PhD position in inorganic chemistry / CO2 reduction catalysis

Bio-inspired heteropolymetallic clusters for CO2 reduction

Carbon dioxide has become increasingly recognized as a valuable resource, and its large scale conversion into useful chemicals has the potential to provide cheap and renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. However, a current scientific bottleneck is the development of effective catalysts for CO2 reduction. Redox enzymes that catalyze this reaction in nature provide a unique inspiration to the synthetic chemist.
This research project aims to develop new catalytic systems for the reduction of CO2 into energetically more valuable products and will take inspiration from naturally occurring systems in enzymes. The project will be centered on the use of heteropolymetallic complexes and will involve a multidisciplinary approach based on inorganic and organometallic chemistry, catalysis, electrochemistry as well as enzymatic and bio-inspired catalysis. It will benefit from the numerous facilities of the Laboratory of Chemistry of Biological Processes (LCBP) at Collège de France and Université Pierre et Marie Curie. The PhD student will work under the co-supervision of Prof. Marc Fontecave and Dr Victor Mougel. This PhD fellowship will start in September/October 2017 for 3 years duration (ca 1450€/month). Application deadline May 2nd 2017
(details for application given on request by mail).