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China SC PhD studentship on sticky ions!

14 October 2025

Some ions stick to surfaces. Why?
Some ions stick to surfaces. Why?

(For Chinese students only, rules of China Scholarship Council apply)

Protons behave as hydrophobic particles! The H3O+ tend to stick to hydrophobic interfaces, thus charging them. Based on our current knowledge of aqueous electrolytes, H3O+ should really prefer to stay in the water.

This ion-surface attraction plays a role in phenomena such as activity of stomach enzymes, processes like oil well stimulation – yet no convincing adsorption model for H3O+ exists to guide formulation problems; no theory predicts its adsorption constant; no ions of similar behaviour have been identified. Even the qualitative nature of this attraction is obscure.

We need a bright PhD student to investigate the secretive forces that drag sticky ions like H3O+ to surfaces. The aim is to produce understanding and a model of the interaction. Experiment-lovers, theory-lovers and especially you who hesitate between the two options – you are welcome to apply. The applications we are targeting: carbon capture and storage (the charge of the interface between acidic aqueous phase and liquid carbon dioxide); mechanisms of rain (the role of ions for nucleation of water droplets in the atmosphere); and how are salts changing the behaviour of surfactants.

For more information: click here.

Contact:Radomir I Slavchov
Email:r.slavchov@qmul.ac.uk
Website:https://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/research/studentships/678/adsorption-of-ions-on-hydrophobic-surfaces
People:Radomir SLAVCHOV
Research Centre:Sustainable Engineering