Shengda is interested in electrochemical processes and related surface changes at nanoscale. He is now a PhD working on in-situ TEM of liquid battery cells under the supervision of Dr. Alex Robertson and Prof. Peter Bruce in Oxford.
Before coming to Oxford, Shengda obtained his BEng degree in Materials from Imperial College London. He then worked as an MPhil research student under the supervision of Dr. Steve Ooi and Sir. Harry Bhadeshia at University of Cambridge where he studied the hydrogen behaviors during phase transformation in steels.
Email: shengda.pu@queens.ox.ac.uk
Shengda is interested in electrochemical processes and related surface changes at nanoscale. He is now a PhD working on in-situ TEM of liquid battery cells under the supervision of Dr. Alex Robertson and Prof. Peter Bruce in Oxford.
Before coming to Oxford, Shengda obtained his BEng degree in Materials from Imperial College London. He then worked as an MPhil research student under the supervision of Dr. Steve Ooi and Sir. Harry Bhadeshia at University of Cambridge where he studied the hydrogen behaviors during phase transformation in steels.
Email: shengda.pu@queens.ox.ac.uk
Shengda is interested in electrochemical processes and related surface changes at nanoscale. He is now a PhD working on in-situ TEM of liquid battery cells under the supervision of Dr. Alex Robertson and Prof. Peter Bruce in Oxford.
Before coming to Oxford, Shengda obtained his BEng degree in Materials from Imperial College London. He then worked as an MPhil research student under the supervision of Dr. Steve Ooi and Sir. Harry Bhadeshia at University of Cambridge where he studied the hydrogen behaviors during phase transformation in steels.
Email: shengda.pu@queens.ox.ac.uk
ROBERTSON GROUP
University of Warwick
If you are a student looking for a PhD project, please see below for a description of my available positions. If you are interested and would like more details please contact me and I'd be happy to discuss.
For Post-Docs, I'm afraid I don't have funding available at present, however if you are competitive to apply for some of the individual post-doctoral fellowships available (for instance see here, and here) and are looking for a host, please contact me with a CV plus small statement of your interests and we can discuss what would make a good proposal to develop and submit.
PHD PROJECTS
Diagnosing the operation and degradation mechanisms in cathodes for rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries
Our transition to a decarbonised energy economy demands new energy storage technologies. For static grid-level storage, the rechargeable Zn-ion battery offers advantages in terms of cost, recycling, supply chain security, and safety, all while still competing in energy density and lifespan.
This project will focus on understanding unwanted side-reactions at the cathode, nanostructured MnO2. Achieving this goal will require diagnosing a set of intertwined parameters, including the structure of the cathode material and its interface. You will use a suite of advanced techniques to disentangle what leads to these reactions, including in-situ X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy to tell us about the structure changes, and nuclear magnetic resonance to inform us about the local pH and interfacial byproducts.
This is a fully funded project available via the Warwick Centre for Doctoral Training in Analytical Science.
Please go to this webpage to find out more and apply, or contact me by email to discuss.
The formation of charge density waves in 2D materials
The emergence of charge density waves (CDWs), a periodic distribution of charge density coupled with a symmetry-breaking distortion in the atomic lattice, in certain metal dichalcogenide (MX2) 2D materials has generated renewed interest in this confined-dimensionality phenomenon. Despite having been investigated for several decades, the origin of the CDW phase transition remains somewhat controversial, in part due to the mechanism being strongly dependent on the material. Greater understanding of this peculiar condensed matter phenomenon will not only be of academic interest, but may lend further insight into the mechanisms behind high temperature superconductivity.
You will directly image the atomic-scale structural changes that candidate 2D metal dichalcogenides undergo during CDW phase change, while simultaneously correlating with the measured sample electrical performance. This will require combining a 2D material electrical device with in-situ temperature control and the atomic resolving power of the transmission electron microscope (TEM). You will thus be able to directly image the phase transition while you simultaneously adjust its temperature through the critical temperature, while simultaneously measuring the device resistance. This will reveal fundamental new insights into the role of atomic structure in governing CDW behaviour in 2DMs.
You will be aided by the advanced device fabrication, material synthesis, and TEM characterisation facilities available within the Physics Department at Warwick, and you will be able to interact with experts in condensed matter phenomenon (experimental and theoretical), electron microscopy, and 2D material synthesis and device fabrication.
Please contact me by email to discuss if you are interested in this project.
Please also see the Department's own webpage for the latest advertised projects, as well as for details for how to apply, funding routes, and details of the Physics PhD programme.