ‘Scholarships applied for’ box which appears within the Funding Section of the on-line application.
Contact a.v.powell@reading.ac.uk for further details.
Contact for webpages
Dr Paz Vaqueiro
Department of Chemistry
University of Reading
Whiteknights
Reading RG6 6AD
UK
Tel: +44(0)118 378 6363
Fax: +44 (0)118 378 6331