Fully-funded PhD - TEAMCat: Tandem Electrochemical and Abundant Metal Catalysis for Sustainable Synthesis of High-Value Nitrogen-Containing Compounds

Developing novel green synthetic methodologies

To meet global Net Zero targets, we must urgently transform the chemical industry to adopt green, sustainable methods to reduce their environmental impact. This three-year PhD project will develop greener synthetic methodologies for high-value chemical products by combining electrochemistry and earth-abundant metal catalysis. We aim to reduce the number of synthetic steps, minimise reliance on precious metals, and replace hazardous reagents with sustainable alternatives. 

Specifically, we will optimise existing organic electrochemical reactions to expand substrate scope. This will involve developing optimised electrodes and electrochemical protocols (e.g., cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry) to enhance electrochemical conversions. Electrochemically generated intermediates will then be used to develop novel catalytic methodologies with earth-abundant metals, enabling access to highly functionalised chemical building blocks that are primed for further transformation. This new project will be highly collaborative, and you will have the opportunity to learn from our highly supportive and skilled research group.

The project will be primarily supervised by Prof Laurie King (electrochemistry) alongside a current team of experts across chemistry disciplines, including Dr Thomas Britten (organic chemistry), Dr Andrew Lewis (chemical biology) and Dr Ian Ingram (green chemistry). Our research group is based in the state-of-the-art £117M Dalton Building.

Project aims and objectives

The main objective of this project is to develop and validate synthetic methodologies that use electrochemistry and earth-abundant metal catalysis to access high-value chemical intermediates and products. Specifically, we will use organic electrochemistry to optimise existing reactions and develop new ones to generate functionalised intermediates, which serve as key building blocks in organic synthesis. The electrochemical properties of organic substrates will be investigated, and various reaction parameters optimised, including electrolytes, solvents and electrode materials. The transformation of the electrochemical products traditionally uses (super)stoichiometric quantities of reactants and toxic solvents, posing significant environmental, health, and safety concerns. This study will overcome these limitations by employing earth-abundant metal catalysis and greener solvents.