Polymer Chemistry (group) PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Applications of main group Lewis acids in synthetic organic chemistry. This project will investigate the use of boron or aluminium Lewis acids in transformations typically catalysed by transition metals. Read more

Supervisor: Prof R Melen

Stereoselective synthesis of mechanically chiral molecules for sensing and catalysis

Supervisor: Prof S Goldup

Background – the stereoselective synthesis of mechanically chiral molecules. The stereoselective synthesis of chiral organic molecules is one of the core challenges in synthetic organic chemistry. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

The Controlled Synthesis of Polycatenanes – mechanically interlocked materials with designer properties

Supervisor: Prof S Goldup

Background – the challenge of polycatenane synthesis. Linking rings in a chain is a familiar concept in the macroscopic world. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of York Department of Chemistry

Photonics for Net Zero Enabled by Patternable Boron-Phosphide Polymers

The manipulation of light in optoelectronic devices is a cornerstone for the delivery of Net Zero, for example in low-energy optical computing (silicon-photonics) and green hydrogen generation from water (photocatalysis). Read more

Supervisors: Prof A S Weller, Dr Y Wang

30 June 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

PhD in Predicting the environmental degradation of plastics

Supervisors: Prof A Dove, Prof S Krause

Understanding how plastics and polymers degrade in the environment is an important sustainability target. Our work in this area uses innovative analytical techniques and simulated environments to understand how specific plastics degrade in different environments. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Investigating new biocompatible polymers as biomaterials

Supervisor: Dr M Dr Maria Chiara Arno

A fully funded PhD studentship (UK tuition fees) is available in the group of Dr Arno at the University of Birmingham (group website. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

PhD in Chemistry: Developing innovative organofluorine chemistry

Supervisor: Dr M Tredwell

PhD in Chemistry - Developing innovative organofluorine chemistry. Dr Matthew Tredwell is looking for a PhD student to develop innovative organofluorine chemistry. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of Reading School of Chemistry & Food

Healable Polymer Materials

The past four decades of science have witnessed how chemists have learnt from nature, in part by trial and error as well as elegant design, to understand and master the use of weak non-covalent interactions and self-assembly processes in synthetic systems to realise complex multi-component assemblies that exhibit attractive functionalities. Read more

Supervisor: Prof W C Hayes

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Investigating biocompatible polymers for crystallisation-driven self-assembly

Supervisor: Dr M Dr Maria Chiara Arno

A fully funded PhD studentship (UK tuition fees) is available in the group of Dr Arno at the University of Birmingham (group website. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Strathclyde Department of Chemical and Process Engineering

Sustainable Carbon Nanomaterials for Electrochemical Energy Conversion in Hydrogen Fuel Cells

The Hydrogen Economy will help to shift society away from fossil fuels and contribute to decarbonisation. Electrochemical processes are at the heart of the hydrogen economy providing a means to convert renewable energy into green hydrogen via electrolysis or converting hydrogen into electrical power using fuel cells. Read more

Supervisor: Dr S Lyth

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Degradable and sustainable polymers in the Environment

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

The influence of plastic pollution on our environment has been well documented, however, there remains a knowledge gap between relating to how new polymers and plastics might biodegrade. Read more

Supervisor: Prof A Dove

Kingston University Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education

Nanomedicines Prepared using Polymerization Induced Self-Assembly (PISA)

Background. Recent advances in polymer particle design have largely relied on developments in controlled/living or reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP). Read more

Supervisor: Prof F Aldabbagh

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

PhD in Chemistry: Asymmetric catalysis using environmentally benign calcium complexes

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Dr Ben Ward http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/38527-ward-benjamin is looking for a PhD student to work on the research project ’Asymmetric catalysis using environmentally benign calcium complexes’. Read more

Supervisor: Dr B Ward

PhD in Chemistry: Structural effects in alternating biodegradable polymers

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Dr Alison Paul Dr Alison Paul - People - Cardiff University is looking for a PhD student to join the Soft Matter Research Group for a project on “Structural effects in alternating biodegradable polymers”. Read more

Supervisor: Dr A Paul

University of Reading School of Chemistry & Food

Self-Immolative Polymeric Sensors

Stimuli-responsive compounds, such as self-immolative molecules and polymers,[1] have become significant targets in organic-based material development as systems of this type offer enormous potential in a diverse range of applications that span drug delivery, biological and chemical sensors, diagnostics, and degradable polymers or degrade-on-demand adhesives. Read more

Supervisors: Prof W C Hayes, Dr J McKendrick

31 May 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Surrey School of Mechanical Engineering Sciences

Going beyond the mass scale: Exploiting state-of-the-art instrumentation to add molecular structure to 3D mass spectrometry imaging

