PhD Studentship: CENTA 2027-B09 Greener MOF nanogels for water remediation and critical mineral recovery

Overview

This PhD studentship focuses on developing greener metal-organic framework nanogels to address water contamination and recover critical minerals. Water quality is frequently threatened by persistent organic pollutants, toxic metals, and dyes, while industrial residues contain valuable critical minerals. Traditional sorbents can degrade in performance or release their own components as water chemistry changes. This project investigates whether confining metal-organic frameworks within hydrated biopolymer networks can limit framework release while maintaining accessible binding sites for remediation and resource recovery.

Selected candidates will formulate and test materials using aqueous or reduced-solvent routes, examining capture efficiency under varied pH levels, dissolved organic matter, and competing-ion conditions. The screening process covers persistent PFAS such as PFOA and PFOS, heavy metals, and dyes. Additional research directions will explore the recovery of rare-earth elements like neodymium and dysprosium from secondary aqueous resources. The work will adhere to safe and sustainable by design principles, evaluating aquatic effects, energy inputs, and waste generation against commercial alternatives to establish experimentally supported design rules.

What you get

The studentship is offered through the CENTA3 DLA and is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. The financial support package covers an annual stipend, tuition fees at the home-fee level, and a Research Training Support Grant.

Requirements

Applicants must hold at least a 2:1 at the UK Bachelor of Science level, a pass at the UK Master of Science level, or an international equivalent. International students are eligible to apply, as international students comprise up to thirty percent of the cohort, though funding does not cover moving or living costs in the United Kingdom. International applicants must also meet the University of Birmingham international student entry requirements, which include demonstrating English language proficiency.

Key dates

The closing date for applications is January 6, 2027.