Transition metals (cobalt and nickel) are vital in producing electric vehicle batteries which are crucial to phasing out fossil fuels and meeting international climate change targets. Mining Co and Ni produces large amounts of toxic waste that leads to significant damage to human health and the surrounding ecosystem. In addition, cobalt is a critical mineral resource due to supply-chain risk.

This is a laboratory-based project on using novel materials to capture cobalt and nickel from contaminated water/waste streams for upcycling into useable solids for clean energy production. The successful applicants will work in a renowned and vibrant environmental chemistry laboratory and be trained on liquid (aqueous) and solid state analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and electron microscopies. The student will be based in the Faculty of Engineering, one of the largest and most successful engineering faculties in the UK, and the largest in Scotland.