PhD by Research Projects
Chemistry
Cool by Design: Harnessing Disorder for Solid-State Cooling
Lead supervisor: Helena J. Shepherd
Develop sustainable cooling materials by creating new metal-ligand complexes with enhanced pressure-responsive cooling properties. This interdisciplinary PhD combines synthetic chemistry, advanced characterisation and high-pressure studies with national and international collaboration. Students will gain diverse experimental skills, present research at conferences, and contribute to next-generation sustainable cooling technologies.
Overview of PhD Project
Recent heatwaves highlight the urgent global need for more sustainable and energy-efficient cooling technologies. Conventional refrigeration and air-conditioning systems rely heavily on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), powerful greenhouse gases that are being progressively phased out in Europe. Barocaloric materials, which undergo large and reversible temperature changes in response to pressure, offer an exciting solid-state alternative. Spin crossover (SCO) materials are particularly promising candidates, and introducing controlled structural disorder could provide a new route to enhancing their performance.
This PhD project will develop new disordered SCO materials with improved barocaloric properties, while uncovering the fundamental relationships between molecular disorder, structural transformations and functional behaviour. The project offers an exciting opportunity to work at the interface of synthetic chemistry, materials science and physical characterisation, contributing to the development of sustainable materials for future cooling technologies.
The student will undertake hands-on research throughout the project, synthesising new organic ligands and transition-metal complexes using both solution- and solid-state chemistry. They will develop expertise in a broad range of advanced characterisation techniques, including thermal analysis, IR and Raman spectroscopy, NMR, single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The student will also work alongside specialist collaborators on pair distribution function (PDF) analysis and high-pressure studies, gaining experience with techniques beyond those available within their home laboratory.
A key strength of the project is its collaborative and interdisciplinary nature. The student will work with national and international research partners, develop a broad network of scientific contacts, and have opportunities to present their research at conferences. This combination of cutting-edge research, extensive practical training and international collaboration will provide excellent preparation for a career in academic research, materials science, chemistry or related industries, while contributing to the development of next-generation sustainable cooling materials.
How to apply
Applicants must contact the relevant supervisor for their chosen project before submitting an application for the scholarship. Supervisor contact details are provided alongside each available project.
Please apply through the PhD application pathway on the following link and select the relevant project’s lead supervisor.
In your application please include:
- explain reasons for study
- provide an outline of a research proposal
- provide details and evidence of qualifications
- provide details of any teaching experience
- provide two academic references
- provide other personal information and supporting documentation
- make sure you include that you want to be considered for the GTA on the application
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact a potential supervisor before applying. Supervisors may be found here: Helena J. Shepherd, h.j.shepherd@kent.ac.uk
Designing bespoke Raman active chemical taggants with enhanced functionality and detectability
Lead supervisor: Dr Jon Tandy
This project will use computer modelling and laboratory synthesis to design chemical markers that are tuneable and easily detected by chemically adjusting specific signals in their Raman spectra. This will allow reliable chemical tracking when only small amounts of these markers are used within real-world security, forensic, or biological settings.
Overview of PhD Project
The wavenumber of a specific molecular signal within the “silent” region of the Raman spectrum (~1800 and 2800 cm-1), provides excellent utility in tracking taggant compounds within different fields, e.g. security, forensic science and biological tagging. Indeed, SRS microscopy has facilitated the label free imaging of cells by association of specific Raman signals with molecules such as lipids, proteins and DNA. Despite these developments, many taggants require specialised and expensive instrumentation that are typically not available in research laboratories and are often not appropriate when using portable Raman devices during in-situ field detection (e.g. for security or forensic applications).
This project will explore fundamental chemical design principles of Raman active compounds for applications within security, forensic or biological tracking. It aims to produce bespoke chemical taggants by simultaneously tuning the wavenumber of taggant signals and boosting the Raman band intensity to facilitate molecular tracking in applications where either low concentrations of a taggant are required, or less sensitive, handheld Raman spectrometers are used. These aims will be achieved through:
- In silico design of compounds with enhanced Raman signals
Density Functional Theory calculations will predict Raman spectra for a host of candidate molecules with validation of appropriate functionals, basis sets and spectral scaling factors using known Raman active compounds. Iterative chemical modifications of the candidate’s spectral positions/intensities will enable design of enhanced taggant compounds.
- Chemical synthesis of optimised compounds
Retrosynthetic analysis will formulate appropriate synthetic routes to produce target molecules determined in WP1 (e.g. using common methodologies like Glaser-Hay and Sonogashira cross-couplings). Products will be characterised by NMR/mass spectrometry, in addition to Raman spectroscopy to benchmark spectral band position and intensity against those predicted during in-silico design.
These iterative procedures will produce next generation chemical taggants with a wide variety of real-world applications within security, forensic science and biology.
How to apply
Applicants must contact the relevant supervisor for their chosen project before submitting an application for the scholarship. Supervisor contact details are provided alongside each available project.
Please apply through the PhD application pathway on the following link and select the relevant project’s lead supervisor.
In your application please include:
- explain reasons for study
- provide an outline of a research proposal
- provide details and evidence of qualifications
- provide details of any teaching experience
- provide two academic references
- provide other personal information and supporting documentation
- make sure you include that you want to be considered for the GTA on the application
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact a potential supervisor before applying. Supervisors may be found here:
Dr Jon Tandy, j.tandy-611@kent.ac.uk and Dr David Beal, D.M.Beal@kent.ac.uk
The Extraction of Critical Minerals from Seawater by Porous Polymers
Lead supervisor: Professor Simon Holder
This project develops an environmentally sustainable method to recover vanadium, scandium, and molybdenum from seawater brine, avoiding damaging mining practices. It will optimise reusable, highly porous polyHIPE materials for selective mineral absorption under flow conditions, improve mineral removal and material regeneration, and advance scalable critical-mineral production supporting renewable energy storage.
