Post-Doc (m/w/d) Electrochemistry

The Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) is one of the leading research universities in Germany. As a reform oriented campus university, it uniquely unites the entire range of the major scientific disciplines in one place. The dynamic coexistence of subjects and subject cultures offers researchers and students alike special opportunities for interdisciplinary cooperation.

In the Molecular Nanostructures group (www.rub.de/nanostructures) at the Centre for Electrochemistry, 39.83 hours per week are to be filled as soon as possible. The advertised position is limited to a period of 24 months depending on the project.

We invite applications for a two-year research position in an interdisciplinary project at the postdoctoral level. You will explore research at the interface of chemistry and electrochemistry in a diverse team of experts.

If the position is funded by third-party funds the employee has no teaching obligation.

Project Description:

The efficient generation and conversion of hydrogen is paramount to the security of our future energy supplies. Our projects aim to enable the implementation of economically viable H₂/H⁺ catalysts based on earth-abundant elements. To date, these catalysts suffer from deactivation pathways, rendering them unfit for large scale technological applications. Using a biological catalyst, hydrogenase, as a model system, the researcher (m/f/d) will redefine the catalyst environment by engineering of a protecting matrix, which will enable the application of intrinsically sensitive catalysts for the generation of chemical fuels such as hydrogen.

The postdoc (m//fd) will engineer state-of-the-art viologen polymers films such that H₂ evolution is achieved via embedded hydrogenases. Secondly the postdoc will aim to remove the O₂ induced catalyst deactivation by developing a catalyst which reduces oxygen to H₂O at low overpotentials, essential for the overall long term stability of the hydrogenase (and potentially novel) catalytic systems, thereby opening the doorway for exploration into previously devalued oxygen-sensitive earth-abundant catalysts for hydrogen fuel production.

More detail concerning the cutting-edge status of bioelectrocatalysis in our group in the following:

Plumeré, N., Rüdiger, O., Oughli, A. A., Williams, R., Vivekananthan, J., Pöller, S., … Lubitz, W. (2014). A redox hydrogel protects hydrogenase from high-potential deactivation and oxygen damage. Nature Chemistry, 6(9), 822–827.

Your Tasks:

• Fabrication of electrochemical systems
• Characterization of electrochemical systems
• Preparation and characterization of viologen polymers
• Analysis and evaluation of measurement series
• Management and supervision of a research project