Ciência sem Fronteiras (Science Without Borders)
DCU PhD Project Template:
**Please use one form per project**
Please complete & submit to your Head of School by Monday 16th July
PI name & contact details:
Prof. Dermot Diamond
School:
Research Centre / group affiliation:
School of Chemical Sciences/ Nation Centre for Sensor
Research (NCSR)
NCSR / Clarity
Research group / centre website:
www.clarity-centre.org
PI website / link to CV:
http://www.clarity-centre.org/content/professor-dermotdiamond
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max):
Prof Dermot Diamond leads the Adaptive Sensors Group (ASG) that carry out research in several
core areas including environmental monitoring, smart materials, wearables and microfluidics. The
Adaptive sensors group is the sensor element of the CLARITY: Centre for Sensor Web Technologies,
a joint DCU-UCD research partnership funded by Science Foundation Ireland under 07/CE/I1147
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web):
Synthesis and application of polymer ionic liquids for development of smart, photo- and electroactive
materials
The following project will utilise the unique customisable properties of ionic liquids (Ils) coupled
with polymer chemistry to develop novel materials for sensor technologies and smart materials. The
candidates project will be focussed upon the synthesis and development of monomeric ionic liquids
and their integration polymer matrices utilising homo-polymer, co-polymer and Interpenetrating
polymer network (IPN) techniques. Ionic liquids can be used as conductive media for signal
transduction and the large numbers of ions available has resulted in an almost limitless range of
compositions, each with specific properties. This allows for the selection of ionic liquids as highly
influential components within polymer matrices. Careful selection of the cation and anions can
greatly alter the polymer properties such as conductivity, durability, softness and elasticity. The
integration of photoactive materials (spiropyrans) has allowed for the development of light
responsive materials with reversible/switchable porperties with applications such as polymeric
valves. The charged nature of ILs, however, make them susceptible to migration out of the polymer
matrix when exposed to polar solvents (water, ethanol). The tethering of a polymeric unit to the IL is
believed to remove this issue but physically anchoring the IL to the polymer network. The successful
candidate will develop a range of Ils based upon a range of ions, primarily phosphonium and
imiazolium based Ils, and establish trends in their chemical and physical properties for selection of
optimised materials for specific applications.
Unique selling points of PhD project in DCU:
This project will be based within the National Centre for Sensor Research (NCSR), within CLARITY for
the development of novel polymeric materials. The unique attraction of this research project is the
opportunity for a chemistry graduate to gain significant materials characterisation experince using a
range of state of the art techniques such as RAMAN spectroscopy and rheometry. In addition to this,
the graduate will gain extensive experience in synthesis of polymeric materials and process
development for the optimisation of novel polymer blends. The ASG has a long standing
collaboration with the World Class Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) in Wollongong,
Australia with Prof. Gordon Wallace and Prof. David Officer.
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
Prof. Dermot Diamond
dermot.diamond@dcu.ie
+353 1 7005404
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Applications from graduates with degrees in chemistry (analytical, pure and applied and synthetic)
and chemical engineering are welcome.
Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only
one (tick box):
Engineering and other technological areas
Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)
Health and Biomedical Sciences
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
Oil, Gas and Coal
Renewable Energy
Minerals
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology and New Materials

Technology of prevention and remediation of natural disasters
Biodiversity and Bioprospection
Marine Sciences
Creative Industry
New technologies in constructive engineering
Please complete