Institute of Geotechnics SAS
Topic
Blitz mechanochemical synthesis of materials for energy conversion
PhD. program
Engineering Technologies and Materials
Year of admission
2026
Name of the supervisor
RNDr. Matej Baláž, DrSc.
Contact:
Receiving school
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Technical University, Kosice
Annotation
The topic is focused on research into ultrafast, sustainable and energy-efficient mechanochemical processes enabling the formation of functional metal chalcogenides for applications in energy conversion. The work focuses on the conditions for the onset and propagation of superfast mechanically induced self-propagating reactions (MSR) and on the identification of key factors affecting the ignition, kinetics and microstructure of the products. The findings valid for chalcogenides will be verified in the synthesis of metal phosphides and titanium carbides. The materials will be tested for thermoelectric (TE, waste heat conversion to electricity) and electrocatalytic (HER, hydrogen production by water splitting) applications.