We are always looking for talented students who want to study for a PhD  in our group. Please email Prof. Warner if you are interested. All applications need to be formally submitted through the Materials Sciences Graduate Program in the Texas Materials Institute or the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Post docs and visiting academics should email Prof. Warner directly about their interests.

PhD positions are currently available in the following areas:

 

1. Advanced electron microscopy studies of battery materials

Summary: The group is establishing new capabilities to study the structure of battery materials in order to determine their limiting factors for performance and degradation mechanisms. This project will include the materials chemistry to produce energy storage materials in ways that are compatible with transmission electron microscopy studies. This will involve the cross-sectioning of batteries using cryo-FIB and TEM transfer air-free to study the dendrite structures and electrode:liquid interfaces in frozen states. The project will involve the use of a liquid electrochemistry holder to observe the dendrite formation in solid-liquid interfaces during electrochemical cycling and then feeding this knowledge back into the synthesis to improve the electrode:liquid interface chemistry. The project will utilize the new neoARM TEM in the Texas Materials Institute to perform advanced characterization methods to solve questions in energy storage systems. This will involve collaborations with other UT Austin faculty for the materials chemistry of batteries.

 

2. Advanced Transmission Electron Microscopy Methods for Materials Characterization

Summary: This project will utilize new direct electron detectors that enable the capturing of information at sensitivities and frame rates that are orders of magnitudes greater than conventional approaches. The new wealth of information enables the extraction of new physical parameters from materials, such as the local electric field around single atoms, the charge density in bonds, the multi-component imaging of phase and annular dark field. The project will build upon the prior work in the group on establishing 4D STEM methods for quantitative atomic scale imaging and probing in materials, where the scattering electrons are directly collected and used to measure small fluctuations in atomic bonding and electrostatics. The project will also explore the use of machine learning to process large data sets that are taken in real-space imaging of materials to achieve the energy landscape of dopant migration, the massive signal to noise enhancements that increase resolution and detectivity, and the capturing of defect dynamics at microsecond time scales. This project will apply these novel imaging methods to a wide range of materials systems including 2D materials, polymers and soft materials, beam sensitive battery materials, and molecular crystals.

3. Nanomaterials for Catalysis and Energy Generation

This project explores the use of materials chemistry approaches to synthesis nanomaterials with specific structure for electrochemistry and catalysis. In particular the way to create porous 3D electrodes and their interface with single atom catalysts and 2D materials as scaffolds for small nanoclusters. The project explores using new materials for carbon dioxide reduction reaction, hydrogen evolution and the structural analysis by electron microscopy. The project aims at the complete cycle of synthesis:structure:properties, enabling the student to vary chemical synthesis methods to achieve high performance electrocatalysts. The project will involve skills including solution phase chemistry, atomic scale analysis by electron microscopy, and setting up electrochemistry testing. Different material systems will be explored and tested.

4. Expanding the Family of 2D Crystals by Novel Materials Chemistry Synthesis

The commercial application of 2D materials will only be viable if large scale methods are found to achieve the synthesis on wafer scale. There are hundreds of 2D layered systems with rich physics and complex chemistry, and developing methods to growth them with precise control is one of the biggest challenges in the transition of 2D materials from the lab benchtop to the real world. This project will explore novel chemistry methods to grown new 2D systems that are relatively unexplored using the chemical vapour deposition methods, with new solution phase chemistry approach integrated into the precursor design. The focus will start with noble metal dichalcogenides such as PtSe2, PdS2 and then expand into the hybrids and doped versions. It will seek to create unique vertical and layered heterjunctions by controlled growth layer by layer of alternating materials. The project will aim to integrate automation of CVD growth systems and transfer using robotics and computer control, to achieve higher uniformity and reproducibility. This project brings together aspects of fundamental chemistry, with materials science and engineering. New optical and electrical behavior of the 2D crystals will be explored such as interlayer exciton control and band structure engineering.

5. Ultrathin all 2D transparent and flexible Opto-Electronic Nanoscale devices

Summary: 2D materials come in a wide range of classes, metallic, semiconducting and insulating, which enables the construction of complex nanoscale electronic devices. Both lateral and vertical interfaces produce unique physics that leads to high performing opto-electronic devices such as transistors, photodetectors and light emitting devices. This project will construct complex device architectures using 2D building blocks to achieve transparent, flexible and high performing arrays of devices that are interconnected and achieve full RGB spectral imaging and emission. The project will involve materials chemistry to produce the 2D materials by chemical vapour deposition and the thin film processing to assembly the complex stacks of 2D layers, and then the nanoscale lithography to produce the devices. The opto-electronic performances of several different device systems will be measured and the interface physics understood and exploited. The aim is to create large wafer scale interconnecting all 2D systems that outperform current materials for transparent opto-electronics. The project will also explore the use of these novel devices in chemical sensing, optical memory storage devices, and as interfaces for biological response sensing.