Nitrates are essential in the modern chemical industry, widely used in fertilisers and various other applications. Current production methods require harsh conditions such as high temperatures, pressures, and energy-intensive plasma processes. These conventional processes heavily depend on coal and natural gas, leading to substantial carbon dioxide emissions. An emerging alternative is photocatalytic N2 oxidation, which uses solar energy for nitrates synthesis under ambient conditions. However, the unsatisfactory performance, attributed to the robust triple bond of N2 and its poor solubility in water, continues to hinder practical application. The project aims to develop a photocatalytic nitrates synthesis system using metal oxide-carbon nanocomposites. Various photocatalyst modification strategies - such as facet engineering, defect engineering, and cocatalyst deposition - will be explored to improve activity, selectivity, and stability. In addition, to address the issue of low N2 solubility in water, a gas phase photocatalytic reactor will be designed. The project will also investigate the reaction mechanisms and identify catalytically active sites using time- and space-resolved, as well as in-situ/operando characterisation techniques.

A background in materials synthesis, electrocatalysis, and materials characterisation would be beneficial, but not essential.

Research Environment:

The student will have the opportunity to work in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Carbon Science and Innovation and Particles and Catalysis Research Laboratories. The student will have access to well-equipped laboratories with comprehensive experimental facilities for photo/electrocatalysis research and will work in a multidisciplinary research environment and learn various functional skills.

Supervisors:

Scientia Prof. Rose Amal and Dr Denny Gunawan (School of Chemical Engineering) at UNSW Sydney. Further information regarding the project and application process can be obtained by contacting Professor Rose Amal (r.amal@unsw.edu.au)

Application:

If you are interested to apply for PhD admission and scholarship at UNSW, please check for eligibility, requirements and application deadlines, please go to UNSW Graduate Research Website outlining eligibility requirement and application step by step process: https://research.unsw.edu.au/submit-application

Any questions on admission/scholarship email: mandalena@unsw.edu.au

References:

(1) S. Chen, D.Liu, T. Peng, Fundamentals and recent progress of photocatalytic nitrogen fixation reaction over semiconductors, Solar RRL 5(2) (2020). https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.202000487.

(2) S.Zhang, L. Zong, X.Zeng. R. Zhou, Y. Liu, C. Zhang, J. Pan, P.J. Cullen, K. Ostrikov, T. Shao, Sustainable nitrogen fixation with nanosecond pulsed spark discharges: Insights into free-radical-chain reactions, Green Chem. 24(4) (2022) 1534-1544 https://doi.org/10.1039/D1GC03859A.

(3)   S. Shao, J. Zhang, L., Li, Y., Qin, Z.Q., Liu, T. Wang, Visible-light driven photocatalytic N2 fixation to nitrates by 2D/2D ultrathin BiVO4 nanosheet/rGO nanocomposites, Chem. Commun. 58(13) (2022). https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CC06750H

(4). Y.Liu, M. Cheng, Z. He, B. Gu, C. Xiao, T. Zhou, Z. Guo, J. Liu, H. He, B. Ye, B. Pan, Y. Xie, Pothole-rich ultrathin WO3 nanosheets that trigger N-triple bond activation of nitrogen for direct nitrate photosynthesis, Angew. Chem. 58(3) (2019) 731-735. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201808177