PhD Opportunity: Catalytic Air-gap Electrochemistry – a New Way to Fix Nitrogen

Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer produced by the Haber-Bosch process provides food security for half of the global population (4 billion people) today. However, this industrial process accounts for 1.4% of global CO₂ emissions, 1–2% of the world’s total energy consumption, and nearly 40% of world’s hydrogen fuels every year.

Inspired by lightning strikes in nature, we exploit catalytic air-gap electrochemistry as a new way to fix nitrogen from air and water. Our group and the Laboratory of Advanced Catalysis for Sustainability (Prof. Maschmeyer, Prof. Masters, and Dr Yuen) jointly design green reaction pathways using high energy electrons (e.g., in a non-thermal plasma) to activate inert N2 from air, and drive radical reactions at the air–water–catalyst interfaces.

About this opportunity:

Interested in starting a PhD in 2026 and completing the program in 3.5 years? We are looking for curious, energetic, and self-motivated candidates, who are passionate about solving interdisciplinary problems.

Two fully funded positions are available (as part of our recently awarded ARC discovery project, 2026-2029) joint between the MMY group (in catalysis) and the Jiang group (in plasma chemistry).

The project involves a combination of heterogeneous and homogenous catalysis, design of materials and bench-top reactors, how the structure of catalysts influence their performance in electrochemistry and in radical-driven reaction pathways, and a range of characterization techniques (e.g., chromatography, microscopy, spectroscopy etc.).

Visit our group websites:

HJ Jiang group: www.hjj-group.com

MMY group: www.mmy-group.com.au

Requirements:

- a major in Chemistry (with knowledge in materials science)

- a 4-year undergraduate degree (with First Class Honours or with a research thesis), or a Master’s Degree by late 2025 / early 2026

- prior research experience (preferably with a publication)

- excellent communication skills in English (e.g., English native speaker or equivalent)

- an overall GPA of above 3.4/4.0 (or >85/100 or top 10% in your class)

- graduating from one of the top 100 universities worldwide (required), preferably top 50 worldwide.

The University of Sydney is ranked in the top 20 universities in the world.

Research scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis, with exempted Tuition and >$40k/yr stipend (tax free). Conference presentations and collaborative opportunities with top institutes are possible, depending on project and research performance.

How to apply:

Please submit this google form and attach your CV for initial screening:

https://forms.gle/4uZvWejpn3CQUhCy9

*no email nor platform enquiry please*

International (non-Australian) candidates should submit their applications 3-6 months in advance. Australian (domestic) candidates are encouraged to apply >2 months in advance.

- Please make sure that you meet all requirements specified above before submission.

- If you pass initial screening, you will likely receive an email from me to request more info within 2–3 weeks after applying.

- If you don't hear back >1 month after applying, that means you did not pass initial screening. Due to the large volume of applications that we receive on a daily basis, please do not send any follow-up email nor platform enquiry, otherwise your email may be considered as spam and will be blocked by our server.