Dr JY Lee
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Crystallisation is an important synthesis, separation and purification process used by a diverse range of manufacturing industries such as pharmaceutical, food and chemical, as well as waste water treatment to recover valuable solutes and clean water. However, many of these industrial crystallisation processes suffer from ineffective crystallisation conditions. Ultrasound has the potential to overcome these problems by accelerating the crystallisation process and producing superior crystals, but its full potential is hindered by a lack of fundamental understanding of the mechanisms involved and systematic studies.
Ultrasound is known to generate acoustic cavitation, which is the creation, expansion and implosion of bubbles when a certain acoustic pressure threshold is exceeded. Upon collapse of these cavitation bubbles the bubble core can reach extreme temperatures (> 5000 k) and pressures (> 1000 atm). It is known that, such cavitation events are particularly effective at inducing crystal nucleation but the exact mechanism behind this sono-crystallisation process is still contentious. In addition, most reported studies use low frequency ultrasonic horns which suffers from localised cavitation and surface erosion of the horn.
This project aims to explore the use of high frequency ultrasound transducers to elucidate the mechanism of ultrasound enhanced crystallisation and determine the most judicious method of sonocrystallisation. By the end of the project, the student will be an expert in the field of crystallisation and ultrasound processing, and as well as develop analytical and material characterisation skills. During the course of the PhD, it is expected that the student will spend a few months overseas at a collaborator’s laboratory for a research exchange and attend scientific conferences to disseminate their research work.
Funding Notes
Academic and Eligibility Requirements:
• First or upper second class Master degree in engineering, physics or chemistry.
• Non-native speakers of English who did not study in an English speaking country will be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above.
• The studentship ONLY applies to UK/EU students, and will cover a PhD stipend (£14,057) and the university fees.
References
The application shall include:
1)Cover letter (max 1 page) explaining your interest and suitability for the project you have selected.
2)Detailed CV.
3)Published work such as journals and conference articles and a copy of your MSc dissertation (if appropriate).
4)A copy of your current or most recent academic transcript.
5)Names and contact information of at least two referees.
6)If necessary, a copy of a valid IELTS certificate from the past two years.
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