Intermetallics for energy applications and fundamental research in surface and nano-science

Supervisors: Dr. H. R. Sharma and Prof. R. McGrath

Intermetallic compounds represent unexplored area of materials science and yet offer unique combinations of properties which are mutually excluded in conventional materials, such as electrical conductivity combined with low thermal conductivity. The research in Liverpool involves a combination of exploration of physical properties of new intermetallic materials and the exploitation of their properties in applications related to energy. There are two possible areas of research for a PhD position in department of physics in the University of Liverpool. Student will be assigned to one of the following two projects depending on interest of student and progress on the on-going research. 

Intermetallics as catalysis for steam reforming of methanol

Steam reforming of methanol (SRM) is one of the most promising processes to provide hydrogen for mobile fuel cell applications. The intermetallic catalysts have shown excellent activity and selectivity in steam reforming of methanol (SRM). The proposed project involves study of surface properties of intermetallic like CuNi, ZnPd and Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystals, which are potential catalysts for SRM. The study of geometrical and electronic properties of surfaces is essential to understand catalytic reaction and thus to optimize the catalytic reaction. Particularly, surfaces of these intermetallics will be used as the model systems to perform catalytic reactions under ultra high vacuum conditions and the reaction will be characterised by various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques.

Intermetallics as templates for the growth of thin films

Because of their outstanding geometrical and electronic properties, intermetallics provide unique templates to grow thin films of materials with novel structures and physical properties. We have been using various quasicrystals to grow thin films of element and molecules and discovered novel phenomena [1-3].  These include multilayer quasicrystalline films of single elements such as Pb, Bi and Sb, quasicrystalline molecular monolayer of pentacene, nano-crystals with magic heights influenced by quantum size effect and fivefold-twinned structures. The proposed research aims to extend the growth of molecular and elemental thin films on the periodic crystals closely related to quasicrystals. Molecules have much greater variety than atomic species, and thus the variability of the dimensions of such a layer should be much more flexible. The study is driven by the fundamental interest in understanding the factors which influence the ordering processes, but also by the realisation that ordering of molecular layers can increase performance in applications: for example the efficiency of polymer-based solar cells has been shown to improve with improved molecular ordering [3].

The projects will be carried out in collaboration with member institutes of the European Integrated Center for the Development of New Metallic Alloys and Compounds C-MAC and research groups in Japan.  For more details contact Hem Raj Sharma (hemraj@liverpool.ac.uk) or Ronan McGrath (mcgrath@liverpool.ac.uk)

References

[1]  J. Ledieu,  J. T. Hoeft, D. E. Reid, J. A. Smerdon, R. D. Diehl, T. A. Lograsso, A. R. Ross, and R. McGrath,  Physical Review Letters 92 , 135507 (2004).

[2] H. R. Sharma, K. Nozawa, J. A. Smerdon, P. J. Nugent, I. McLeod, V. R. Dhanak, M. Shimoda, Y. Ishii, A. P. Tsai, and R. McGrath, Nature Communication 4, 2715 (2013).

[3] J. A. Smerdon, K. M. Young, M. Lowe, S. S. Hars, T. P. Yadav, D. Hesp, V. R. Dhanak, A. P. Tsai, H. R. Sharma and R. McGrath, Nano Letters 14, 1184 (2014).

To apply, please complete the online application form that is available at http://www.liv.ac.uk/physics/postgraduate/postgraduate-research/physics-mphil-phd/applying/