PhD student (f/m/d) in Electrocatalysis

Electrolyzers are a uniquely promising technology for the sustainable production of hydrogen-based chemicals and fuels. In order to achieve the desired cost targets to make electrolyzers competitive with fossil fuels, novel catalysts with high performance and little to no precious metal content are crucial. However, current catalysts, e.g. in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE), contain expensive platinum and iridium. The limited PEMWE scalability due to global iridium scarcity and base metal instability in the acidic PEMWE environment are bringing alkaline WE systems back into the spotlight. The ultimate goal is to use resource-efficient non-precious metal catalysts to accelerate the transition to electrolyzers for the production of cost-effective, sustainable fuels.

Your tasks will include:

• Development of novel multi-metal electrocatalysts
• Electrocatalytic investigation with different electrochemical cells (fundamental setups versus application devices)
• Thorough characterization of catalysts using techniques such as XRD, XANES, EXAFS, XPS, etc. before and after electrocatalysis to identify possible material changes
• Additional characterization of selected catalyst systems during electrocatalysis (operando) for a more detailed understanding of material change
• Guidance of students and doctoral candidates, teaching in the field of heterogeneous/electrocatalysis
• Preparation of presentations, reports and publication of articles in scientific journals

Persönliche Qualifikation

• You have a university degree (Diplom(Uni)/Master) in chemistry, physics, material science, material engineering, nanotechnology, chemical engineering, or electrical engineering
• You have knowledge of wet chemical/electrochemical laboratory work
• You have English language skills suitable for work
• You are good in teamwork and have good communication skills

Organisationseinheit

Salary

Salary category 13 TV-L, depending on the fulfillment of professional and personal requirements.

Contract duration

limited for three years

Application up to

February 23, 2025

Contact person in line-management

For further information, please contact Dr. Johanna Schröder.