The development of a clean source of energy to sustain our quality of life is one of the great challenges in the twenty-first century. Hydrogen is a promising clean energy carrier, and can be generated from renewable sources and used as a thermal combustion fuel in turbine, internal combustion engines or as a cold combustion fuel to produce electrical energy, e.g. in a fuel cell. The project will investigate porous and nanostructured materials, e.g. metal-doped carbon structures and new hybrid systems, along with suitable chemical /catalytic optimizations, to store hydrogen safely for practical mobile applications [1-3]. Similar sorbents can also be developed for selective CO2 capture, e.g. from flue gases in fossil fuel combustion or reformation [4]. 

Novel materials will be synthesised by mechanochemical alloying and physical/chemical vapour deposition methods. The research will focus on understanding and optimising the process parameters to produce a wide range of materials and nanostructures, and characterising their properties using advanced characterisation facilities at UEA and John Innes Centre. The composition-structure-physical property relationships between the novel materials will be studied.

Student will be trained to use scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to characterise particle size and surface morphology of nanomaterials. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) will be used for further examination of micro-structures of materials. The surface area and porosity of each sample will be determined by a surface area/pore size analyser. Various techniques, such as thermogravimetry (TG), Mass Spectrometry (MS) and Gas Chromatography (GC), will be used to study the selectivity and kinetics of the H2/CO2 sorption process.

Applicants should demonstrate an understanding of materials science and environmental issues. They should have at least an upper 2nd class honours degree or equivalent in either Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Environmental Chemistry, or Physics. The development of a clean source of energy to sustain our quality of life is one of the great challenges in the twenty-first century. Hydrogen is a promising clean energy carrier, and can be generated from renewable sources and used as a thermal combustion fuel in turbine, internal combustion engines or as a cold combustion fuel to produce electrical energy, e.g. in a fuel cell. The project will investigate porous and nanostructured materials, e.g. metal-doped carbon structures and new hybrid systems, along with suitable chemical /catalytic optimizations, to store hydrogen safely for practical mobile applications [1-3]. Similar sorbents can also be developed for selective CO2 capture, e.g. from flue gases in fossil fuel combustion or reformation [4]. 

Novel materials will be synthesised by mechanochemical alloying and physical/chemical vapour deposition methods. The research will focus on understanding and optimising the process parameters to produce a wide range of materials and nanostructures, and characterising their properties using advanced characterisation facilities at UEA and John Innes Centre. The composition-structure-physical property relationships between the novel materials will be studied.

Student will be trained to use scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to characterise particle size and surface morphology of nanomaterials. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) will be used for further examination of micro-structures of materials. The surface area and porosity of each sample will be determined by a surface area/pore size analyser. Various techniques, such as thermogravimetry (TG), Mass Spectrometry (MS) and Gas Chromatography (GC), will be used to study the selectivity and kinetics of the H2/CO2 sorption process.

Applicants should demonstrate an understanding of materials science and environmental issues. They should have at least an upper 2nd class honours degree or equivalent in either Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Environmental Chemistry, or Physics.

Z.X.Guo, C.X. Shang and F. Aguey, (Invited review for a special issue), "Materials for Hydrogen Storage", Journal of European Ceramic Society, 28 (2008) 1467-1473.

Annemieke W. C. van den Berg and Carlos Otero Areán, "Materials for hydrogen storage: current research trends and perspectives", Chem. Commun., (2008) 668–68.

Albert Boddien and Henrik Junge, "Catalysis: Acidic ideas for hydrogen storage", Nature Nanotechnology, 6 (2011) 265-266.

Sunho Choi, Jeffrey H. Drese, and Christopher W. Jones, "Adsorbent Materials for Carbon Dioxide Capture from Large Anthropogenic Point Sources", ChemSusChem, 2 (2009) 796 – 854.