Understanding the Micelle Architecture of Mild to Harsh Surfactant Blends

Summary

One full scholarship is available in the School of Food Science and Nutrition in 2025/26. This highly competitive EPSRC Industrial Doctoral Landscape Award Studentship offers the award of fees, together with a tax-free maintenance grant (currently £19,237 for academic session 2024/25) with a top up £4,000 per annum for 4 years. Training and support will also be provided.

This fully funded PhD place provides an exciting opportunity to pursue postgraduate research in a range of fields relating to Colloid Science and the Physical Chemistry of Biomaterials. The research is part of an ongoing international collaboration between the University of Leeds and Croda, who have been directly allocated to an Industrial Doctoral Landscape Award (IDLA) with a funding arrangement for 4 years.

This project aims to investigate the structure-function relationships of commonly used surfactants in wash-off skin care formulations. These are typically tested by measuring the ability to solubilize various biological components and to some extent the behaviour can be related to the size and charge of the surfactant micelles, as well as the critical micelle concentration. However, for mixtures of classic and novel surfactants these relationships are sometimes far from clear and a more thorough analysis of micelle nanostructure is needed.
The goal of the research project is to investigate how the surfactant self-assembly processes and the nanostructural characteristics of the formed micelles affect surfactant mildness versus foaming, cleansing and other important performance attributes at the micelle and monomer level. This with a view to maintaining environmentally-friendly formulations, preferably based on easily biodegradable and sustainable materials.

During the project, the prospective student will gain experience in soft matter characterization techniques such as interfacial tensiometry, small angle X-ray and neutron scattering, differential scanning calorimetry and electron microscopy. The research is part of an ongoing international collaboration between the University of Leeds and Croda.

The student would join a vibrant, friendly and supportive research environment and exciting public engagement and outreach opportunities.

Understanding the Micelle Architecture of Mild to Harsh Surfactant Blends
Croda
Croda is a FTSE100 organisation driven around the Purpose of Smart Science to Improve Lives. With over 6,000 staff across 39 countries, Croda is focused on the research and development of novel and highly sustainable raw materials for the Consumer Care and Life Sciences sectors. A global leader in speciality chemicals, Croda is the name behind some of the world’s biggest brands providing practical, environmentally minded solutions to the problems of everyday life. The research is part of an ongoing international collaboration between the University of Leeds and Croda, who have been directly allocated to an Industrial Doctoral Landscape Award (IDLA) with a funding arrangement for 4 years.

The Project
Surfactants are used in all personal care cleaning products, including shampoos, face washes, shower gels, and liquid soaps as well as all other formulations required for skin treatments, as well as general consumer cleaning products for surfaces coming into contact with food, etc. Formulators typically use a combination of anionic, amphoteric, and non-ionic surfactants to achieve optimal cleaning, foaming, and mildness where the products are likely to come into direct contact with the skin.
This project aims to investigate the structure-function relationships of commonly used surfactants in wash-off skin care formulations. These are typically tested by measuring the ability to solubilize various biological components and to some extent the behaviour can be related to the size and charge of the surfactant micelles, as well as the critical micelle concentration. However, for mixtures of classic and novel surfactants these relationships are sometimes far from clear and a more thorough analysis of micelle nanostructure is needed.
The goal of the research project is to investigate how the surfactant self-assembly processes and the nanostructural characteristics of the formed micelles affect surfactant mildness versus foaming, cleansing and other important performance attributes at the micelle and monomer level. This with a view to maintaining environmentally-friendly formulations, preferably based on easily biodegradable and sustainable materials.

Applicants to this studentship in the School of Food Science and Nutrition are expected to hold a bachelor degree in a relevant subject (2.1 or above or equivalent) or a good honours degree together with a Masters degree. Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the School or Admissions Office prior to making an application.

The minimum English language entry requirement for research postgraduate research study in the School of Food Science and Nutrition is an IELTS of 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking) or equivalent. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid. Some schools and faculties have a higher requirement.