PhD position ‘Sustainable and highly stable ion exchange membranes for industrial applications’

Within the Membrane Surface Science Group (MSuS), part of the Membrane Science & Technology (MST) cluster (www.membrane.nl), and the MnF group, part of the department of Molecules and Materials, of the University of Twente, The Netherlands we have a vacancy for a PhD student:

'Sustainable and highly stable ion exchange membranes for industrial applications'

A PhD project is available regarding the production and characterization of new and sustainable ion-exchange membranes. Membranes play a critical role in the production of safe drinking water and the treatment of human waste streams, but they also take on an increasingly important role in industrial electrochemical processes. This project will investigate a highly novel approach allowing the production of highly stable ion exchange membranes through simple hot-pressing of polyelectrolyte complexes. In the project, these new membranes will be designed, fine-tuned and produced to combine high stability with excellent separation properties. There will be a focus on connecting material properties to membrane performance. Moreover, the performance in electrically driven processes will be studied in detail to be compared with commercially available membranes. Anion-exchange membranes with a high chemical stability are essential to allow electrochemical conversion of water into H­2O2 under the required alkaline conditions. This PhD project is part of the larger HYPER project where we will work closely together with experts in catalysis (Wageningen University) and process design (Wageningen Research).

This project will take place in an international research group with a strong collaborative atmosphere. As part of the PhD program, you would have the opportunity to receive further education within the Twente Graduate School. Furthermore, you may actively contribute in the teaching program, e.g. by supervision of BSc and MSc assignments and teaching assistance.