The University of Sheffield Energy Institute has a number of EPSRC-funded studentships available, in line with the Institute’s remit to carry out interdisciplinary research across the area of energy. These studentships offer the candidate the opportunity to carry out research within one of the leading departments, under the supervision of members of the Energy Institute.
Cement is the ‘glue’ in concrete, the foundation upon which our modern civilisation is built. However, this comes with a huge environmental cost - cement production generates 8% of global CO 2 emissions, and half of all materials extracted from Earth are used in concrete.
Luckily, recently developed low-carbon cements that we are investigating exhibit enhanced properties and reduce CO 2 emissions by >80%, compared to traditional Portland cement (PC), and are made almost entirely from industrial wastes. These cements require superplasticising copolymer dispersants to improve workability and flow characteristics, particularly for ultra-high performance concrete. However, dispersant behaviour differs significantly in each case due to extensive differences between aqueous and solid state chemistry in these cements, compared to PC. New alkali-resistant high-performance dispersants are urgently required for these next- generation low-carbon cements to make them practical for use in large-scale construction applications. In this PhD project we will examine the interactions between organic superplasticisers and inorganic cement particles in these next-generation low-carbon cements, and then use this knowledge to design novel superplasticisers with enhanced performance. We will adopt a new in situ characterisation approach (including surface-specific techniques and both spectroscopic and microstructural characterisation) to investigate the mechanisms and kinetics of organic- inorganic interactions, and their effects on cement performance. We will discover the fundamental processes controlling dispersion, fluidisation and reaction of these next-generation low-carbon cements, and use this knowledge to design, synthesise and test novel superplasticisers with enhanced performance. This will drive implementation and a circular economy, help decarbonise cement production, and help give humanity the best possible chance of mitigating climate change.
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