Chemical Engineering

Smart Electrolytes for Next-Generation Zinc-Ion Batteries

How do we build grid batteries that are cheap, safe and made from abundantmaterials?

Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are a promising answer – zinc is low-cost, non-toxic and worksin water-based electrolytes. But current ZIBs still suffer from limited lifetime andefficiency because the electrolyte, cathode and their interface are not optimisedtogether.

This PhD will tackle that challenge head-on. You will design “smart” aqueous or gelelectrolytes and matched cathode coatings that work as a single system to:• control how Zn2+ is solvated and transported,• suppress dendrites and cathode dissolution, and• build stable, self-healing interphases for long-life cycling.Working jointly between the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University, youwill combine:• Molecular simulations (to see how different salts and additives organise aroundZn2+),• Materials synthesis and coating design, and• Full electrochemical testing in coin cells. 

By the end of the project, you will have created and tested prototype zinc-ion cells withsignificantly improved performance, and developed design rules that can be appliedacross future grid-scale storage technologies. 

Training and environmentYou will be based in the School of Engineering at UoE, with access to:• Advanced electrochemical testing facilities• Battery fabrication labs• Materials characterisation (XRD, SEM/TEM, spectroscopy) 

You will also work closely with Prof Biggs’s group at HWU, gaining complementaryexpertise in interfacial engineering and simulation. The project includes opportunitiesto present at international conferences and to collaborate with industrial and academicpartners.

Selection process 

The application and selection process has two stages: 

1. Initial technical interview (by supervisors) 

• We will shortlist from the applications received and invite at least one candidate for an online interview before 30 January 2026.
• This interview will assess your academic background, technical skills and motivation for the project.
• Following this, we will nominate one candidate to ERPE for consideration. 

2. ERPE panel interview 

• Nominated candidates will be invited to a second, competitive interview with an ERPE panel in the weeks commencing 16 or 23 February 2026.

• Final outcomes will be communicated no later than 4 March 2026.

  Start date: September 2026 

  How to apply:Please do not submit a full PhD application at this stage.Instead, email the following as a single PDF to Dr Peisan (Sharel) E (sharel.e@ed.ac.uk):• A CV (max 2–3 pages), including degree classifications (or predicted grades), relevantprojects and publications (if any).• A 1-page cover letter explaining: -why you are interested in zinc-ion batteries and this specific project;- how your background meets the essential/desirable criteria;- whether you would in principle be willing to be considered for a switch of  principal- supervisor to HWU if offered an HWU-funded studentship.

  Please also provide contact details for two academic referees

Application deadline for initial consideration:

We encourage applications as soon as possible and no later than before 23 January 2026.

Shortlisted candidates will be contacted to arrange interviews.

Essential Experience: 

• BSc and/or Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence
• a minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent)
• Excellent spoken and written English and good communication skills • Experience using modelling and simulation techniques
• Literature surveys, documentation and reporting

This studentship is funded through the ERPE Joint PhD Studentship scheme. 

• Duration: 42 months (3.5 years)
• Stipend: Enhanced above standard UKRI rate
• Research & Training Grant: £5,000 total (for research costs, travel, training)
• Tuition fees: Covered at the home-fee rate Important: 

This is a competitive funding opportunity. ERPE has selected more projects than there are studentships available, so a studentship is not guaranteed even if you are nominated by the supervisors. Because of the balance of UoE- and HWU-funded studentships in this call, it is possible that a successful candidate may be offered an HWU-funded studentship instead of a UoE-funded one, in which case the principal supervisor would transfer to Prof Biggs at HWU. Candidates will be asked whether they are willing to be considered for such a supervision switch as part of the selection process.

***Open to candidates with UK “home” fee status only. This normally includes UK nationals and applicants with settled or pre-settled status, or indefinite leave to remain, who have been ordinarily resident in the UK/EU/EEA for at least 3 years.***

Further information and other funding options.

• MSc (Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Analysis) University of Oxford
• BSc(Eng)(Hons) (Chemical Engineering) University of Cape Town
• D.Phil, University of Oxford

• CEng MIChemE

Prof Khellil Sefiane's Laboratory web pages

Professor Khellil Sefiane, PhD, HDR, FRSC and FInstP is a Professor and chair of Thermo-Physical Engineering in the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh (https://www.ed.ac.uk/), Scotland, United Kingdom. He was the Head of the research Institute for Multiscale Thermofluids (IMT), 2018-2024 and Head of the Institute for Materials and Processes (IMP) from 2012-2015 at the University of Edinburgh. Professor Sefiane is the Vice-Chair of the UK National Heat Transfer Committee, https://www.uknhtc.org/. Professor Sefiane is the UK delegate on the Scientific Council of the Intenational Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer, https://www.ichmt.org/. He also represents the UK on the European Thermal Committee, EUROTHERM, http://www.eurothermcommittee.eu/. He was associate editor for the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Elsevier (2017-2024) and has been associate editor for the International Journal of Multiphase Flows and the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer.

