PhD Studentship: Fundamental Understanding of Supercapacitor Materials for Novel Energy Storage Applications

Funding Source: Warwick Industrial Fellowships

Sponsor Company: AWE

Eligibly: Only UK students

Start Date: The expected started date will be around 6^th Oct 2025 

Project Overview

We wish to appoint a PhD student to work on a new project to examine the fundamentals of supercapacitor materials and how they might be used in new devices for novel energy storage applications. The project will be co-supervised by Dr John Low in the Energy Innovation Centre in the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), and Prof. Richard Walton in the Department of Chemistry (Materials and Analytical Science) in collaboration with AWE. This collaboration will combine expertise in synthetic materials chemistry and characterisation with electrochemical device fabrication.

The aim of the project will be to survey existing supercapacitor materials that are commercially available and to use this information to target the synthesis of new materials that may have improved characteristics. This will involve a wide range of world-leading analytical techniques at Warwick using Warwick’s Research Technology Platforms and facilities in WMG, spanning X-ray diffraction, spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The student will gain hands-on experience and training in data collection and data analysis in these methods to gain a full understanding of materials characterisation, from the atomic-scale to the microscale.

The most promising materials will be tested in energy storage applications using the facilities in the Energy Innovation Centre, which will include electrochemical measurements and device fabrication for specific geometries. Working with our partners at AWE the devices will be assessed for application in future technologies where energy storage in extreme conditions, such as in space or where radiation tolerance is required.

Essential and Desirable Criteria

A 1st or 2.1 undergraduate degree, or a postgraduate masters’ qualification in a science and technology field such as Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Metallurgy or Engineering.

A passion and enthusiasm to challenge the state-of-the-art and to apply the world leading research facilities for the creation of critical knowledge and its industrial applications.

Funding and Eligibility

Direct funding from company. Only UK students.

To apply

To apply please complete our online enquiry form via the above ‘Apply’ button and upload your CV, transcripts and certificates of previous studies to allow us to assess your suitability for this specific PhD.

Please ensure you meet the minimum requirements before filling in the online form.

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