[School of Engineering PhD Scholarships] State of the Art Photonic Metamaterials for Solar Fuels and Sustainable Catalysis

About the project

About the Project There has been emerging in recent years, a plethora of photonic structures with physical properties not seen in mother nature. Of great interest are bound-in-continuum and exceptional point metasurfaces which may concentrate optical energy more efficiently than plasmonics or other conventional material systems. These topological photonics are highly absorbing systems with high quantum efficiencies which can enable solar and photo-electrolysis CO2 to CH4/CH3OH fuels to breakthrough into the mainstream by being competitive with conventional fuel and advantageous over intermittent wind/solar renewables. This will help address the current energy insecurity issue by diversifying sources of fuels, as well as develop new scientific understanding in light-to-matter interaction from these topological photonics and be applicable to sensing and other areas. The student will be using state of the art inverse design techniques to generate novel metasurface designs, fabricate them at PSI and MECD, and use existing gas chromatography setup and photocurrent transient spectroscopy setup and Prof Hardacre in-situ spectroscopy and environmental cells to characterize their photo-to-physical-to-chemical behaviors. 3 areas of interest would be BIC-solarfuels, BIC-EP solar fuels and BIC-EP-electro-fuels, which would be groundbreaking in the areas of photonics and catalysis. This project is expected to start in September 2027. Before you apply: We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisors for this project before you apply. How to apply: To be considered for this project you must complete a formal application through our online application portal. If you already have an applicant account this link will directly open an application for PhD School of Engineering Scholarships . If you don’t already have an applicant account, please follow the instructions here . When applying, please specify the full title and supervisor/s of the project, details of your previous study, and names and contact details of two referees. You must also upload a Supporting Statement describing the motivation to apply to the project, your CV and transcripts of awarded and in-progress university qualifications . Please note late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Equality, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester and central to all our activities. A diverse research community strengthens creativity, productivity and quality, while increasing the societal and economic impact of our work. We welcome applicants from all career paths, backgrounds and sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation or transgender status. We welcome applications from candidates returning to study after a career break or experience in other roles. Flexible study arrangements may be available, including part-time study at 50%, 60% or 80%, subject to the requirements of the project and funder. Eligibility : The standard academic entry requirement for this PhD is an upper second-class (2:1) honours degree in Engineering, Physics (or international equivalent) OR any upper-second class (2:1) honours degree and a Master’s degree at merit in Engineering, Physics (or international equivalent). This project will remain open until filled. If your application is submitted by 1 st November 2026, you can expect a decision by 18 th December 2026. If your application is submitted by 15 th January 2027, you can expect a decision by 30 th March 2027. Self or externally funded students can also be considered for this project. FSESoE

Research areas