Printing with water based inks are the future for environmental reasons. Water based inks are complex mixtures of water, nanoparticles  (pigments and polymer latex) and water soluble additives to steer water evaporation. Many printing media are porous in nature (i.e. paper, textile, wood). The quality of a print therefore strongly depends on the ink-media interaction as this dictates the ink uptake by media. Key factors for ink motion in porous substrates are capillary forces (driving the flow) and surface-particle interactions (determining the penetration depth of the nanoparticles). Fundamental understanding of the capillary uptake of particle based complex mixtures by porous media is needed to be able to optimize inks.

Project aim and description

The aim of this project is to study the ingress of nanoparticles and polymer lattices in porous media with NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) imaging tools. NMR active nanoparticles and lattices will be made or selected that allow direct imaging of particle laden flows in porous media driven by capillary action. The role of the porosity, pore size, particle size and particle surface chemistry will be studied systematically.  Our lab has NMR and CT imaging facilities. The project is embedded in the larger PQP (Print Quality and Particles) project, which is a collaboration of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE), the University of Utrecht (UU), Cannon-Océ and DSM. The project is for a major part funded by NWO (the Dutch Science Foundation).

Working location

The work will be performed in the group Transport in Permeable Media (TPM) in the Applied Physics department of the Eindhoven University of Technology. The PhD will collaborate with researchers form the  UU, Océ and DSM.

• Do you have a MSc degree in physics, physical chemistry or chemical engineering?
• Do you have experience with NMR imaging?
• Do you have knowledge on fluid mechanics and physical transport phenomena?
• Do you have good programming and modelling skills (Matlab, C, C++)?
• Do you like to collaborate with industrial partners?

If so, you are the right candidate for this position.

We offer:

• A full time appointment for four years (start date between October and December 2019) by Eindhoven University of Technology http://www.tue.nl/en/;
• Gross monthly salary from € 2325 (first year) to € 2972 (fourth year) in line with the Collective Agreement for Dutch Universities;
• A package of fringe benefits, including holiday allowance of 8% end-of-year allowance of 8,3%, a development program for PhD students (Proof program), and sport facilities.

All PhD studentships in Applied Physics include a limited contribution to educational tasks of the department, equivalent to around 5% of the contract time. Please note that for candidates with specific interest in teaching and education there are options for a 5-year PhD studentship with a total equivalent of around 25% educational tasks. Please express your interest to the vacancy holder/supervisor in charge.