polymers PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

A PhD project is available to scale up the production of advanced polymers through the Flow synthesis of porous organic polymers.

Developing renewable strategies to overcome physical aging of polymers

University of Edinburgh
School of Engineering

Dr S Lau

Application Deadline: 8 May 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

A PhD project is available for developing new strategies to overcome physical aging of polymers – the bane of many applications within chemical engineering.

Microporous polymers for energy and sustainability

University of Sheffield
Department of Chemistry

Dr R Dawson

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Microporous polymers are a class of porous material made from organic building blocks possessing high surface areas and chemical stability.

PhD Studentship in Biodegradable Polymers: New Directions in Controlled Radical Ring-opening Polymerization

University of Surrey
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Dr P Roth

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

This project involves the development of novel biodegradable polymers for applications in biomedicine and materials science. Accepted candidates will join the Department of Chemistry at the University of Surrey and work in the Roth research group in the recently renovated Joseph Kenyon laboratory.

Biomass derived synthetic polymers

University of York
Department of Chemistry

Prof M North

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Polymers are produced on a multi-million tonne scale per annum and are a high priority to move from non-sustainable petroleum based to sustainably based starting materials.

Biodegradable plastic composites from renewable or waste sources

University of Strathclyde
Department of Chemical and Process Engineering

Dr K Johnston, Dr L Lue

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

To reduce the amount of plastic waste in the marine environment, there is a strong incentive to switch to biodegradable polymers, which are ideally synthesised from renewable or waste streams, rather than from oil.

Information and function in synthetic genetic polymers

Medical Research Council (Cambridge)
Laboratory of Molecular Biology

Dr P Holliger

Application Deadline: 3 December 2019

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but potential funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

Life is based on the capacity of the nucleic acids DNA and RNA to encode, store and propagate genetic information. However, whether their unique role in biology reflects evolutionary history or fundamental functional constraints, whether nature’s “choice” was shaped by chance or necessity, is currently unknown.

Reconfigurable Polymers via Supramolecular Self-Sorting

University of Leeds
School of Chemistry

Prof A J Wilson

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project has funding attached for UK and EU students, though the amount may depend on your nationality. Non-EU students may still be able to apply for the project provided they can find separate funding. You should check the project and department details for more information.

The goal of this project is to mimic the ability of biological materials to force macromolecular reconfiguration using photo-switchable non-covalent self-sorting.

A New Paradigm in “On Demand” Manufacture: Radiation Chemical Functionalisation During 3D Printing

The University of Manchester
Department of Chemistry

Dr A Baidak, Prof F Currell

Application Deadline: 30 September 2019

Funding Type

PhD Type

Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project has funding attached for UK and EU students, though the amount may depend on your nationality. Non-EU students may still be able to apply for the project provided they can find separate funding. You should check the project and department details for more information.

The automation of modern economy has an immense impact on our everyday life; the development and implementation of machine learning and artificial intelligence will bring about further socio-economic changes of great significance and scale.

Direct numerical simulation of polymeric-fluid flows

University of Strathclyde
Department of Chemical and Process Engineering

Dr D Kivotides, Dr P Grassia

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project has funding attached for UK and EU students, though the amount may depend on your nationality. Non-EU students may still be able to apply for the project provided they can find separate funding. You should check the project and department details for more information.

Polymers and turbulence are two of the most difficult problems in statistical physics. In the past, the study of polymeric liquids was divided in two categories.