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University College London

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PhD Studentship in Advanced Electrolyte Engineering for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries University College London in United Kingdom

Degree Level

PhD

Field of study

Chemistry

Funding

Fully funded for four years. Includes tuition fees and a tax-free stipend of approximately £23,805 per annum. Support is also available for conference attendance, specialist training and research-related travel. Funding covers UK-equivalent fees only; overseas applicants would need to cover the fee difference if admitted.

Deadline

Sep 8, 2026

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Country

United Kingdom

University

University College London

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Keywords

Chemistry
Electrical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Materials Science
Energy Storage
Electrochemistry
Computational Chemistry
Molecular Modeling
Chemical Synthesis
Physics
ML

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About this position

University College London (UCL), Department of Chemical Engineering, is advertising a fully funded four-year PhD studentship in advanced electrolyte engineering for lithium-sulfur batteries. The project is hosted by the Advanced Propulsion Lab (APL) and Electrochemical Innovation Lab (EIL), and is affiliated with the Faraday Institution.

The research focuses on discovering and testing new Li-S battery electrolyte molecules using in-silico electrolyte modelling, synthetic chemistry, advanced electrochemistry, machine-learning-enabled molecular modelling, and full-cell battery testing. The project aims to design selectively fluorinated glycol-ether electrolytes that improve ionic transport, suppress polysulfide shuttling, stabilise electrode interfaces, and support safer LiNO₃-free formulations.

Training covers molecular and synthetic chemistry, battery fabrication and electrochemical testing, advanced electrochemical characterisation, operando and post-mortem analysis, computational chemistry, molecular dynamics simulation, machine-learned interatomic potentials, scientific programming, and data analysis. The student will be based in UCL’s battery research community and may collaborate across the wider Faraday Institution network.

Eligibility: applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a first-class or upper second-class degree (or MSc) in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, Physics, or a closely related discipline. An upper second-class degree at the MEng or MSc level is required. Experience in electrochemistry, batteries and energy storage, organic/synthetic chemistry, materials characterisation, computational chemistry, molecular simulation, or scientific programming is advantageous.

Funding: fully funded for four years, including tuition fees and a tax-free stipend of about £23,805 per year. Support is available for conference attendance, specialist training, and research-related travel. Note that funding covers UK-equivalent fees only; overseas applicants may apply but would need to cover the fee difference if successful.

How to apply: send a CV and cover letter to Claire Saunders ([email protected]), submit the UCL admissions application via the portal, nominate Dr Alex Kibler as supervisor, and include a statement of interest. The deadline shown on the post is 2026-09-08, with a start date of October 2026.

Funding details

Fully funded for four years. Includes tuition fees and a tax-free stipend of approximately £23,805 per annum. Support is also available for conference attendance, specialist training and research-related travel. Funding covers UK-equivalent fees only; overseas applicants would need to cover the fee difference if admitted.

What's required

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a first-class or upper second-class degree (or MSc) in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, Physics or a closely related discipline. An upper second-class degree at the MEng or MSc level is required. Experience in electrochemistry, batteries and energy storage, organic or synthetic chemistry, materials characterisation, computational chemistry, molecular simulation or scientific programming would be advantageous. Applicants should be enthusiastic, motivated, able to work independently and collaboratively, and have excellent written and verbal communication skills. Overseas applicants may apply, but if successful they must find funding to cover the difference between UK and overseas fee rates.

How to apply

Send a cover letter and CV to Claire Saunders at [email protected]. Also submit an application through the UCL admissions portal and nominate Dr Alex Kibler as supervisor. Include a statement of interest and provide academic transcripts plus two referees' contact details.

More information can be found here

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