Supervisors: Dr Philip Miller (Imperial College London) and Dr Tom Haywood (Astral Systems)
Home Department: Departments of Chemistry at Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus
Project Summary
Neutron irradiation is an essential route to produce several high‑value radionuclides used in nuclear medicine and industry. Compact fusion-based neutron sources, such as those developed by Astral Systems, enable decentralised and flexible isotope production; however, efficient post‑irradiation separation remains a key technical bottleneck.
Particularly promising but under‑exploited phenomena in neutron‑activated targets is the nuclear recoil, or Szilárd-Chalmers effect, whereby threshold reactions or neutron capture impart sufficient energy to the product nucleus to break chemical bonds and displace it from its original lattice or coordination environment. When appropriately engineered, this effect can result in the radionuclide product being weakly bound, chemically labile, or spatially separated from the bulk target matrix.
This PhD project proposes to harness the Szilárd–Chalmers effect to facilitate isotopic separations. Using novel materials such as Metal‑Organic-Frameworks (MOFs) the candidate will investigate novel target matrices for neutron irradiation that will exploit for recoil‑driven displacement processes and to enable the selective release of isotopes following irradiation. An autonomous continuous process will be developed to rapidly separate and isolate recoil‑liberated radioisotopes from parent target material. The produced radioisotopes will have applications for medical imaging applications such as PET and SPECT imaging, and for radiotherapeutic applications.
We are seeking an ambitious and highly motivated candidate with a background in synthetic chemistry (organic or inorganic) who is willing to work with industry partners. No experience of working with radioactive material is required as full training will be provided.
To apply, please complete an application form Application process | Study | Imperial College London. Informal enquiries about the post and the application process can be made to Dr Philip Miller (philip.miller@imperial.ac.uk)
