The objective of the project is to investigate the influence of additives on the surface of the active metal of heterogeneous fixed-bed hydrogenation catalysts.

The University’s School of Chemistry houses a range of state-of-the-art characterisation facilities including electron microscopy, powder and single crystal X-ray diffraction, solution and solid-state NMR, thermal analysis, mass spectrometry and surface analytical techniques. This project will focus on the characterisation of the structure, composition and surface chemistry of catalyst materials during and after catalyst activation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) will be the primary technique complemented by in situ powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), electron microscopy and surface vibrational spectroscopy (DRIFTS) measurements.

In addition, the surface science group has a range of ultrahigh vacuum systems that are used to carry out studies on models of heterogeneous catalytic systems. These include scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM); vibrational spectroscopy (high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS)) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) to characterise the adsorption of molecular species on catalytically relevant surfaces. Regular progress meetings will be held involving colleagues at BASF.

Candidates interested in undertaking a PhD in the Baddeley group should register their interest as soon as possible. Informal enquiries can be made to Professor Chris Baddeley (cjb14@st-andrews.ac.uk). Please see Postgraduate research - School of Chemistry - University of St Andrews for the application procedure, or email chem-pg@st-andrews.ac.uk for more information.

The objective of the project is to investigate the influence of additives on the surface of the active metal of heterogeneous fixed-bed hydrogenation catalysts.

The University’s School of Chemistry houses a range of state-of-the-art characterisation facilities including electron microscopy, powder and single crystal X-ray diffraction, solution and solid-state NMR, thermal analysis, mass spectrometry and surface analytical techniques. This project will focus on the characterisation of the structure, composition and surface chemistry of catalyst materials during and after catalyst activation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) will be the primary technique complemented by in situ powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), electron microscopy and surface vibrational spectroscopy (DRIFTS) measurements.

In addition, the surface science group has a range of ultrahigh vacuum systems that are used to carry out studies on models of heterogeneous catalytic systems. These include scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM); vibrational spectroscopy (high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS)) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) to characterise the adsorption of molecular species on catalytically relevant surfaces. Regular progress meetings will be held involving colleagues at BASF.

Candidates interested in undertaking a PhD in the Baddeley group should register their interest as soon as possible. Informal enquiries can be made to Professor Chris Baddeley (cjb14@st-andrews.ac.uk). Please see Postgraduate research - School of Chemistry - University of St Andrews for the application procedure, or email chem-pg@st-andrews.ac.uk for more information.