PhD studentship Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Chemistry in Flow: Amplification Versus Extinction
School of Chemistry
Supervisor: Dr Melanie M. Britton, School of Chemistry,
University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Email: m.m.britton@bham.ac.uk
There is a fully-funded PhD studentship available to work in the group of Dr Melanie Britton, looking at the coupling of chemical reaction and flow. This experimental project will use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to visualise autocatalytic chemical reactions in pipe-flow, vortices and chaotic flow fields and quantify the conditions for which the reaction is amplified.
The coupling of chemical reaction with transport processes is important in a wide variety of disciplines such as biology, engineering and atmospheric science. Many reactions display autocatalysis, in which a product of the reaction, the activator, catalyses its own production. Autocatalysis provides an important mechanism for the amplification and propagation of a chemical signal. In flow, autocatalytic reactions generally respond in an all-or-nothing fashion; the reaction is amplified, possibly resulting in spatially-distributed reaction "hot spots", or extinguished by the flow. It has been demonstrated that even turbulent flows contain some degree of coherence, such as vortices, that may create conditions for localised mixing of species and reaction amplification.
The project will examine the mutual interaction of autocatalytic chemistry and flow, focusing on the influence of micro-structured flow on macroscopic chemical activity. Our goal is to produce controlled laboratory studies to quantify the role of coherent flow on reaction amplification. The research will provide an insight to the dynamics of chemical reactions in complex flow systems and biological pattern formation in open flow.
This EPSRC-funded PhD is in collaboration with Dr Annette Taylor (School of Chemistry, University of Leeds) and Dr Mark Wilson (School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds), who also have a PhD studentship available to develop theory and models, coupling autocatalytic chemical reaction with coherent flow fields and characterising the emergence of spatial order in coherent flow environments.
The stipend will be at the standard EPSRC rate (currently £12,600 p.a.), and the studentships are open to any UK or EU nationals possessing a minimum class IIi (hons) degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry, Physics, Chemical Engineering or another relevant related discipline. The start date would be December 1st 2008 or as soon as possible thereafter. Applications should be made via Mrs P. Marshall, School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham (p.marshall@bham.ac.uk). The closing date for applications is 1st September 2008. Any queries should be directed to Dr Britton (room Ha204p or via email: m.m.britton@bham.ac.uk).
References
(1) A. F. Taylor, M. M. Britton: "Magnetic resonance imaging of chemical waves in porous media". Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science 16 (2006) 037103.
(2) M. M. Britton: "Spatial quantification of Mn2+ and Mn3+ concentrations in the Mn-catalyzed 1,4-cyclohexanedione/acid/bromate reaction using magnetic resonance imaging". Journal Physical Chemistry A 110 (2006) 2579-82.
(3) M. M. Britton, A. J. Sederman, A. F. Taylor, S. K. Scott, L. F. Gladden: "Magnetic resonance imaging of flow-distributed oscillations". Journal Of Physical Chemistry A 109 (2005) 8306-13
Supervisor: Dr Melanie M. Britton, School of Chemistry,
University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Email: m.m.britton@bham.ac.uk
There is a fully-funded PhD studentship available to work in the group of Dr Melanie Britton, looking at the coupling of chemical reaction and flow. This experimental project will use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to visualise autocatalytic chemical reactions in pipe-flow, vortices and chaotic flow fields and quantify the conditions for which the reaction is amplified.
The coupling of chemical reaction with transport processes is important in a wide variety of disciplines such as biology, engineering and atmospheric science. Many reactions display autocatalysis, in which a product of the reaction, the activator, catalyses its own production. Autocatalysis provides an important mechanism for the amplification and propagation of a chemical signal. In flow, autocatalytic reactions generally respond in an all-or-nothing fashion; the reaction is amplified, possibly resulting in spatially-distributed reaction "hot spots", or extinguished by the flow. It has been demonstrated that even turbulent flows contain some degree of coherence, such as vortices, that may create conditions for localised mixing of species and reaction amplification.
The project will examine the mutual interaction of autocatalytic chemistry and flow, focusing on the influence of micro-structured flow on macroscopic chemical activity. Our goal is to produce controlled laboratory studies to quantify the role of coherent flow on reaction amplification. The research will provide an insight to the dynamics of chemical reactions in complex flow systems and biological pattern formation in open flow.
This EPSRC-funded PhD is in collaboration with Dr Annette Taylor (School of Chemistry, University of Leeds) and Dr Mark Wilson (School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds), who also have a PhD studentship available to develop theory and models, coupling autocatalytic chemical reaction with coherent flow fields and characterising the emergence of spatial order in coherent flow environments.
The stipend will be at the standard EPSRC rate (currently £12,600 p.a.), and the studentships are open to any UK or EU nationals possessing a minimum class IIi (hons) degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry, Physics, Chemical Engineering or another relevant related discipline. The start date would be December 1st 2008 or as soon as possible thereafter. Applications should be made via Mrs P. Marshall, School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham (p.marshall@bham.ac.uk). The closing date for applications is 1st September 2008. Any queries should be directed to Dr Britton (room Ha204p or via email: m.m.britton@bham.ac.uk).
References
(1) A. F. Taylor, M. M. Britton: "Magnetic resonance imaging of chemical waves in porous media". Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science 16 (2006) 037103.
(2) M. M. Britton: "Spatial quantification of Mn2+ and Mn3+ concentrations in the Mn-catalyzed 1,4-cyclohexanedione/acid/bromate reaction using magnetic resonance imaging". Journal Physical Chemistry A 110 (2006) 2579-82.
(3) M. M. Britton, A. J. Sederman, A. F. Taylor, S. K. Scott, L. F. Gladden: "Magnetic resonance imaging of flow-distributed oscillations". Journal Of Physical Chemistry A 109 (2005) 8306-13
