About the project
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.
Solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), a spectroscopy that uses magnetic moments associated with nuclear spin in a magnetic field, is a non-destructive, powerful technique for investigation of materials in a range of physical states and temperature regimes. However, as most quantum mechanical methods at the moment, it is very far from the sensitivity and accuracy that it could potentially have. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of solid materials has low sensitivity when it deals with large nuclear spin systems, systems, i.e., for heteronuclear correlations or higher order multiple quantum excitation: our current ability to control nuclear spin dynamics is limited and many existing methods are highly inefficient.
In this project you will use quantum optimal control theory to design magnetic resonance methods with radically better performance, and demonstrate experimentally the new approaches. Applications will include gaining a better understanding of catalytic processes; for example using these advancements to follow hydrogen spillover processes on supported metal nanoparticles.
This project will develop skills and expertise in quantum theory, quantum control, supercomputing, microelectronics and magnetic fields, and nuclear magnetic resonance.
