PhD Studentship: Bio-inspired Interfaces for Metal Batteries

Applications are invited for a 4-year PhD studentship based in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, supervised by Dr Svetlana Menkin. The PhD project aims to develop self-healing artificial electrode-electrolyte interphases inspired by ion transport in biological systems. The project will involve fundamental studies of the electrochemical processes on metal electrode-electrolyte interfaces across non-aqueous (sodium and aluminium) and aqueous (zinc) battery chemistries, using state-of-the-art experimental methods: scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), scanning ion-conductance microscopy (SICM) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

The interplay between physical and electrochemical properties of the interphase, charge and mass transport across the solid-liquid interface and its impact on battery performance will be explored to enable more sustainable batteries. The developed methods will apply to studying today's lithium-ion, the emerging lithium and sodium anode-free batteries and the future high-energy multivalent battery chemistries such as zinc, calcium, and aluminium, providing the PhD candidate with an excellent foundation for their future career in the broad fields of batteries, physical chemistry, and energy materials.

Research in the Menkin group aims to understand the surface reactions on battery electrodes and use the insights to enable sustainable, safe, and affordable energy storage solutions, which are essential for climate change mitigation. We study metal plating, which is critical for realising higher energy batteries (more extended range) using the most abundant elements on earth, such as sodium, calcium, and aluminium.