Syllabus for Energy Related Materials and Catalysis

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• use relevant experimental methods to synthesise and characterise both nanostructured and bulk materials for energy-related applications and catalysis
• identify and use theoretical models to interpret data from different chemical characterisation methods in the research field of energy-related materials and catalysis
• explain chemical bonding, coordination, and structure in terms of crystal and ligand field theory for both solid state materials and molecular systems
• explain how the geometry as well as electronic structure of molecules and solid state materials affect their chemical properties with relevance for renewable energy and/or catalytic applications.
• predict and interpret the electronic structure of materials used in renewable energy systems using relevant electronic structure theories.
• summarise the principles of homogeneous catalysis and give examples of catalytic reactions related to fuel production and energy conversion
• review a limited research field based on relevant scientific literature.

Content

Synthesis of materials: Solid state, sol-gel, gas phase (CVD/ALD). Characterisation of materials and surfaces: XRD, SEM and TEM, XPS, TGA, and DSC. Synthesis of bulk and nanomaterials, chemical properties of energy-relevant materials at the nanoscale. Crystal field theory for solid-state materials. Semiconductors and their use in energy relevant applications. Heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis. Surface properties and function in heterogeneous catalysis. Structure, bonding and reactivity of coordination compounds and metalloorganic complexes based on transition metals. 18-electron rule and MO theory. Mechanisms for ligand substitution and ligand activation.

The course includes a literature study project as well as a substantial laboratory project.

Instruction

Lectures, seminars, project work and laboratory work.

Assessment

Two written examinations ( 2+3credits) and seminars (2 credits). To complete the course, it is necessary to additionally pass the laboratory project (2 credits) and the literature project (1 credit). The final grade will be based on the weighted sum of all of these components.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the disability coordinator of the university.