PhD Studentship for International Students at University of Sheffield in UK, 2013

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University of Sheffield is offering a PhD research position for international students. Position is available for pursuing PhD degree level at the Department of Material Science & Engineering. Researchers must have or expect to gain a 1st class honors degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science or a relevant aspect of Engineering. The studentship will cover home fees and pay the research council standard stipend of £13,590 per annum at 2012/13 rates. Only exceptional non-UK candidates are eligible for the stipend and for University fees (up to a UK home fee) to be covered by the grant. Application must be send by electronically.

Study Subject(s): The position is awarded in Neutron-based techniques to probe the structures and dynamics of Li+ ion conduction at the University of Sheffield in UK.

Course Level: This scholarship is for pursuing PhD degree level at Vienna University of Technology, Austria.

Scholarship Provider: Department of Material Science & Engineering at the University of Sheffield

Scholarship can be taken at: UK

Eligibility: The project is open to International students who have or expect to gain a 1st class honors degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science or a relevant aspect of Engineering.

Scholarship Open for Students of Following Countries: International students are eligible for this PhD research position.

Scholarship Description: Lithium batteries increasingly play a role in the energy sector as power sources for both electronic devices and larger scale applications in electric and hybrid vehicle propulsion. This PhD project is linked to a larger materials discovery programme at Sheffield on the synthesis and characterization of new Li-based materials for power source applications. The thrust of the programme is to generate several families of new materials by the relatively unexplored strategy of anion doping. Materials will be prepared and characterized in Sheffield and tested for their suitability as potential ionic or mixed ionic/electronic conductors prior to neutron studies.

Neutron diffraction studies give the location of light Li+ ions within battery materials containing heavier elements (such as transition metals) and this information is essential to provide a complete structural characterization of candidate materials and relate this to the ionic diffusion processes. Part of the PhD student's project will be to design and commission an in-situ cell to permit neutron diffraction studies at the same time as electrochemical charge/discharge experiments. This represents a major aspect of the PhD student's project and will clearly benefit from the complementary expertise in electrochemical methods available at Sheffield and in the development of novel sample cells for neutron studies at ISIS. The researcher will get a diverse and varied training in numerous techniques associated with materials synthesis and characterization as well as the opportunity to carry out cutting-edge neutron diffraction studies at the world class ISIS national facility.

The project will develop new materials for possible battery applications with a high likelihood of publications in top-rated journals. The student will spend approximately half of their time at the ISIS spallation neutron source at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory as a visiting member of the Crystallography Group. The Department of Material Science & Engineering in the University of Sheffield, with over £80M in research income over the past decade, has an established reputation for world class research that spans metallurgy, electroceramics, polymer composites, advanced manufacturing, glass technology, biomaterials, nuclear materials and functional materials. As part of the Faculty of Engineering, we contribute to the third largest engineering faculty (by research income) in the UK and have a culture of interdisciplinary research and cross faculty research groups. We are at the forefront of tackling global challenges such as climate change, sustainable energy and healthcare for an ageing population.

Number of awards offered: Not Known

Duration of award(s): The duration of PhD is of 3 years.

What does it cover? The studentship will cover home fees and pay the research council standard stipend of £13,590 per annum at 2012/13 rates. Only exceptional non-UK candidates are eligible for the stipend and for University fees (up to a UK home fee) to be covered by the grant.

Selection Criteria: Not Known

Notification: Not Known

How to Apply: The mode of applying is electronically. If you wish to apply, please send your CV and a covering letter to Prof Anthony West a.r.west-at-sheffield.ac.uk.

Scholarship Application Deadline: Contact Employer

Further Official Scholarship Information and Application

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