PhD Studentship - Shape-controlled Nanoparticles for Catalytic VOC Oxidation

How to apply: uom.link/pgr-apply-2425

No. of positions available: 1

This is a Photon Science Institute studentship. It's directly funded at the standard UKRI rate for 3.5 years for UK students only. Your tuition fees will be paid and you will receive a tax free stipend (£19,237 for 2024/25). We expect the stipend to increase each year. The start date is 1st October 2025.

My group uses cutting-edge characterisation tools to follow chemical reactions on surfaces as they happen. We apply this methodology to gain new understanding of real-world industrial catalysts. This PhD project will focus on catalysts for the oxidation of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

VOCs are a major source of atmospheric pollution. The UK government has committed to progressive reduction of VOC emissions with a current target of a 39 per cent reduction (relative to 2005) levels by 2030. There is a clear need to develop efficient, durable and cost-effective VOC removal technologies to enable UK industry to meet these targets.

The leading methodology for VOC removal from gaseous waste streams is catalytic oxidation. Commercially available VOC oxidation catalysts are based on platinum group metals, which are prohibitively expensive and susceptible to poisoning.

A promising, earth-abundant alternative is the use of first-row transition metal oxides, with particular attention being paid to cobalt oxide, Co3O4. It has shown remarkable performance as an oxidation catalyst for a variety of VOCs and is highly poison-resistant, but suffers from poor stability, deactivating too quickly to be commercially useful. The key roadblock to overcoming the stability problem is a lack of understanding of the fundamental surface chemistry of Co3O4 under reaction conditions, largely due to system complexity (a “real” catalyst is a complex system which is hard to characterise)

In this PhD project you will use cutting-edge in-situ X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy to follow the catalytic process as it happens, learning about reaction mechanisms and deactivation pathways. To overcome system complexity, we will use advanced hydrothermal synthesis techniques to produce well-defined, highly uniform catalyst nanoparticles so we can systematically explore how structure and composition relate to function.

We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisors for this project before you apply. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project. Contact details: Dr Walton - Alex.walton@manchester.ac.uk and Dr Parlett - christopher.parlett@manchester.ac.uk.

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