Vacant PhD positions

Project leader:
Prof. Aatto Laaksonen:
aatto@physc.su.se
http://www.fos.su.se/~aatto
Phone +46 8 162372
Mobile +46 70 4571445

Ref. No. FOOS 8-08:
Modelling of mesoporous silica-based organic/inorganic materials
To design, develop and synthetize tunable porous materials with large surface areas is a rapidly expanding research area with a large number of applications from gas separation and storage to drug delivery and heterogeneous catalysis. Use of amphiphilic molecules (surfactants and co-polymers) as structure-directing agents in synthesis based on templating is a new powerful method to obtain these structures which can be further functionalized for specific purposes. In this project you will perform modelling and simulation of self-assemling of the templates, coating them with silica, and also functionalization with organic materials. This requires use of state-of-the-art modelling tools from quantum chemistry and atomistic computer simulations to meso/multi-scale modelling. You will carry out the research in close collaboration with experimentalists synthetizing porous materials and measuring them using mainly electron microscopes. Knowledge in modern crystallography and mathematics (differential geometry) is highly meriting. This project is integrated in the Berzelii Center: EXSELENT (EXtremely SELective and ENanTio-selective nanoporous materials for controlled sorption and catalysis)

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Ref. No. FOOS 10-08:
Surface-immobilized amino acids and small peptides as catalysts
 Pure enantiomeric products, obtained by separation or in catalytic reactions, are of  tremendous importance in many areas, not least in pharmacology. The purpose of this project is to find easily tunable organic/inorganic surface materials to immobilize amino acids / small peptides as chiral modifiers, and to study key mechanisms behind heterogeneously catalyzed asymmetric reactions. You will be using a whole spectrum of modern computer modelling/simulation methods and powerful computers (computer clusters and visualization tools) to predict the structural, dynamical and chemical behavior and properties of molecules and materials needed (on surfaces, in solutions, as chiral modifiers and templates). This is a close collaboration between an experimental research group, which develops highly efficient (>99% e.e.) methods for direct asymmetric reactions catalyzed by amino acids and small peptides, and a theoretical group developing modelling methods for nanostructures. Experience in computer modelling, visualization and programming skill are of great value as well as knowledge in organic/inorganic synthesis and (bio)catalysis. This project is integrated to Berzelii Center: EXSELENT (EXtremely SELective and ENanTio-selective nanoporous materials for controlled sorption and catalysis).

Project leader: Dr. Niklas Hedin
(niklas.hedin@inorg.su.se),
http://www.fos.su.se/inorg/

Ref. No. FOOS 6-08:
CO2 separation with adsorbents
Carbon capture and storage may mitigate global warming by capturing CO2 in flue gases instead of releasing it to the atmosphere. The established technologies for separating CO2 from gas mixtures are costly. Adsorbents have a potential to make such separation more viable. You will design, synthesise, and study various aspects of such adsorbents. The work will involve material synthesis, studies of adsorption and diffusion, and collaborations with various experts. The project activities are undertaken in close collaboration with theoretical and computational experts. Therefore, your work may involve theoretical computations. Undergraduate training in chemistry, chemical engineering or material science is required, with an affinity for research in the areas of porous solids and chemistry.  This project is integrated in a larger research effort: EXSELENT (EXtremely SELective and ENanTio-selective nanoporous materials for controlled sorption and catalysis).