New Products from a Sustainable Ammonia Cycle

Renewable sources of energy are essential for the world to improve its carbon footprint and to become carbon neutral. Solar power and wind are of increasing interest particularly in hot country’s with large areas of land for solar panels. However, a challenge remains of how such country’s would export the energy, as hydrogen, from the chemical splitting of water, is difficult to compress. An alternative source of chemical energy is ammonia which is easier to compress and transport. It can be formed in fuel cells by the reduction of nitrogen or by the Haber process from the reduction of nitrogen with hydrogen. Ammonia can be burned as a fuel or burned as urea ammonium nitrate, used to release hydrogen or used to make heterocyclic building blocks such as urea, thiourea, semicarbazide, thiosemicarbazide, hydrazine or hydroxylamine. This project will focus on the synthesis of heterocycles from building blocks made from a renewable source of ammonia. The PhD student may have some say in the programme and help to devise it.

Candidates should have (or expect to achieve) a UK honours degree at 2.1 or above (or equivalent) in Chemistry along with knowledge of organic, inorganic, physical and analytical, synthesis.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

• Apply for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
• State name of the lead supervisor as the Name of Proposed Supervisor
• State ‘Self-funded’ as Intended Source of Funding
• State the exact project title on the application form

When applying please ensure all required documents are attached:

• All degree certificates and transcripts (Undergraduate AND Postgraduate MSc-officially translated into English where necessary)
• Detailed CV

Informal inquiries can be made to Dr M John Plater ([email protected]) with a copy of your curriculum vitae and cover letter. All general enquiries should be directed to the Postgraduate Research School ([email protected])