Postgraduate Research Projects

Please find below a list of research projects available for students interested to do Master by Research or Doctor of Philosophy(Ph.D) in PARTCAT group. Please note that all Master/Ph.D student candidates must have current scholarships or are applying for scholarships to support their studies. A range of scholarships are available for domestic and international students (from $28,854 per annum (tax free) in 2022). Top-up scholarship is available for high achieving candidate - please enquiry within.

For full information on any of the following projects or if you are interested with any of our research, please contact corresponding supervisors as outlined in the project.

• Novel hybrid electrode materials for energy storage devices (NEW project)
• Metal-free graphene electrodes for hydrogen peroxide production (NEW project)
• Hydrogen production with high-density single-atom catalyst (SAC) (NEW project)
• 2D materials-based heterostructures for green hydrogen and CO2 reduction  (NEW project)
• Quantum modelling-guided catalyst design for energy conversion  (NEW project)
• Value added chemicals produced via electrochemical CO2 reduction (NEW project)
• High-performance magnesium hydroxide polymer composites for low carbon footprint, fire-resistant construction materials (NEW project)
• Advanced Photoelectrochemical Systems for Green Hydrogen (NEW project)
• PEC selective organic oxidation using composite photocatalyst with multifunctional properties 
• Electrochemical CO2 reduction to value added products 

Past PhD projects in the group:

• Carbon-based absorbent material for environmental remediation 
• Hydrogen production with high-density single-atom catalyst (SAC) 
  
• Combinatorial design and high-throughput screening of potential solar hydrogen photocatalysts 
• Novel Carbon Nanomaterials for Energy Conversion and Storage
• Computational materials design of catalytic materials and water filtration membranes
• Photocatalytic CO2 conversion to methanol
• Atomatically thin 2-D materials for electrochemical conversion of nitrogen to ammonia 
• Solar energy utilisation for direct CO2 reduction to sustainable fuel
• Techno-economic feasibility of Power to X pathway in Australia
• Seawater electrolysis for simultaneous chlorine and hydrogen production
• 3-D printing approaches for electrochemical conversion of nitrogen to ammonia
• Machine learning-augmented high-throughput catalyst design for NH3 synthesis 
• Novel nanostructured catalysts toward efficient and cost-effective fuel cell stacks 
• Engineering of novel ozonation activation catalysts to degrade micropollutants 
  
• Advanced battery nanotechnologies
• Two-dimensional organic-inorganic materials
• Single-cluster electrocatalysis for electrical energy storage
• Development of novel 3D hybrid catalyst materials toward efficient conversion of energy 
• Functionalized carbon-based materials for electrochemical energy applications 
• Surface-plasmon enhanced catalytic CO2 conversion on bimetallic nanoparticles

If you are unsure which project is most suitable for you, but would like to join PARTCAT research group, please send/email your resume, academic transcript and proof of English proficiency to Scientia Prof Rose Amal at  r.amal@unsw.edu.au or Mandalena@unsw.edu.au 

To check on your eligibility for admission and competitivenes for scholarship, please do the HDR Self Assessment available on: https://selfassessment.research.unsw.edu.au/ (Note: Course code: 1010 for PhD in Chemical Engineering)

Top Up Scholarship maybe available for high achieving candidate. Please enquiry within.