PhD Studentship - (UoM-Peking) Metal-Organic Framework Materials for Gas Adsorption and Catalysis

There is increasing concern over global air quality, with high concentrations of smog posing significant health risks and environmental problems worldwide. SO2 and NOx are important components in smog causing significant respiratory disease. There is therefore an ever-increasing demand for sorbent materials that can capture SO2 and NOx in order to mitigate emissions. However, this is a very challenging target since SO2 and NO2 are highly corrosive and reactive and most materials are not sufficiently stable. Despite their widespread and successful use in separations of gases such as N2, CO2, CH4 and other small molecules, MOF materials that reversibly bind SO2 and NO2 are extremely rare. Recently, our project team has discovered a number of porous Cu-, Al- and Zn-based MOFs that exhibit unprecedented performance for SO2 and NO2 capture, demonstrating record high SO2 and NO2 selectivity, uptake capacity and storage density. Part of our research results have been recently published (Nature Materials, 2018, 17, 691-696; Nature Materials, 2019, 18, 1358-1366; Nature Chemistry, 2019, 11, 1085-1090; Nature Review Chemistry, 2019, 3, 108-118; Figure 1) and highlighted in CNN News as a breakthrough technology for a clean air. This represents a unique and very timely opportunity to study SO2 and NOx chemistry within MOF materials. The PhD project aims to support the systematic investigation of the adsorption, binding, phase behaviour, electronic structure, release, and separation of gases in a series of stable MOFs with robust framework structures and decorated pore environments. Our extensive experience in handling corrosive gases in MOFs will (i) enable their evaluation as emerging sorbents for adsorptive removal of air pollutants; (ii) afford key insights into the design of new MOFs with improved stability and gas binding properties. The project will provide an excellent training environment for the PhD student at National Facilities Worldwide. Of particular interest will be the capture of SO2 and NOx at low partial pressures using narrow pored, microporous materials, reflecting the relatively low concentration of these gases in flue emissions.

Manchester entry is open to UK and international students. Chinese nationals from Mainland China, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong, including dual nationals, should apply through Peking.

For full eligibly and funding information, please see here PhD dual award - Manchester and Peking University | Science and Engineering Faculty

NB: All projects advertised under the UoM-Peking University dual award scheme are competition-funded and not all projects advertised will offer a place on the programme.

Contact the main supervisor Prof Schröder in advance to discuss your experience and include details of your current level of study, academic background and relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

To be considered for this project, you must complete a formal application through our online application portal. If you already have an applicant account, this link will directly open an application for the Manchester-Peking programme. If you don’t already have an applicant account, please follow the instructions here.

When applying, you’ll need to specify the full name of this project as displayed on this page including UoM-Peking at the beginning, the name of your supervisor, details of your previous study, and names and contact details of two referees. Please, enter “Dual award funding” in the field asking about how you’re planning on funding your research.

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