"PhD Studentship: Advancing Hyperpolarised Solid-state NMR Spectroscopy for Materials Science"

The University of Manchester - Department of Chemical Engineering

Placed On: 20th October 2025
Closes: 13th January 2026

Application deadline: All year round
Research theme: Department of Chemical Engineering; research theme: advanced functional materials and analytical science
How to apply: https://uom.link/pgr-apply-2425

UK only due to funding restrictions.

This 3.5-year PhD studentship is open to Home (UK) applicants. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-free stipend set at the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26; subject to annual uplift), and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year. The start date is October 2026.

We recommend that you apply early as the advert will be removed once the position has been filled.

This PhD project is open to a wide range of research directions, depending on the interests and abilities of the candidate. The main topic will concern the application and development of methods for advanced NMR investigations of hyperpolarised solids. This will involve varying proportions of hands-on experimentation, theoretical work, numerical simulations, and data analysis.

The PhD student will benefit from not only the excellent academic environment at The University of Manchester, but also from access to state-of-the-art instrumentation such as the recent EPSRC-UoM funded 700 MHz NMR spectrometer, the UK high-field solid-state NMR facility, and the UK DNP MAS NMR facility.

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is highly suited to the study of local atomic environments, in both crystalline and disordered materials. It can be used to determine atomic-scale structures of organic and inorganic systems as well as their dynamics. Here, the developed methods will have the potential to characterise materials and their interfaces, elucidating structure-function relationships. These materials will be derived from the strong surrounding research at the University of Manchester, in areas such as catalysis (metal-organic frameworks, zeolites), gas capture/separation, semiconductors, nanoparticles and quantum dots, graphene-based composites, minerals, biomaterials, and pharmaceuticals, among others. The detailed understanding enabled by this PhD will lead to the rational design of improved, innovative materials.

Applicants should have or expect to achieve at least a 2.1 honours degree or equivalent in chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, or related subject. A Master’s degree and/or relevant experience in NMR spectroscopy is desirable.