Developing a Future Green Chemical Economy through Aluminium Bimetallics

Dr Cath Weetman has a PhD position available (starting October 2024) in the general area of synthetic and mechanistic organometallic main group chemistry.

Tomorrow’s chemistry needs greater use of sustainable resources in keeping with the “United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. The chemical industry relies heavily on transition metal-based catalysts to deliver the production of fine chemicals to support everyday life (e.g., fuels, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals). However, this is unsustainable, and we urgently require innovative new sustainable and cost-effective solutions to enable a future green economy.

 The project will design and develop new metal-metal bonded bimetallic systems, with the aim of accelerating understanding of how the two metals work in tandem to effect bond activations and catalytic turnover in industrially important chemical transformations. This will provide an entry point into establishing novel new catalysts based upon sustainable earth abundant metal centres, with focus on aluminium, the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust.

 If you are interested in this exciting opportunity of developing a cutting-edge programme of research within the important area of sustainability and expect to obtain or have already obtained a first class honours or 2.1 degree, please contact Dr Weetman for more information – catherine.weetman@strath.ac.uk