•The candidate should hold a Master's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related fields.
•Familiarity with the field of (heterogeneous) catalysis is a must have.
•Familiarity with (microporous) material synthesis and/or electrochemistry is highly desirable.
•Practical experience with standard characterization tools (e.g., GC, XRD, TGA, TPD, FTIR, etc.) is a definite advantage.
•The candidate should demonstrate a strong interest and enthusiasm for mechanistic studies and fundamental research, while also being open to applicative research.
•The ability to work autonomously as well as collaboratively within a highly engaged and ambitious research team is crucial.
•Proficiency in spoken and written English is essential. If the candidate's Master's degree was not obtained from an English or Dutch-taught program in a country where English or Dutch is an official language, an official test result indicating B2-level proficiency in English or Dutch is required.
For English proficiency, acceptable documentation includes:
oIELTS: Overall score of at least 7, with no subscores below 6.5.
oTOEFL: Minimum score of 94, with no subscores below 22
oOther on a case by case basis.
The available position is for a PhD researcher at the Center for Sustainable Catalysis and Engineering (CSCE) within the faculty of Bioscience Engineering at KU Leuven, Belgium. The duration of the position spans 4 years, subject to a positive evaluation at the 9-month mark, with contracts renewed annually.
In this role, the doctorate student will delve into the close collaboration with leading academic institutions of Belgium, where he/she will be responsible for the catalysis part, specifically for the CO2-to-methanol reaction, and possibly for the tandem CO2 conversion to hydrocarbons in the latter stages of the project. The aim of this research is to investigate how the new method of material production (patented, developed by the partners) can affect catalytic performance examined by often referred metrics, such as (intermediate) product space-time yield, olefin/paraffin ratio, and/or hydrocarbon selectivity. While the central emphasis of the research lies in the field of green chemistry and catalysis, an operando control of reaction conditions via surface resonance modulations will be equally explored (DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.9b01606). We gladly suggest to the applicant to get familiar with our previous works, since the Dusselier Group boasts a significant track record in this research domain this domain: One Step Methanol-Mediated CO2 Conversion to Gasolin (DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.4c03013), Reshaping the Role of CO2 in Propane Dehydrogenation (DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.2c01374), and Enhancing the Acidity Window of Zeolites (DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c08123).
Communication will be a vital aspect of this role. The successful candidate will be expected to effectively communicate their work through papers and presentations, both internally and externally. Additionally, training will be provided to enhance these communication skills.
Beyond the research responsibilities, the selected candidate will also take on supplementary roles, including teaching and conducting seminars for students (partial requirements accounted for receiving PhD degree).
The research group of Prof. Michiel Dusselier is looking for a motivated student to start a PhD taking part in a research program dedicated to green CO2 conversion.We are offering a PhD position in an intellectually challenging environment of young and dynamic researchers. KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that focus on fundamental as well as applied scientific research.