Postgraduate Research Scholarship in Electrochemical Methane Oxidation

A stipend scholarship for a domestic PhD student within the School of Chemistry at the University of Sydney to undertake research in electrocatalysis and small molecule activation. This Scholarship has been established to provide financial assistance to a PhD student who is undertaking research within the School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science. The project aims to advance effective green electrocatalysis involving partial methane oxidation, with objectives to design, test and optimise gas diffusion electrodes in a 3-D printed reactor platform for electrocatalytic conversions and to develop electrochemical processes for the coupled conversion of methane and ammonia to value-added chemicals through C-N bond formation. The research addresses methane emissions, which represent one of the most urgent environmental challenges, as methane has a global warming potential 86 times greater than that of CO₂ over a 20-year period. The scholarship is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) through the ARC Centres of Excellence scheme for the project 'ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science and Innovation'. The successful applicant will work on developing low-energy, cost-effective, and modular technologies that can operate efficiently at smaller scales and in remote locations to address fugitive methane emissions from sources like landfills and mining operations.