PhD Candidate in Physical Chemistry/ Molecular Physics

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HFML-FELIX at Radboud University in Nijmegen (Netherlands) is looking for a PhD candidate to work on the project 'Carbocations in organic and astrochemistry: investigation by IR ion spectroscopy' funded by the Max Planck - Radboud University Center for Infrared Free-Electron Laser Spectroscopy.

In many organic chemical reactions, carbocationic species have been invoked as intermediates, but they are also often encountered in the gas phase, for instance in mass spectrometric analyses or as constituents of the interstellar medium. The molecular structure of carbocations and whether the charge is localised or delocalised, is strongly influenced by the medium, condensed or gaseous. You will investigate the molecular structure of carbocations in the isolation of the gas phase and compare this to what is known or postulated in organic chemistry. To establish ion structures, you will apply a combination of infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, as well quantum-chemical calculations.

Throughout the project, you will collaborate closely with a PhD student from Prof. G. von Helden's group at the Fritz-Haber-Institut in Berlin, who is working on parallel projects using similar, but not the same, experimental methodologies.

As part of your PhD training, you will perform duties as a teaching assistant in our Physics and Astronomy educational programme, supervising BSc and MSc students within the context of your project.