Are you passionate about designing sustainable solutions and optimizing processes? We offer a challenging PhD position in the group TNW-PCS.

The PCS group has a position available for the investigation of photothermal conversion of CO2 to value-added products. Recently photothermal catalysis has emerged as a promising technology for solar energy storage, in which introduction of light into a reactor is combined with heat. To achieve additional chemical conversion by visible light activation, plasmonic nanoparticles are required. In the conversion of CO2 and H2 to methane, the PCS group has recently generated fundamental understanding of the functioning of plasmonic Ru nanoparticles deposited on TiO2 (including the photo-physics and surface chemistry). The goal of this PhD position is to improve photothermal efficiency by optimizing the interaction and structure of plasmonic particles on photocatalytically active supports, as well as building and evaluating an advanced concept of a photothermal reactor.

• You are highly motivated and an enthusiastic researcher .
• You have a MSc degree in Chemistry, Physics or equivalent, with excellent experimental skills.
• You have a keen interest in Materials Science and bridging Chemistry and Physics.
• You have strong analytical skills and a keen interest in the interpretation of complex data.
• You are fluent in English.

• A full-time position for four years, with a qualifier in the first year, and the flexibility to work (partially) from home;
• Your salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO-NU);
• You will receive a gross monthly salary ranging from € 2.770,- (first year) to € 3.539,- (fourth year);
• There are excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%, and a solid pension scheme;
• A minimum of 232 leave hours in case of full-time employment based on a formal workweek of 38 hours. A full-time employment in practice means 40 hours a week, therefore resulting in 96 extra leave hours on an annual basis;
• Free access to sports facilities on campus;
• A family-friendly institution that offers parental leave (both paid and unpaid);
• You will have a training programme as part of the Twente Graduate School where you and your supervisors will determine a plan for a suitable education and supervision.

You will perform the research within the Photocatalytic Synthesis group (PCS), which is part of the Faculty of Science and Technology and the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology. The PCS group has a dynamic, multidisciplinary, and international character, and it offers an outstanding infrastructure. The research focus of the department is on the conversion of electrical or solar energy into chemical energy, i.e., to drive in a sustainable manner reactions of environmental relevance, such as water splitting or reduction of carbon dioxide, among others.

The PCS group within the Cluster Process and Catalysis Engineering is a wonderful place to work due to the friendly atmosphere and enthusiastic colleagues, excellent facilities, challenging research and attention to social relations.