PhD Studentship: Next Generation Electrochemical-based Water Quality Sensors

Project contact: Professor Craig Banks (c.banks@mmu.ac.uk )

Funding info: Fully-funded full-time PhD. Home fees equivalent plus stipend paid at UKRI rate (2022/23 rate £16,062)

Mode of study: Full-time

Eligibility: Funding is for home fees only

Key dates: Deadline 21st October 2022, January 2023 start

Project summary

As the global population is increasingly found within urban conurbations, there is an ever-growing demand to resource these population centres with safe drinkable water. However, the aging/inadequate water infrastructure present within many cities results in severe problems, arising from contaminants entering the domestic water supply. Currently, the approach to detect these HM contaminants is time consuming, costly and requires sophisticated lab based analytical equipment.

Consequently, during this 3-year PhD we will investigate the application of electrochemical techniques to allow for the development of a novel, rapid, portable electrochemical sensing platforms for the instant on-site determination for a range of target analytes mentioned above. Whilst this represents a significant challenge, due to complexity of detecting the contaminants at very low (parts per billion) concentrations whilst an avoiding interferents from a complex water matrix, this work has the potential to have a significant impact within the domestic and global water industry.

This exciting project will be conducted with an industrial partner AquaCheck Engineering , a UK leader in the production of cutting-edge water technologies. The project will be supervised by Professor Craig E Banks  and Dr Samuel J. Rowley-Neale . The successful candidate will be based within Manchester Metropolitan University’s world leading Electrochemistry research group .

Aims and objectives

Throughout the project, we will develop novel sensing platforms and test their application across a range of analytes and matrixes. This will require the development of screen-printed electrodes, application of advanced materials within bulk inks, and the development of simultaneous electrochemical detection procedures, biosensors, as well as employing a wide range of physicochemical characterisation techniques to characterise the developed platforms.

For more information visit www.mmu.ac.uk/research/research-study/scholarships#ai-71101-2

Project reference: SciEng-CB-2022-electrochemical-water-quality