PhD in Chemistry

How do we build grid batteries that are cheap, safe and made from abundant materials?/nZinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are a promising answer – zinc is low-cost, non-toxic and works in water-based electrolytes. But current ZIBs still suffer from limited lifetime and efficiency because the electrolyte, cathode and their interface are not optimised together./nThis PhD will tackle that challenge head-on. You will design “smart” aqueous or gel electrolytes and matched cathode coatings that work as a single system to:/ncontrol how Zn2+ is solvated and transported,/nsuppress dendrites and cathode dissolution, and/nbuild stable, self-healing interphases for long-life cycling./nWorking jointly between the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University, you will combine:/nMolecular simulations (to see how different salts and additives organise around Zn2+),/nMaterials synthesis and coating design, and/nFull electrochemical testing in coin cells./nBy the end of the project, you will have created and tested prototype zinc-ion cells with significantly improved performance, and developed design rules that can be applied across future grid-scale storage technologies./nTraining and environment/nYou will be based in the School of Engineering at UoE, with access to:/nAdvanced electrochemical testing facilities/nBattery fabrication labs/nMaterials characterisation (XRD, SEM/TEM, spectroscopy)/nYou will also work closely with Prof Biggs’s group at HWU, gaining complementary expertise in interfacial engineering and simulation. The project includes opportunities to present at international conferences and to collaborate with industrial and academic partners./nStart date: September 2026/nLocation: Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh