Understanding Structure-Function Relationships for Chemically Complex Ceramic Materials

Chemically complex ceramics (CCCs) are an exciting class of materials that exhibit unusual yet exciting thermal, mechanical, optical and catalytic properties. The complexity of these materials makes it difficult to use rational design strategy, where Edisonian approaches are used to hopefully obtain materials with desired properties. In this project, we aim to remove the guesswork out of CCCs creation by constructing structure/function relationships using a suite of synchrotron characterization tools.

Materials will be generated using a range of traditional powder sintering approaches, along with polymer templates approaches to create a range of CCCs based on carbides, nitrides, and/or borides. Stochastic modeling approaches of synchrotron datasets will provide insights into the local and nano-scale structures, providing a means to build structure/function relationships to better understand the origin of materials properties. This project is funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and involves the use of synchrotron facilities in Australia, the US and Europe and will involve collaborations across Schools at UNSW and at the US Air Force Research Laboratory.

Scholarship

• $37,684 per annum (2024 rate, indexed)
• Tuition fees scholarship for International candidates

Eligibility

• Domestic and International candidates
• PhD only

How to apply

Email a copy of your CV to Nicholas Bedford at n.bedford@unsw.edu.au.