PhD fellowship/scholarship - In operando studies of heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 conversion
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PhD fellowship/scholarship - In operando studies of heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 conversion
Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Biological and Chemical Engineering programme. The position is available from 01 February 2026 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.
Title:
In operando studies of heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 conversion
Research area and project description:
Catalyst stability at operating conditions is probably the most significant bottleneck towards feasible large-scale direct CO2 conversion. We hypothesize that knowledge on structural changes during catalyst operation/deactivation (in operando) can be used in the synthesis of optimized catalysts with improved lifetime.
The project will explore heterogeneous electrocatalysts and thermal catalysts for direct CO2 conversion at operating conditions, aiming to understand both the structure of the active catalyst and deactivation pathways of catalysts.
The project involves: (i) developing setups and methodology for in operando studies of catalysts at working conditions by means of X-ray based techniques (diffraction, total scattering, absorption spectroscopy), (ii) collection and in-depth structural analysis of in operando data, and (iii) catalyst synthesis and screening of their CO2 conversion properties. The PhD student will work at the interface between chemical engineering, materials chemistry and catalysis.
The project is funded by the Novo Nordisk CO2 Research Center (CORC) at Aarhus University. The PhD student will be part of an interdisciplinary center with experts within chemical engineering, chemistry and biotechnology, who are all dedicated to the mission of CO2 mitigation. For more information on CORC, please visit corc.au.dk. Specifically, the PhD student will be working across the research groups of Nina Lock (Dept. of Biological and Chemical Engineering) and Kim Daasbjerg (Dept. of Chemistry), and the project will involve a research visit to Stanford University.
Project description: For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.
Qualifications and specific competences:
The applicant must have a master’s degree in chemical engineering, chemistry, nanoscience or equivalent, and the candidate must have experience with catalysis. It is beneficial if the candidate has experience with analysis of X-ray scattering and/or X-ray absorption spectroscopy data.
Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aabogade 40, DK-8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.
Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:
For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.
Application deadline is 09 December 2025 at 23:59 CET
Preferred starting date is 01 February 2026.
Please note:
Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.
Title:
In operando studies of heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 conversion
Research area and project description:
Catalyst stability at operating conditions is probably the most significant bottleneck towards feasible large-scale direct CO2 conversion. We hypothesize that knowledge on structural changes during catalyst operation/deactivation (in operando) can be used in the synthesis of optimized catalysts with improved lifetime.
The project will explore heterogeneous electrocatalysts and thermal catalysts for direct CO2 conversion at operating conditions, aiming to understand both the structure of the active catalyst and deactivation pathways of catalysts.
The project involves: (i) developing setups and methodology for in operando studies of catalysts at working conditions by means of X-ray based techniques (diffraction, total scattering, absorption spectroscopy), (ii) collection and in-depth structural analysis of in operando data, and (iii) catalyst synthesis and screening of their CO2 conversion properties. The PhD student will work at the interface between chemical engineering, materials chemistry and catalysis.
The project is funded by the Novo Nordisk CO2 Research Center (CORC) at Aarhus University. The PhD student will be part of an interdisciplinary center with experts within chemical engineering, chemistry and biotechnology, who are all dedicated to the mission of CO2 mitigation. For more information on CORC, please visit corc.au.dk. Specifically, the PhD student will be working across the research groups of Nina Lock (Dept. of Biological and Chemical Engineering) and Kim Daasbjerg (Dept. of Chemistry), and the project will involve a research visit to Stanford University.
Project description: For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.
Qualifications and specific competences:
The applicant must have a master’s degree in chemical engineering, chemistry, nanoscience or equivalent, and the candidate must have experience with catalysis. It is beneficial if the candidate has experience with analysis of X-ray scattering and/or X-ray absorption spectroscopy data.
Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aabogade 40, DK-8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.
Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:
- Nina Lock, nlock@bce.au.dk (main supervisor)
- Kim Daasbjerg, kdaa@chem.au.dk (co-supervisor)
For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.
Application deadline is 09 December 2025 at 23:59 CET
Preferred starting date is 01 February 2026.
Please note:
- Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be taken into account.
- The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
- Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.
Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.