Overview of PhD Project
This project will develop a clean, non-polluting method for producing vanadium, a critical material used in next-generation battery technologies. Vanadium is essential for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), which provide long-duration energy storage needed to support the world’s transition to renewable power. However, most of the world’s vanadium is currently produced using energy-intensive and socially and environmentally damaging processes (such as open cast mining).
Following a period of primary research and innovation at the University of Kent, a new technique for harvesting vanadium from seawater brine was developed. This innovation has resulted in a polymeric high internal phase emulsions (polyHIPE) material which is a highly absorbent, highly porous material with a very high surface area. PolyHIPEs are highly porous materials with large internal surface areas making them ideal substrates for absorption. The polyHIPE synthesized and characterised at Kent and been shown to selectively absorb vanadium from aqueous solutions. The polyHIPE is reusable, with a simple, atom efficient process for synthesis.
The first aim of the project is to further synthesise and develop this polyHIPE for the selective uptake of critical minerals from seawater. The material will be optimised to work as a column packing for operation under flow conditions which will involve a degree of collaboration with a company in Southampton. Removal of the vanadium from the polyHIPE and its re-use will also be optimised. This part of the project will involve organic and polymer chemistry with a materials focus.
The second aim will be to adapt the organic chemistry of the polyHIPE for to enable the selective absorption of scandium and molybdenum (significant components of seawater and both classified as critical minerals). Again, with a view to developing processes for critical mineral production that avoid classical mining and that are environmentally sustainable. This aspect of the project will involve organic and polymer chemistry some basic inorganic chemistry.
How to apply
Applicants must contact the relevant supervisor for their chosen project before submitting an application for the scholarship. Supervisor contact details are provided alongside each available project.
Please apply through the PhD application pathway on the following link and select the relevant project’s lead supervisor.
In your application please include:
- explain reasons for study
- provide an outline of a research proposal
- provide details and evidence of qualifications
- provide details of any teaching experience
- provide two academic references
- provide other personal information and supporting documentation
- make sure you include that you want to be considered for the GTA on the application
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact a potential supervisor before applying. Supervisors may be found here:
Prof Simon J Holder, s.j.holder@kent.ac.uk, https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5d0uJT8AAAAJ&hl=en
Dr Helena J Shepherd, h.j.shepherd@kent.ac.uk, https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=J89fl80AAAAJ
Bio-inspired tetrapyrrolic photocatalysts for red and near-infrared (NIR) light-driven chemical synthesis
Lead supervisor: Dr Mandeep Chahal
This project will explore how light can be used to make chemical reactions more sustainable. Inspired by nature, new materials will be developed to capture red and near-infrared light and use it to drive useful chemical reactions. The research could lead to cleaner, more energy-efficient ways of making medicines and other valuable chemicals.
Overview of PhD Project
Photocatalysis is emerging as a key technology for sustainable chemical synthesis by enabling reactions to be driven using light rather than energy-intensive processes. However, current photocatalysts are dominated by UV-Vis light-responsive materials, particularly TiO2 and precious-metal complexes, which utilise only a limited fraction of the solar spectrum, suffer from poor light penetration and are often expensive or environmentally undesirable. Red and near-infrared (NIR) light account for more than half of the solar energy reaching the Earth’s surface, yet this region remains largely underexploited because of lack of efficient and sustainable PCs.
This project will develop bio-inspired tetrapyrrolic chromophores for red- and NIR-light-activated photocatalysis. These materials are inspired by natural pigments such as chlorophylls and bacteriochlorophylls, which efficiently absorb long-wavelength light and use the resulting excitation energy to drive photochemical transformations. Structural modifications, metal incorporation and extended π-conjugation will tune their optical, electrochemical and excited-state properties, establishing design principles for efficient red- and NIR-active photocatalysts.
The research comprises three interconnected objectives: First, metal-free, metalated and hybrid porphyrinoid systems will be synthesised and characterised, with a particular focus on enhancing red/NIR absorption and understanding their photophysical and electrochemical properties. Second, the resulting photocatalysts will be evaluated in benchmark transformations relevant to fine chemical synthesis and the late-stage functionalisation of pharmaceutically relevant molecules under red and NIR irradiation. Third, the most successful systems will be translated into heterogeneous and solar-driven formats to assess their stability, recyclability and potential for scalable applications. Overall, the project will establish molecular design principles for red- and NIR-absorbing bio-inspired photocatalysts and investigate how low-energy photons can be converted into productive chemical reactivity. These systems could offer sustainable alternatives to conventional photocatalysts, supporting cleaner synthesis of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals, biomass valorisation and broader applications aligned with global net-zero ambitions.
How to apply
Applicants must contact the relevant supervisor for their chosen project before submitting an application for the scholarship. Supervisor contact details are provided alongside each available project.
Please apply through the PhD application pathway on the following link and select the relevant project’s lead supervisor.
In your application please include:
- explain reasons for study
- provide an outline of a research proposal
- provide details and evidence of qualifications
- provide details of any teaching experience
- provide two academic references
- provide other personal information and supporting documentation
- make sure you include that you want to be considered for the GTA on the application
Supervisors may be found here: Dr Mandeep Chahal (m.k.chahal@kent.ac.uk )