He held numerous honorary appointments in international institutions including an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, Canada (2008-2014), Visiting Professor at Kyushu University, Japan (2015) and WPI -World Premier International Professor at the International Centre for Carbon Neutral Energy Research (I²CNER) at Kyushu in Japan (2015-2019), honorary Professor at Tsinghua University in China (2022-2025), Extraordinary Professor at Pretoria University, South Africa (2019) and visiting Professor at Universite Paris-Saclay, France (2020 and 2025). He is Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP) and holds an ExxonMobil fellowship and a Global Research Award, both awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, London. Professor Sefiane has been research active for the last 28 years in various areas related to multiphase flows, heat transfer, microfluidics, interfacial phenomena and phase change. He has published more than a 250 journal papers in international journals and was co-editor of the textbook Drying of Complex Fluid Drops: Fundamentals and Applications, published by the Royal society of Chemistry (RSC), 2022, https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/ebook/978-1-78801-790-9. He has been recipient of the prestigious Institute of Physics (IoP) award (2009), the Global Research Award by the Royal Academy of Engineering, London (2011) and the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Award in 2014 and the David R. Kenning Award in 2024. Professor Sefiane is member of numerous international scientific committees of experts in heat transfer and multiphase flows (ICHMT, EUROTHERM, Chair of the Nusselt-Reynolds, Nu-Re Prize and chair of the David B.R. Kenning award committee) and member of the international Board of the Nukiyama Memorial Award (NMA) awarded by the Heat Transfer Society of Japan (HTSJ). Prof. Sefiane taught undergraduate and graduate students at universities in UK, France, Canada, Japan and China. He has been recipient of research grants from the UK research Council (EPSRC), the British Royal Society (RS), the European Union (EU), the European Space Agency (ESA) and industry.

• M.Sc., PhD in Chemical Engineering, habil. HDR in Engineering
• Fellow of the Institute of Physics, FInsP, 2012, UK.
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, FRSC, 2011, UK.
• ExxonMobil Fellow, awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, London, 2000, UK.
• Vice-chair of the UK National Heat Transfer Committee, https://www.uknhtc.org
• Deputy Chair of the Nusselt-Reynolds (Nu-Re) international prize, 2018-2024
• Chair of the Nusselt-Reynolds (Nu-Re) international prize, 2024-2027
• UK representative on the EUROTHERM European committee, http://www.eurothermcommittee.eu/
• UK representative on the Scientific Council of the Intenational Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer, https://www.ichmt.org/
• UK Editor for the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (IJHMT) (2017-2024), Elsevier
• World Premier International (WPI) Professor, International Institute for Carbon Neutral Energy Research (WPI-I²CNER), https://i2cner.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/, 2015-2022, Kyushu University, Japan.
• Corresponding member of the European Academy of Sciences Arts and Literature.
• Adjunct Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 2008-2014, Canada.
• Honorary Professor, Kyushu University, 2015, Japan.
• Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2011, Japan.
• Honorary Professor, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 2022-2025, China.
• Visinting Professor, Univeriste Paris-Saclay, Paris, 2020 and 2024, France.
• Visiting Professor at Université Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens (2008), Université de Valenciennes (2009, 2011), École Normale Supérieure- Cachan (2014, 2015), École nationale supérieure d'Arts et Métiers (ENSAM), 2023, France.
• Visiting Professor, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, 2015-2017, UK.
• Extraordinary Professor, Pretoria University, 2020, South Africa.
• Guest Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 2019, China.
• Associate Editor, International Journal of Multiphase Flows, Elsevier, 2015-2016.
• Associate Editor of the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, 2014-2015
• Global research award, Royal Academy of Engineering, London, 2011. UK.
• Chair of the David B.R. Kenning award committee, UK, https://www.uknhtc.org/david-kenning-award
• Member of the Board of the Nukiyama Memorial Award (NMA) awarded by the Heat Transfer Society of Japan (HTSJ). 2024-2026.
• Laboratory and Group web page

• Separation Processes 5, 4th and 5th year.
• Work Visits (Chemistry and Processes 2), 2nd year.
• Chemical Engineering Design 4, 4th year.

• Interfacial processes and capillary phenomena
• Multiphase flows and microscale heat transfer
• Wetting and phase change phenomena
• Microfluidics and thermal management of microsystems