Contrato pre-doctoral -Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Materials for Seawater Splitting (UAB, Barcelona)

The SelOxCat (www.SelOxCat.com) and CatSyNanoMat (CatSyNanoMat) Research Groups at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) offer one PhD Fellowship (3 years) starting next July 2024.

PROJECT: “Adaptative combined production of green hydrogen and electricity from sunlight and seawater (SolarComb)”: The adaptative combined production of green electricity and solar fuels is an appealing strategy to maximize sunlight conversion and efficiently mitigate climate change. However, the fast expansion of photovoltaics (PV) and PV-electrolyzer technologies to produce green electricity and green hydrogen through water splitting has sparked controversy about (1) the use of land and infrastructure aesthetics related to PV installation and, (2) the high energy and ultra-purified water consumption of conventional PV-electrolyzer systems. Therefore, how to move forward in the transition from fossil fuels towards renewable energy without compromising other key activities such as agriculture or tourism is nowadays a key challenge. In SolarComb we will combine interdisciplinary expertise on hybrid organic materials (CatSyNanoMat, UAB), inorganic nanomaterials and electrocatalysis (SelOxCat, UAB) and organic photovoltaics (OPNV, ICFO) to develop the key components of a cost-efficient durable and integrable (semitranparent) PV-electrolyzer device able to convert seawater or seawater-wastewater mixtures and sunlight into green hydrogen and electricity. The developed technology will produce decentralized renewable electricity/fuel on demand and will be of particular interest to be applied in rural and tourist areas. In order to enable the future upscaling and implementation of the generated technology, the project will grow together with industrial and societal stakeholders.

The candidates must hold a BSc degree in Chemistry, Nanotechnology or Materials Science and a MSc degree in the same fields. High oral and written communication skills in English are required. The selected student will be awarded a 3-years contract and is expected to conduct research, write drafts of scientific papers and deliver a PhD thesis.

Interested candidates please contact Dr. Xavier Sala (xavier.sala@uab.cat) by email.