Postdoctoral Research Associates in Chemistry (2 posts)

Two post-doctoral research associate (PDRA) position are available from July 2023 in the Department of Chemistry of the School of Physical Sciences at the University of Liverpool.

We are looking to recruit two PDRAs to deliver a collaborative project in partnership with Atkins and the National Physical Laboratory for the UK Government. The project will develop and test organic material solutions to separate hydrogen isotopes using kinetic quantum sieving (KQS).

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates with a background in organic materials and the optimisation of their production. You will join the research groups led by Professor Andrew Cooper FRS and Professor Anna Slater in Liverpool. Nuclear fusion is seen as the most promising carbon-free, clean energy source for our future. The most plausible fuel for fusion reactors is deuterium and tritium, isotopes of hydrogen, the most abundant element on our planet. The development of fusion power technology depends on a sustainable technology for the separation of hydrogen's three isotopes, but current methods are both energy intensive and inefficient. Nanoporous materials offer a less energy-intensive method to separate hydrogen isotopes, by a process known as kinetic quantum sieving, however most candidates are not commercially viable due to poor performance.

Our technology has made a breakthrough in this field, with an advanced nanoporous material discovered at the University of Liverpool that exhibits high hydrogen isotope separation performance. This project will further develop this technology, by working with key industry partners, to develop and test a hydrogen isotope separation solution for the future of nuclear energy. The Cooper Group and Slater Group are based in the Department of Chemistry and in the Materials Innovation Factory (MIF). We have dedicated Synthetic, Measurement, Robotics, and Flow Chemistry Laboratories. We also access a range of instruments in the MIF for materials characterisation.

We are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for both synthesis and characterisation, including automated synthetic platforms and analytical instrumentation based in the MIF. Techniques that we use routinely in our groups include powder and single crystal (Rigaku rotating anode) X-ray diffraction; X-ray instrumentation for parallel sample analysis (Panalytical), gas sorption measurements (a wide array of Micromeritics instruments plus a unique high-throughput system), parallel robotic synthesis, flow synthesis platforms, robotic microwave reactors, robotic liquid handlers, gas breakthrough instrumentation, FE-SEM, FTIR, particle sizing, LC-MS, preparative HPLC, and NMR.

A PhD in Chemistry, Physics or Materials Science, and excellent research skills in materials research are essential as well as the ability to take responsibility for research planning and organisation.

You should have expertise in organic materials synthesis and/or materials characterisation, with a particular emphasis on process optimisation. We particularly encourage applications from candidates with experience of materials optimisation for industrial applications, and, for PDRA2, expertise in continuous flow synthesis and/or crystallisation.

Any applicants who are still awaiting their PhD to be awarded should be aware that if successful, they will be appointed at grade 6, spine point 30. Upon written confirmation that they have been successful in being awarded their PhD, they will be moved onto grade 7, spine point 31 from the date of their award.

The University has the right to close the vacancy early if it is deemed that there have been enough applications received.