Frustrated Hydrogen Bonds for Functional Materials

About the Project

These projects are open to students worldwide, but have no funding attached. Therefore, the successful applicant will be expected to fund tuition fees at the relevant level (home or international) and any applicable additional research costs. Please consider this before applying.

Hydrogen bonding is a fundamental chemical interaction that shapes the structure and properties of many systems across nature and technology. In solids, hydrogen bonds typically form ordered networks that constrain proton mobility. As a result, existing proton-conducting materials require high temperatures or humidification to achieve sufficient conductivity in applications such as hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysers. These conditions not only limit their practical use, but also impose a significant environmental cost, owing to energy-intensive operation and complex system design.

Recently, I demonstrated for the first time that hydrogen bond frustration can enable record-breaking “superprotonic” conductivity at ambient conditions in a new class of conductors, MH5(PO4)3. In these systems, structural constraints prevent protons from adopting a unique, energetically favourable bonding arrangement, resulting in an intrinsically frustrated hydrogen-bond network that enables exceptional proton mobility even at room temperature.

This breakthrough establishes hydrogen bond frustration as a powerful new strategy for sustainable proton conductors. This is a new exciting direction in solid-state chemistry research. The aim of this PhD project is to expand the material library of these novel superprotonic conductors and to use targeted chemical modifications for the development of new materials for a wide range of applications, from energy storage to devices for cooling and memory.

A combination of solid-state and soft chemistry synthesis methods will be employed for the preparation of new superprotonic materials. A range of electrochemical (impedance spectroscopy, etc.), physicochemical (thermogravimetric analysis, electron microscopy, etc.) and spectroscopy (IR, Raman, etc.) methods will be employed for the analysis of the properties of the new materials. An important part of the project will be the characterisation of the crystal structures of the materials via the use of X-ray and neutron diffraction. There will be the opportunity to perform neutron scattering experiments at world-leading facilities such as the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source in Oxfordshire and the Institut Laue Langevin in Grenoble (France).

This project is in collaboration with Prof Anna Donnadio’s research group at the University of Perugia (Italy) and there will be the opportunity for exchange visits, as well as for attending conferences and training courses.

Decisions will be based on academic merit. The successful applicant should have, or expect to obtain, a UK Honours Degree at 2.1 (or equivalent) in Chemistry, Materials Science or any other related subject relevant to the field . We encourage applications from all backgrounds and communities, and are committed to having a diverse, inclusive team.

Informal enquiries can be made by contacting Dr S Fop (sacha.fop1@abdn.ac.uk)

Application Procedure:

Formal applications can be completed online: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/pgap/login.php.

You should apply for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry to ensure your application is passed to the correct team for processing.

Please clearly note the name of the lead supervisor and project titleon the application form. If you do not include these details, it may not be considered for the project.

Your application must include: A personal statement, an up-to-date copy of your academic CV, and clear copies of your educational certificates and transcripts.

Please note: you do not need to provide a research proposal with this application.

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at researchadmissions@abdn.ac.uk

Funding Notes

This is a self-funding project open to students worldwide. Our typical start dates for this programme are February or October.

Fees for this programme can be found here Finance and Funding | Study Here | The University of Aberdeen

Additional research costs of £2,000 per annum will be required in addition to tuition fees.