Engineering: Fully Funded EPSRC and Helmholtz Institute Ulm PhD Scholarship: Development of advanced cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries
This scholarship is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), Germany.
Subject areas: Electrochemical Energy storage, Batteries
Project start date: 1 January 2022 (Enrolment open from mid-December)
Aligned programme of study: PhD in Materials Engineering
Mode of study: Full-time
Project supervisors: Dr Anji Reddy Munnangi (Swansea University, UK) and Professor Maximilian Fichtner (HIU, Germany)
Project description:
This is an excellent opportunity to work on ever expanding area of energy storage. This PhD work will focus on the development of advanced single crystal cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. This a collaborative project between Swansea University and Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), Germany. The selected student will have the opportunity to visit HIU for few months and other collaborators lab.
At Swansea University the PhD will be developed within the Energy Storage group which is part of the newly created Centre of Excellence ‘CAPTURE’ at the Faculty of Science and Engineering. CAPTURE (Circular Applications To Utilise and Retain Energy) is an interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to the development of a circular approach to the manufacture and management of energy storage solutions.
Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) offer a cost-effective solution to state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). One of the major issues that hinder the commercial aspect of SIBs is the lack of stable cathode materials. Similar to LIBs, layered cathode materials are attractive for SIBs. However, significant volume change associated with Na-intercalation and deintercalation results in fast capacity fading for SIBs. Further, layered cathode materials are less stable in the air, making them less suitable for water processing. Recently single-crystal layered cathode (SCLC) materials shown to be promising for LIBs. The use of SCLC greatly improved the cycling stability and thermal stability. With these attributes, we studied SCLC for SIBs. Indeed excellent results were achieved with SCLC for SIBs. The selected student will further extend this concept to develop other cathode materials for SIBs.
Established in 1920, Swansea University is a non-profit public higher education institution located in the suburban setting of the large town of Swansea (population range of 50,000-249,999 inhabitants), Wales. Officially accredited and/or recognized by the Privy Council, Swansea University is a large (uniRank enrollment range: 15,000-19,999 students) coeducational higher education institution. Swansea University offers courses and programs leading to officially recognized higher education degrees such as pre-bachelor degrees (i.e. certificates, diplomas, associate or foundation degrees), bachelor degrees, master degrees, doctorate degrees in several areas of study. See the uniRank degree levels and areas of study matrix below for further details. This 99 years old higher-education institution has a selective admission policy based on entrance examinations and students' past academic record and grades. International applicants are eligible to apply for enrollment.