Photocatalytic upgrading of waste water to potable water and green hydrogen project

利用光催化剂和空气有效地转化太阳提供的能量以产生自由基和氢，这是一种清洁、高效和全球可获得的方式，能够实现水的净化/回收(通过自由基消毒)，并有机会将废物/污染物转化为绿色氢气。高级氧化工艺通常用于修复废水，但依赖于有毒化合物或碳基工艺衍生的材料，这些工艺往往在高温下运行。虽然氢能生产已经从天然气重整向更绿色的替代品发展，但仍有必要开发使用对地球友好的材料的新工艺，并为“废物”流增加价值。这是一个跨学科的项目，整合了半导体合成和光催化在废物修复和水净化中的应用方面的专业知识。你将主要驻扎在化学学院(Jennifer Edwards博士)，在那里将在TRH大楼的最先进的催化设施中进行研究。你将设计和合成新型碳光催化剂，在低能量合成过程中与少量富含稀土的金属进行掺杂，并利用这些材料通过可见光和氧气减少水中的生物和化学污染。您还将研究如何使用光催化剂激活纤维素等化学污染物以产生H2。您在物理学院的联合导师(奥利弗·威廉姆斯教授)的专业知识将使您能够准确地设计和表征新型碳基纳米复合材料作为光催化剂。生物修复实验(大肠菌群减少)将在你在药学院的联合导师(Jean-Yves Maillard教授)的实验室进行探索。

The effective translation of the energy provided by the sun to generate radicals and hydrogen using a photocatalyst and air presents a clean, efficient and globally accessible way to enable water decontamination/recycling (via radical disinfection) and an opportunity to turn waste/contaminants into green hydrogen. Advanced oxidation processes are typically used to remediate wastewater but rely on toxic compounds or materials derived from carbon-based processes and these tend to operate at high temperatures. Whilst hydrogen generation has evolved from natural gas reforming towards greener alternatives a need remains to develop new processes using earth friendly materials and to add value to "waste" streams. This is an interdisciplinary project that integrates expertise in semiconductor synthesis and photocatalysis for applications in waste remediation and water purification. You will primarily be based in the School of Chemistry (Dr Jennifer Edwards) where research will be undertaken in the state-of-the-art catalysis facilities in the TRH building.You will design and synthesise novel carbon photocatalysts, doped during a low energy synthesis with small quantities of earth abundant metals and use these materials to reduce biological and chemical contamination in water using visible light and oxygen. You will also investigate how chemical contaminants such as cellulose can be activated using photocatalysts to generate H 2. The expertise of your co-supervisor in the school of Physics (Professor Oliver Williams) will allow you to precisely engineer and characterise new carbon-based nanocomposites as photocatalysts. Biological remediation experiments (coliform reduction) will be explored in the lab of your co-supervisor in the school of Pharmacy (Professor Jean-Yves Maillard).