PhD (salary 13 TV-L, 100%) in high entropy alloy electrocatalysts for hydrogen productionMax. Duration of employment: 3 years bei Ruhr Universität Bochum

Your tasks:

• High entropy alloys (HEA) have emerged as one of the most promising materials systems for water electrolysis and fuel cell applications. The surface atom arrangements of HEAs were recently found to be critical in determining electrochemical performance.
• Optimizing the electrochemical performance requires detailed knowledge of structure-property relationships of HEAs. However, the chemical nature of surface atom arrangements and their contribution to electrochemical performance is far less well studied.
• In this context, this project aims to reveal the elemental distribution on the surfaces of HEAs at the atomic scale by atom probe tomography before and after electrocatalytic reactions.
• The Ruhr-Universität Bochum is one of the leading research universities. The university draws its strengths from the diversity and the proximity of scientific and engineering disciplines on a single, coherent campus. This highly dynamic setting enables students and researchers to work across traditional boundaries of academic subjects and faculties.
• The successful candidate will be working in the new research centre for interface-dominated high-performance materials (ZGH) at Ruhr University Bochum, which houses a large and comprehensive suite of equipment dedicated to nanostructure analysis; the centre is among the best facilities of its kind in the world.
• You will have access to a range of world-class laboratories and more than 10 major microscopy platforms, including the state-of-the-art atom probe, aberration-corrected TEM, focussed ion beam, etc.
• The successful candidate will be integrated into the research training group, which provides a supporting infrastructure of soft skills training and international/national scientific workshops.

Your profile:
The candidate must have:

• an excellent master's degree in electrochemistry, materials science, or inorganic chemistry
• can independently conduct potentiostat measurements and perform data analysis, including cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, chronopotentiometry, chronoamperometry etc
• a high level of spoken and written English
• self-motivated and eager to learn
• proven ability to plan, organize and achieve work targets, sometimes in demanding circumstances
• can work both independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team

Your profile:
The candidate may have:

• experiences in operating and analyzing X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction
• experiences in working on a project about high entropy alloys, corrosion of metals/alloys or electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction

Our offerings:

• Challenging and varied tasks with a high degree of personal responsibility
• Support from and cooperation with competent colleagues
• Team-orientated cooperation in a committed, international and appreciative team
• a friendly and collegial environment

Additional information:

At the request of the applicant (m,f,x), the staff council may be involved in selection interviews. https://www.wpr.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/

If the position is funded by third-party funds the employee has no teaching obligation.

German language cour