PhD Studentship - Selectivity in Heterogeneous Liquid-Phase Catalysis - from Molecular Insight to Reaction Design

Research theme: Catalysis and porous materials

How to apply: uom.link/pgr-apply-2425

This 3.5-year PhD project is fully funded and home students, are eligible to apply. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-free stipend set at the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26) and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year. The start date is October 2026.

We recommend that you apply early as the advert may be removed before the deadline.

Catalysis underpins over 90% of chemical manufacturing processes, and the selective transformation of waste and low-value feedstocks into useful chemical products is at the heart of the Net Zero transition. In liquid-phase heterogeneous systems, controlling which product forms and understanding why it forms remain one of the field's most persistent challenges. Small changes in catalyst composition, solvent, or reaction conditions can redirect a reaction entirely, and the molecular origins of these effects are rarely understood well enough to be exploited by design.

Working with reactions where catalyst choice leads to fundamentally different products, and where mixed solvent systems produce synergistic effects that are not fully explained, the PhD student will develop a molecular-level understanding of what governs selectivity in complex liquid-phase environments. The project is placed in a broader context of valorising waste-derived substrates, converting what would otherwise be discarded into targeted, high-value products, with direct relevance to sustainable manufacturing and Net Zero goals.

Alongside conventional catalytic and analytical methods, the PhD student will use neutron scattering techniques at national large-scale facilities to probe catalyst-solvent and catalyst-substrate interactions at the molecular scale, in ways that other techniques cannot access. This combination of catalytic chemistry and large-facility science is rare at PhD level and will give the student a genuinely differentiated skill set.

The student will join the Catalysis and Porous Materials group at Manchester, a well-established research community with strong infrastructure, a track record of industry engagement, and active links to national facilities. The project will be supervised by Professor Chris Hardacre and Dr Marta Falkowska, with expertise spanning heterogeneous catalysis, reaction engineering, and neutron-based characterisation. Full training will be provided across all relevant techniques and the PhD student will have the opportunity to work at national facilities as part of the project.

We are looking for a motivated student with a degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline. Scientific curiosity and a genuine drive to understand why reactions behave the way they do matter more than a perfectly matched background.

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering related discipline.

To apply, please contact the main supervisors: Dr Marta  Falkowska - marta.falkowska@manchester.ac.uk and Prof Hardacre - christopher.hardacre@manchester.ac.uk. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

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