Designing Self-Assembly of Discotic Liquid Crystals for Multifunctional Advanced Materials
Not stated
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
- Application deadline
- Year-round applications
About the project
About the Project A PhD studentship is available on a project focused on the photophysical and charge-transport properties, as well as the self-assembly, of discotic liquid crystals for the development of multifunctional advanced materials, using a combination of computational and experimental methods. A PhD place on this project can be offered to a suitable home or overseas candidate, provided the candidate has external funding at the required level. Primary Supervisor: Dr Dwaipayan Chakrabarti , School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham Co-supervisor: Professor Jon A. Preece , School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham Project Description: Discotic liquid crystals exhibit a variety of columnar phases, which, when self-assembled from molecular building blocks, are of particular interest for their potential opto-electronic applications. The disc-shaped molecules typically consist of a rigid aromatic core with peripheral chains that are rather flexible. Discotic liquid crystals in their columnar phases can exhibit remarkable charge-transport properties, combined with intriguing photophysical properties, making them attractive multifunctional advanced materials for sustainable, energy-efficient devices; however, an optimal molecular design is critical to their advanced functionalities in the self-assembled mesophases. This project aims to study the photophysical and charge-transport properties, as well as the self-assembly, of discotic liquid crystals using a combination of computational and experimental approaches to inform optimal molecular design and understand the molecular-level self-assembly pathways for the development of multifunctional advanced functional materials. The project can be tailored to take the candidate's expertise and research interests into account. Dr Chakrabarti leads a state-of-the-art research programme at the intersection of soft matter and advanced materials, with expertise in computational and theoretical methods. For the Chakrabarti group’s research, please visit here . The Chakrabarti group has active collaborations with several groups from within and beyond the UK. Dr Chakrabarti is also a visiting academic at the International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter (WPI-SKCM 2 ) at Hiroshima University. This project is in collaboration with Prof. Jon A. Preece , leading the experimental strand of the project. Person Specification Candidates suitable for the project should expect to have (or hold) a 2:1 honours degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry / Physics / Materials Science / Chemical Engineering or in a related discipline, and an academic background suitable for undertaking a combination of computational and experimental research. The University of Birmingham is strongly committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. The School of Chemistry holds an Athena SWAN Bronze Award in recognition of its work in promoting women’s careers in STEM subjects in higher education and is keen to welcome applicants from all backgrounds. How to Apply For further details on the project and informal enquiry, please contact Dr Dwaipayan Chakrabarti at d.chakrabarti@bham.ac.uk . For general information on the Chemistry PhD programme at the University of Birmingham, please visit http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/research/chemistry/chemistry-phd.aspx Apply online at https://admissions.bham.ac.uk/course-finder-landing-page/?code=EPS006 . Application Deadline Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis.