Open Positions
2 PhD Studentship in experimental Nanophysics/Soft Matter
Stipend: €18,000 per annum for 4 years in addition to tuition fees
Funding is available for Irish and EU students.
International applicants with full funding are welcome to apply. Proof of funding will be required at application stage.
We are looking for highly self-motivated candidates who have a first class or upper-second class honours degree from an Irish university, or an equivalent from another country, in Physics, Theoretical Physics, Material Science or Nanoscience, with a strong interest in Soft matter, fluid dynamics and image processing.
See below for project details. The research is funded by SFI, headed by Prof. Möbius in collaboration with Prof. Coleman group here at TCD.
How to Apply
Prospective candidates should send a detailed CV, a covering letter outlining their educational background, research interests and motivations, transcript of your marks if available, and the names and contact details of at least one academic referee to Professor Matthias Möbius mobiusm@tcd.ie.
Funding is available from April 2018 but this can be flexible to the timetable of the successful candidate.
Background
In recent years printed electronics has emerged as a game changing technology that enables low-cost, scalable manufacturing of electronic circuits by conventional industrial printing methods such as inkjet printing. Possible applications are numerous and range from flexible displays, supercapacitors for energy storage to large scale sensor arrays. Furthermore, technological developments such as the Internet of Things, require cheap, mass produced printable electric circuits for sensors and communication. Even though drop-on-demand inkjet printing is a well-established technology, the use of it in the context of printed electronics poses new challenges that this proposal addresses. It requires novel ink formulations to print elementary circuit elements such as conducting paths and thin film transistors. Recently, high-aspect-ratio graphene and MoS2 nanosheet suspensions have been explore as cost effective alternatives to more conventional spherical colloidal suspensions such as silver nanoparticles which require much higher sintering temperatures. Furthermore, these 2D nanoparticles can now be produced on an industrial scale which was not possible until recently. Given these advantages, 2D nanomaterials have the potential to replace these inks so it is critical to develop capabilities to print them.
Successful printing requires control over the entire printing process: ejection of the ink from the nozzle, the jetting process whereby the liquid jet breaks up into droplets, the drop impact on the substrate and finally the drying/annealing process.
This requires careful tuning of the fluid properties such as particle size and loading, particle stabilisation to prevent aggregation, density, viscosity and surface tension as well as nozzle diameter and the surface properties of the substrate. The resolution of the printed patterns is determined by several factors.
Project 1: Jetting and splashing of 2D nanoparticle suspensions
Satellite drop formation during jet break up and drops splashing on impact lead to smearing. We will use high speed video imaging (up to 1 million frames per second) to image the jet break up and droplet impact. Methods: High speed imaging, image processing and modelling.
Project 2: The structure and electrical properties of dried 2D nanosuspensions. The drying process determines the morphology of the film. Tuning the structure of the film is crucial as different applications require different morphologies. We will study the drying dynamics and parameters that influence the structure formation. Methods: Microscopy, video imaging, image processing, modelling.
One fully funded PhD positions available (funding for EU students only).
Project: The structure and rheology of foam-fibre dispersions
Experimental project. Funded by SFI
For more information please contact: mobiusm@tcd.ie