About the Project
Background
Over the past two decades, room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have attracted considerable interest across a wide variety of application sectors, due to their combination of useful properties – including high thermal and chemical stability, low volatility and potential to be “tailored” at the molecular level to perform specific tasks with high selectivity. One potentially major application area is as thermally stable working fluids for high-temperature applications, in the space between conventional working fluids (such as water and thermal oils) and traditional inorganic molten salts – i.e. in the working range between 200-600°C – whilst remaining in the liquid state across as wide a temperature window as possible in order to avoid problems associated with phase changes, such as pressure increases due to evaporation or blocking due to crystallization.
This interest was heightened by early literature reports suggesting that ionic liquids of the dialkylimidazolium class were thermally stable up to temperatures well in excess of 400°C; unfortunately, these values were recorded using fast thermogravimetric (TGA) scans and subsequent work has shown the long-term thermal stability of these RTILs to be severely overrated; many of them show a slow but appreciable mass loss even at temperatures as low as 200°C. Recent work has begun to identify some of the structural motifs responsible for the thermal breakdown pathways.
Project Outline
This project will advance the state of the art in this important area by developing new thermally stable ionic liquid formulations specifically for use as heat transfer media in heat exchangers operating above 400°C, which possess wide liquid windows and remain in the liquid state below 100°C. This will be achieved by combining the thermodynamic requirements for stabilization of organic structural motifs (originally applied to the development of base stock fluids for high-temperature defence applications by the US Air Force in the 1960s) with newly-acquired knowledge concerning the degradation mechanisms of existing RTILs. The project will support and interface with the EU H2020 “Smartrec” project, in which TWI is developing a working fluid for a high temperature heat exchanger for an smelting plant.
This project will involve the rational design of materials (in this case ionic liquids) at the molecular level, to ensure maximum thermal stability and the widest possible liquid window. The materials designed in the project will have to be synthesized, analysed and tested for their fitness for purpose.
About the University
London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Newington, London. It has 17,735 students and 1,700 staff and is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded from charitable donations in 1892 as the "Borough Polytechnic Institute", it absorbed several other local colleges in the 1970s and 1990s, and achieved university status in 1992. The ARCTIC innovation centre was established as an LSBU department in 2016.
About NSIRC
NSIRC is a state-of-the-art postgraduate engineering facility established and managed by structural integrity specialist TWI, working closely with lead academic partner Brunel University, the universities of Cambridge, Manchester, Loughborough, Birmingham, Leicester and a number of leading industrial partners. NSIRC aims to deliver cutting edge research and highly qualified personnel to its key industrial partners.
Candidate Requirements
Candidates should have a relevant degree at 2.1 minimum, or an equivalent overseas degree in Chemistry (or a closely related discipline) from a reputable university and should demonstrate an interest and proficiency in organic synthesis and physical organic chemistry. Some background in ionic liquids, thermochemical analysis and/or understanding of decomposition/thermolysis pathways of organic compounds would be advantageous.
Overseas applicants should also submit IELTS results (minimum 6.5) if applicable.
Funding Notes
This project is funded by TWI and LSBU. The studentship will provide successful Home/EU students with a minimum stipend of £16k/year and will cover the cost of tuition fees. Overseas applicants are welcome to apply, with total funding capped at £24k per year.