This opportunity will remain open until the position has been filled and so early applications are encouraged.
This PhD studentship is part of a large project that aims to provide the scientific foundation that will allow the UK consumer chemical sector to become sustainable and carbon neutral. The consumer chemical industry makes products that go into cosmetics, vitamins and health supplements, soaps, detergents, household chemicals, perfumes and foods. While some steps have already been taken to make this sector more sustainable, the use of virgin petrochemicals and other non-sustainable and/or polluting feedstocks remains prevalent. The project will develop routes to synthesise (and recycle) feedstock chemicals that do not depend on virgin petrochemicals. These new materials will not only need to be sustainable and carbon neutral, they also need to offer high performance, be cost effective to produce in bulk quantities and must not have long-term persistence in the environment after use. This will require new catalysts and catalytic processes.
This PhD studentship is an exciting opportunity to design and synthesise large pore open-framework materials (zeolites and zeotypes) and evaluate their catalytic performance towards the transformation of biomass-derived chemical feedstocks into monomers for carbon-neutral plastic manufacture. Using a range of synthetic approaches, including high-throughput approaches using robotic platforms driven by modern informatics methods, you will explore routes to zeolites and zeotypes. The project will combine synthetic chemistry, advanced structural analysis (crystallography), characterisation with sorption and spectroscopic methods and testing of catalytic properties, with the opportunity to focus on one or more of these aspects during the project e.g., if your interest develops toward automated synthesis, that could become a central point. As well as obtaining knowledge and experience in materials synthesis and characterisation the student will develop skills in teamwork and scientific communication as the researchers within the team work closely together. The position will appeal to candidates with a strong interest in the synthesis of new materials and catalysis.
This is a multi-disciplinary PhD that sits at the interface between Chemistry, Materials Science and Manufacturing. The student will be based in state-of-the-art laboratories in the newly-opened Materials Innovation Factory (https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/materials-innovation-factory/) at the University of Liverpool, as part of a larger project involving teams at University of Oxford and in industry. The MIF is not only home to outstanding University research facilities but is also the permanent base for many industrial scientists.
For any enquiries please contact Dr Troy Manning on: [Email Address Removed]
To apply for this opportunity please visit: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/how-to-apply/
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