PhD Student Position in Ultrafast Vibrational Spectroscopy of CO2 Reduction Catalysts 80 %

A PhD position is available at the Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Switzerland. The general topic of the group's work is the structure and dynamics of complex molecular systems, investigated by ultrafast vibrational spectroscopic techniques such as transient-IR spectroscopy, 2D IR spectroscopy or 2D Raman-THz spectroscopy. A recent technological advancement extends the accessible time scales from picoseconds to seconds, enabling us to study the course of chemical reactions from their very beginning to their final outcome. Spectroscopic applications of our techniques cover a wide spectrum of chemical sciences, ranging from artificial photosynthesis to the dynamics of allosteric proteins. In the particular PhD project, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, you will elucidate the complex reaction cycles of molecular CO2 reduction catalyst in homogeneous solution, as well as those of catalytic surfaces, by (mostly) time-resolved IR spectroscopy. The project will be a continuation of our previous work, examples of which you can find in the following publications:

• R. Fernández-Terán and P. Hamm, A Closer Look into the Distance Dependence of Vibrational Energy Transfer on Surfaces Using 2D ATR-IR Spectroscopy, J. Chem. Phys., 2020, 153, 154706
• S. Aranda-Ruiz, L. Tatarashvili, K. Oppelt, and P. Hamm, Unveiling the Activation Pathway of the CO2 reduction catalyst Trans-(Cl)-[Ru(X,X'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine)(CO)2Cl2] by Direct Spectroscopic Observation, ACS Catal., 2025, 15, 3023-3037
• L. Tatarashvili, N. von Fellenberg, K. Oppelt, and P. Hamm, Monomer and Dimer Pathways of Earth-abundant Manganese Tricarbonyl Pre-catalysts for CO2 Reduction Studied by Time-Resolved IR Spectroscopy, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2026, 28, 2281-2293