Catalysts for the low-temperature production of hydrogen from ammonia

Applications from enthusiastic and motivated students are invited for a PhD project with Dr Josh Makepeace at the School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham.

Energy storage technologies are a key part of the transition to a sustainable energy system, enabling the balancing of intermittent renewable electricity supplies and the switch to low-carbon transportation. Ammonia, already the chemical feedstock for inorganic fertilisers, has recently gained attention as a potential sustainable fuel and means of storing and transporting hydrogen. Its use in these applications requires the use of catalysts to release stored hydrogen. Metal amides and imides are a new class of catalysts for this reaction which show great promise by avoiding the need for the use of rare metals. This project will involve the design, synthesis and catalytic testing of a range of metal amide/imide materials, including the use of in situ analysis approaches to determine the mechanism of catalytic action.

The researcher will be trained and develop skills in solid state synthesis, air-sensitive handling techniques, structural analysis by powder diffraction, and catalyst characterisation. This project forms part of a larger research programme which seeks to demonstrate the use of metal-nitrogen-hydrogen materials across a range of energy-related applications.