Project opportunity
This Earmarked Scholarship project is aligned with a recently awarded Category 1 research grant. It offers you the opportunity to work with leading researchers and contribute to large projects of national significance.
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a family of hybrid porous materials that are formed by the coordination of metal ions with organic linkers. Glassy MOFs are an emerging family of MOFs with an amorphous structure resembling glass. Typically, MOF crystals decompose irreversibly upon heating to their decomposition temperatures. However, a few MOFs can form a molten state with amorphous frameworks below their decomposition temperatures under an inert gas atmosphere. Applications of MOF liquids and glasses have been proposed in several fields, including adsorption, membranes, proton conduction, encapsulation, and electrochemical applications. Glassy MOFs possess attractive features including high processability due to the formation of the liquid state, unique separation properties due to the well-maintained porosity after quenching, and broad design space from the structural tunability and composition diversity.
This project aims to develop high-performance supported MOF glass thin film membranes for gas separation. This project addresses a key issue associated with the fabrication of practical membranes for gas separation, with a focus on eliminating interfacial defects and grain boundaries in supported MOF thin films by utilising glassy MOFs. This project expects to address interfacial defects at different positions simultaneously by taking advantage of molten MOFs. This proposal will deliver a new direction in membrane design for fabricating defect-free membranes.
Scholarship value
As a scholarship recipient, you'll receive:
- living stipend of $32,192 per annum tax free (2023 rate), indexed annually
- tuition fees covered
- single Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)
Supervisor
School of Chemical Engineering
Email: r.lin1@uq.edu.au
Preferred educational background
Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.
We take into account your
- previous academic record
- publication record
- honours and awards
- employment history.
A working knowledge of chemical engineering would be of benefit to someone working on this project.
The applicant will demonstrate academic achievement in the field(s) of metal-organic frameworks and the potential for scholastic success.
A background or knowledge of membrane separation is highly desirable.
Latest commencement date
If you are the successful candidate, you must commence by Research Quarter 3, 2024. You should apply at least 3 months prior to the research quarter commencement date.
If you are an international applicant, you may need to apply much earlier for visa requirements.
How to apply
You apply for this project as part of your PhD program application.