The project:

Thermoset polymers and fibre-reinforced polymer composites possess chemical, physical, and mechanical properties suitable for numerous applications (e.g. transportation, structures, energy). However, they often lack sustainability owing to their energy-intensive manufacture, which often requires fossil fuel-based building blocks, and the lack of end-of-life management and recycling possibilities.

This PhD project will address these shortcomings by developing new bio-based polymers equipped with cleavable links that can be addresses on-demand, to enable their degradation, recycling or upcycling into other polymers or fibres.

Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant, renewable feedstock for the production of renewable aromatic monomers which provide sustainable, biobased alternatives to petroleum-derived constituents for materials preparation. This project will exploit these monomers to develop thermosets and vitrimers (polymers with reversible chemical bonds that allow for self-healing under certain conditions). New materials will be created, which will be extensively characterised and compared to state-of-the-art thermosets.

An additional challenge associated to thermosets is their end-of-life degradation or recycling. Their highly crosslinked nature, which gives them their advantageous stability, also usually prevents their remoulding, and strategies are needed to enable their safe recycling or upcycling. In this project, we will address this shortcoming by incorporating cleavable links into the developed thermosets, which can be selectively cleaved under specific conditions (e.g. pH, temperature), leading to controlled breakdown of the material.

Advanced materials design, characterisation and testing (in particular mechanical and physico-chemical properties) will be employed to optimise the materials and identify design rules. The PhD student will receive specialist training in all aspects of materials preparation and characterisation, and they will also receive mentoring in the development of scientific communication, problem solving and project management.

Interested candidates are welcome to contact Dr Rochat ( [email protected] ) with a CV and a cover letter highlighting their motivation and qualifications for the role.

Candidate requirements:

Applicants must hold/achieve a minimum of a merit at master’s degree level (or international equivalent) in a science, mathematics or engineering discipline. Applicants without a master's qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree. Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of readiness to pursue a research degree.

If English is not your first language, you need to meet this profile level: Profile E

Further information about English language requirements and profile levels .

Contacts:

For questions about the research topic, please contact the project supervisor.

For questions about eligibility and the application process please contact Engineering Postgraduate Research Admissions [email protected]

How to apply:

Prior to submitting an online application, you will need to contact the project supervisor to discuss.

Online applications are made at http://www.bris.ac.uk/pg-howtoapply . Please select Engineering Mathematics (PhD) on the Programme Choice page. You will be prompted to enter details of any studentship you would like to be considered for in the Funding and Research Details sections of the form.