PhD Student Position: Understanding Water Splitting Catalysts

Department of Chemistry
PhD Student Position: Understanding Water Splitting Catalysts
60 %
Prof. Dr. Greta Patzke's research group (find more information here ) is looking for a chemist or materials scientist with strong interest in the innovative design of new catalytic materials and the understanding of their formation pathways. We are members of the University of Zurich Research Priority Program on Solar Light to Chemical Energy Conversion (find more information on the program here ), where the fundamentals of artificial photosynthesis are investigated in a multi-disciplinary environment.
Your responsibilities
We are interested in informed materials design on different levels:

• Catalyst design. We cover a wide range of noble metal-free catalysts, from single atom catalysts to coordination polymers. The new PhD Student position will include the development of low-cost heterogeneous (photo-)electrocatalysts. We offer a wide range of synthetic facilities (e.g. ceramic, hydrothermal and microwave-assisted methods), and in house analytical techniques with rapid access.
• Formation and catalytic mechanisms. Understanding the widely unknown (trans)formation mechanisms of many catalytic materials, such as oxo clusters or diverse nanomaterials, is crucial to enhance their performance. To gain new insight into the reaction pathways of catalysts you will have access to manifold spectroscopic and other methods (AFM-Raman, fluorescence spectroscopy, EPR, XPS...), as well as to our in-house X-ray absorption spectroscopy instrument, which will be complemented with in situ/operando XAS experiments at synchrotron facilities.
• Impact. We aim for strategic insight into the reaction mechanisms and dynamics of water splitting catalysts through focusing on selected transition metal centers in different molecular and solid matrices. Their understanding will hold the key to novel catalytic optimization principles.

Your profile
We look forward to a motivated and creative team member with a MSc degree in inorganic chemistry or materials science and a strong background in structural chemistry/crystallography. Experience in different preparative/spectroscopic techniques is welcome. Strong writing, communication and teamwork skills are indispensable.
What we offer
We offer completely new laboratories and attractive networking support for your career development.
Place of work
Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich
Start of employment
Starting date: January 2022 or upon agreement.
Please submit your application as a single PDF file. The application must contain your CV/publication list, your transcripts, two letters of recommendation and a short motivation letter.
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