PhD Position - Self-driving Lab specialising in the Automated Development of Electrochemical Catalyst Inks and Coatings

You will work at the interface between electrochemistry, robotics and data-driven research. The aim is to utilise and further develop an automated laboratory environment for scientific purposes in order to optimise catalyst inks and functional coatings for future energy applications more quickly and effectively. Such inks and coatings form a crucial basis for high-performance fuel cells and electrolysers.

The focus is on high-throughput experiments for the production, characterisation and optimisation of inks and coatings. You will apply and improve automated workflows and link them with data-driven evaluation strategies. In close collaboration with chemists, engineers and data scientists, a platform is being developed that combines materials development, process optimisation and machine learning. The available PhD position primarily covers the following topics:

• Development and optimisation of catalyst inks made from commercial and novel materials for electrochemical applications
• (Semi-)automated production and characterisation of inks, interfaces and functional layers
• Establishment of robust characterisation workflows to link ink formulation, layer structure and electrochemical parameters
•  Benchmarking of state-of-the-art materials as a basis for the developed systemOperation and further development of an automated system for catalyst inks and layers
• Development of innovative characterisation techniques for electrocatalytic reactions
• Close collaboration with data scientists and automation specialists to develop a reliable, rapid material testing method
• Structured collection and linking of experimental data as a basis for machine learning and self-driving lab approaches