We seek a suitable candidate for a fully funded 3-year project that aims to understand the dynamics of an excess electron on ambient water surfaces. In bulk, it is believed that the electron is solvated in a cavity formed by a number of water molecules. However, there is recent evidence that at ice surfaces, such electrons can be bound onto the surface. [1, 2] We have recently performed an experiment on water under ambient conditions which suggests that the electron is solvated. 3. As a highly reactive species, hydrated electrons are expected to be an important reagent in atmospheric and biological chemistry 4 and as a result, there is a timely need to gain a fundamental understanding of the dynamics of electrons at aqueous interfaces – this is the goal of this project.
The successful candidate will develop a next generation of experiment, based on time-resolved second harmonic generation spectroscopy, which will allow for a detailed quantitative understanding of the solvation dynamics. The methodology will subsequently be used to study the dynamics and reactivity of hydrated electrons at a range of chemically and biologically pertinent interfaces, including water/air, water/liquid and water/metal interfaces.
The successful candidate will be supervised by Dr. Jan Verlet and Prof. Colin Bain in the Department of Chemistry at Durham University (http://www.dur.ac.uk/chemistry/). The laboratory in which you will work is a newly refurbished lab with state-of-the-art facilities. You will gain experience with a wide range of techniques including ultrafast and non-linear spectroscopy and surface science and will benefit from working within two groups with differing expertise. Durham University is amongst the top-5 universities in the U.K. and in the top-100 world-wide.
The PhD studentship has been fully funded by the Leverhulme Trust. To express an interest in the studentship or for informal enquiries, please contact Dr. Jan Verlet; email: j.r.r.verlet@durham.ac.uk
1 Verlet et al., Science 307, 93 (2005)
2 Stahler, et al., Chem. Soc. Rev. 37, 2180 (2008)
3 Siefermann et al., Nature Chem. 2, 274 (2010)
4 D. M. Sagar et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132, 6917 (2010)