NERC GW4+: Design, preparation and implementation of sustainable materials for heavy metal remediation in rivers

A PhD studentship through the NERC GW4+ doctoral training partnership (https://www.nercgw4plus.ac.uk/) on the design, preparation and implementation of sustainable materials for heavy metal remediation in rivers is available in the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol. For informal enquiries please contact Prof. Neil Allan ([Email Address Removed]) or Dr. Sean Davis ([Email Address Removed]). 

For further details of how to apply see https://www.nercgw4plus.ac.uk/apply and the detailed project description HERE. Application deadline: 2359 hours GMT Friday 8 January 2021. 

The overall project aim is to design, fabricate and implement in the field, new composite materials for the capture and subsequent removal of recognised heavy metal pollutants in contaminated water, predicted and characterised using state-of-the art atomistic simulation and experimental techniques. The project is both experimental and computational, involving computational studies to identify molecules and materials with appropriate binding affinities in locally abundant natural resources and then experimentally engineering these species to enhance their activity by for example increasing the surface area or incorporating magnetic materials to allow ease of separation. The initial environmental focus is the specific serious problem of mercury pollution in Colombia in collaboration with Dr. Carlos Pinilla at the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla but the approach is readily applicable to other heavy metals. 

For more details of the project see HERE