The Surrey Group have been active in secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) for over thirty years using the method to unravel the complexities of interface… Read more

Supervisors: Prof J F Watts, Dr GTF F Trindade , Dr MLA Laure Abel , Prof IG Gilmore

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Liverpool Department of Physics

A 3D-Printed Blood-Brain-Barrier-on-a-Chip for Agrochemical Permeability Studies – CASE Studentship

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) tightly regulates the flow of material between the bloodstream and the brain. One of the big problems faced by a range of sectors, from pharmaceuticals to agrochemicals, is understanding how compounds interact with and cross this barrier. Read more

Supervisors: Dr J Forth, Dr D Dickens

1 June 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Dalhousie University Chemistry

PhD Position in Fundamental and Applied Chemistry of PN Cages

Background. Our group explores geometrically interesting molecules for fundamental and functional chemistry. One area of focus is the development of scaffolds from which substituents can be reliably extended with well-defined bond angles and lengths. Read more

Supervisor: Prof S Chitnis

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Imperial College London Department of Chemical Engineering

PhD Studentship in Structural Battery Electrodes

Structural batteries, or structural materials that possess the ability to store and deliver electrical energy, could play a pivotal role in decarbonising challenging industries such as aviation, by integrating the power source within, say, the aeroplane fuselage itself. Read more

Supervisor: Dr HA Au

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of St Andrews School of Chemistry

PhD position in Organometallic Catalysis: New Catalytic Methods for Green Organic Synthesis / CO2 utilisation / Plastic Recycling

About the Project. Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD position to work in the lab of Dr. Amit Kumar at the School of Chemistry, University of St. Read more

Supervisor: Dr A Kumar

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

PhD in Chemistry: Computational design of new heterogeneous catalysts to support net zero: conversion of CO2 to methanol

Supervisor: Dr A Logsdail

Computational design of new heterogeneous catalysts to support net zero. conversion of CO2 to methanol . PhD Supervisor. Dr. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of Reading Department of Biomedical Engineering

A chemical engine to produce mechanical force: towards a physio-chemical model of heart cells

Living systems are complex, and are based on the basic building blocks of genes, proteins, chemical reactions, and physical forces. Read more

Supervisors: Dr Y Hayashi, Dr Z Wang, Dr N Vasudevan

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of Bristol School of Chemistry

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Technology Enhanced Chemical Synthesis (TECS)

Our PhD programme combines world-leading research in Chemical Synthesis with state-of-the-art training in technology and automation to prepare you for a career in modern synthetic chemistry, whether in industry or academic research. Read more

Funded PhD Programme (Students Worldwide) EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training

The University of Manchester Department of Materials

Investigating the effect of plastics recycling on nanoplastic production in packaging applications

Nanoplastics, defined as plastic particles measuring less than 1000 nanometres, have emerged as a significant concern due to their ability to infiltrate ecosystems, posing potential risks to the environment. Read more

Supervisor: Dr T McDonald

25 August 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Freiberg University of Mining and Technology Department of Material Science and Technology

Responsive biomaterials based on biogenic resources

About the stegbauerlab. The mission of the stegbauerlab at the Biogenic Engieering Materials group at TU Bergakademie Freiberg is to transform. Read more

Supervisor: Prof L Stegbauer

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

Freiberg University of Mining and Technology Department of Material Science and Technology

Material investigation of living biogenic hydrogels towards artificial biofilms

About the stegbauerlab. The mission of the stegbauerlab at the Biogenic Engineering Materials group at TU Bergakademie Freiberg is to transform materials and the environment by emulating the way nature builds. Read more

Supervisor: Prof L Stegbauer

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

The University of Manchester Department of Chemistry

Using Natural Language Processing and molecular simulations to build polymer databases

A fully funded PhD position in multiscale modelling of polymer composites is available in the group of Professor Carbone at the University of Manchester from October 2024. Read more

Supervisor: Dr P Carbone

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Strathclyde Institute of Photonics

Photo-chemical adaptive integrated circuits for next generation neuromorphic computing

Neuromorphic computing, i.e., an approach to information processing inspired in basic morphology and working principles of the brain, is a rapidly growing area of research due to the availability of high-speed hardware and need for artificial intelligence (AI) systems across a wide range of applications. Read more

Supervisors: Prof M Strain, Dr J Porte-Parera

30 June 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Northumbria University Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

Polymeric materials in extreme environments: An exploration of polymer network structure in high-performance epoxy-amine thermosets for use in marine environments (Ref:RDFC24/HLS/APP/UNTHANK)

This fully funded PhD studentship will explore the fundamental material, molecular and network-forming properties that deliver optimal performance in epoxy-amine thermoset polymer coatings. Read more

Supervisors: Prof M Unthank, Dr M Sims

29 April 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)