Structure-activity relationships in supported size-selected clusters under CO2 hydrogenation conditions
Dr. Olga Safonova / Prof. Christophe Copéret (ETH Zürich)
Objectives
- To develop in situ/ operando setups for X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and IR characterization of supported metal clusters under controlled temperature, pressure, gas compositions allowing simultaneous activity testing
- To uncover the structure of metal clusters during CO2 hydrogenation
- To rationalize how the activity, selectivity and stability of CO2 hydrogenation catalysts can be improved by tuning the cluster composition, size and the nature of the support
Expected Results
- Development of in situ/operando setups
- Information on the reactivity of each metal in the clusters under CO2 to methanol hydrogenation
- Correlations between structure, activity, selectivity and stability of clusters
- Identification of the role of the support
Dissemination
- Catchy Outreaching Events
Planned Secondments
- DTU for training in cluster deposition and activity characterization in microreactors
- UA for training on in situ TEM
- HDE for training in electrolytic conversion of small organic molecules and industrial activity measurements
Job Announcement
| PhD student in heterogeneous catalysis and in situ/operando spectroscopy Your tasks: • The European Training Network CATCHY provides a concerted effort to design novel high-performance thermo- and electrocatalysts for the conversion of CO2 into added-value synthetic fuels. In this context, your work will focus on uncovering the structure-activity-selectivity relationships in heterogeneous catalysts based on supported metal nanoparticles and their alloys for CO2 hydrogenation reactions. • You will participate in the preparation of catalysts, design of experimental setups for in situ/operando X-ray absorption and infrared spectroscopy and perform experiments at the Swiss Light Source . • You will actively interact with your colleagues at PSI and ETH Zurich and with partners from the EU collaboration network focused on CO2 hydrogenation on cluster-based catalysts. • Three 2-month secondments in EU partners’ organizations are foreseen within the PhD project to get experience in complementary characterization techniques. Your profile: • University degree (Master or equivalent) in chemistry, chemical engineering, material science or a related field. • Knowledge of physical chemistry, chemical physics or material science. Experience in chemical preparation, analytical methods (mass-spectrometry, gas chromatography etc.) or spectroscopy is an asset. • You enjoy practical work using advanced instrumentation and like to conduct research in a team. Very good communication skills in English are completing your application profile. • You will be registered as a PhD Student at the ETH Zurich in the group of Prof. Christophe Copéret |