PhD in Chemistry: Heterogeneous catalysis in microfluidic reactors

Microfluidic reactors have been changing the way in which people do chemistry.

Compared to conventional batch or flow reactors, microfluidic reactors provide significant advantages, including much higher mass and heat transfer, precise control over reaction conditions and flexible reactor design. These benefits derive from a distinctive fluid behaviour at the microscale and an extremely high surface-to-volume ratio.

The inherent small reagent volume in microfluidic reactors also allows us to explore reaction parameters with minimum environmental, health and safety concerns. Because of these benefits, microfluidic reactors often enable reaction schemes that are simply not possible with conventional macroscopic reactors.

Combining heterogenous catalysis with microfluidic reactors will potentially allow the benefits described above to be harvested in some industrially important processes. However, this requires some novel reactor engineering, as it is inherently difficult to handle solid phase materials under microfluidic conditions. Novel design of the reactor system, exploring reaction conditions and developing novel catalysts specifically for use in microfluidic reactors are the key components in this project.

You will be trained with all the key skills required for heterogenous catalysis research, which includes materials synthesis, catalyst testing and physical characterization. The project will take place in the Cardiff Catalysis Institute http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/cardiff-catalysis-institute , which is one of the world leading research centers in this field.

This project will be performed in close collaboration with Dr Alf Hill http://www.bath.ac.uk/chem-eng/people/hill/ and Dr Nuno Reis http://www.bath.ac.uk/chem-eng/people/reis/, who are experts in reactor design in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Bath http://www.bath.ac.uk/ . For catalyst characterization, you will also have opportunities to use state-of-the-art equipment (XRPD, XPS, BET, SEM, TEM etc.) both in Cardiff, at UK national research facilities and at an electron microscopy lab in the USA (Lehigh University https://www1.lehigh.edu/). You will have opportunities for overseas travel to carry out aspects of the experimental work and to present their work at international conferences.

Supervisors -

Dr Qian He http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/483598-he-qian

and

Dr Jennifer Edwards http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/38516-edwards-jennifer


We are looking for a research oriented, self-motivated candidate with a first or very good 2:1 honours degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science or a related subject.