Nanostructured carbon materials are the subject of intense research interest due to their many applications, such as energy storage, electrochemical devices, catalysis and water purification. Synthesis of such bespoke materials in flames has advantages including avoiding the use of solvents and favourable product purity.

Research in this area is nevertheless still characterised by a gap between research disciplines. In materials science, carbons are often prepared in simple or uncontrolled flames, such as by igniting a sample of precursor powder. On the other hand, research on thermal reacting flows has led to the adoption of standard laboratory burners whose characterisation has been advanced by the development of custom laser imaging methods for in situ spatial mapping of temperature, concentration of major and minor species, and volume fraction and size of particulates.

Applications of laser diagnostics to particle synthesis flames that have emerged more recently have largely concerned the production of metal and metal oxide particles.

Accordingly, this project initiates new research bridging the gap between these fields, with an emphasis on carbon materials.

This PhD project will apply of in situ optical measurements during synthesis of carbon materials, for spatial mapping of, for example, particulate concentration, size and composition, and gas-phase composition. Through this approach the aim is to tune the carbon material properties for bespoke applications by manipulating the carefully-controlled flame conditions. On the one hand, the combustion of precursor powders such as sodium ethoxide to produce nitrogen-doped carbon foams will be investigated systematically through the use of in situ laser imaging. Based on the resulting data, synthesis conditions will be made more stable and reproducible, and the sensitivity of product properties to flame conditions will be investigated. At the same time, the project will also explore the reverse approach whereby the particles formed in standard, laminar flames used by combustion scientists to study pollutant formation are investigated for their worthwhile properties and adaptation of these stable synthesis conditions is used as a basis to synthesise useful materials.

The specific objectives and work packages of the PhD project will therefore be as follows:

• apply laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) of the hydroxyl radical for temperature imaging and flame structure analysis in carbon-synthesis flames
• measure elemental concentration of alkali metals in carbon-synthesis flames by means of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)
• characterise particle loading and particle size in synthesis flames using laser-induced incandescence (LII) imaging and/or light-scattering
• apply a range of standard ex situ methods for characterisation of the resulting carbon materials (for example, BET, TGA, XRD, TEM)
• use the resulting data to derive new insights about the influence of synthesis conditions on properties of carbon materials (including specific surface area; crystallinity; etc.) and how to tune flame composition to produce carbon materials for bespoke applications

In addition to undertaking cutting edge research, students are also registered for the Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Development (PGCert), which is a supplementary qualification that develops a student’s skills, networks and career prospects.