Research Fellow in Homogeneous Catalysts

Do you have a background in homogenous catalysis?

Do you want to further your career in one of the UK’s leading research intensive Universities?

You will research and develop the use of supported homogenous catalysts in continuous flow, joining a research project funded by the British Council Institutional Links Programme with Russia that involves collaboration with scientists from Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia in Moscow. The overall project title is “Combining Experimental and Mathematical Modelling Techniques Integrating Chemical Kinetics, Heat and Mass Transfer from Atomic to Plant Scale”. You will be supervised by Professor John Blacker, with co-supervisor Dr Antonia Borissova. The aim of this post is to research the physical and chemical mechanisms of supported homogeneous catalysts and develop their application in continuous flow. The largely experimental programme, will support modelling work done in Russia by Professor Eleonora Koltsova and her team on computational modelling of these systems. Supported homogenous catalysts are of great interest to industries producing complex organic chemicals, to help reduce the costs of precious metals, contribute to their sustainable use and prevent contamination of the product. Furthermore, the use of continuous flow processing methods are an attractive way of improving productivity and efficiency. For these systems to be effective the physicochemical factors affecting reaction rates and catalyst deactivation mechanisms must be understood and is the basis of this project. Your role is to lead the experimental program planning, interpreting data that can be used by the collaborators to develop mechanistic models that can be tested and improved by further iteration. You will help coordinate the collaboration as part of British-Russian Centre of Excellence in Catalytic Systems, and will visit the collaborators and plan dissemination activities.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Prof. John Blacker, Chair of Process Chemistry, School of Chemistry Tel: +44 (0) 113 343 8239 or email: j.blacker@leeds.ac.uk