Description du sujet de thèse

Electro-assisted catalysis with N2O: deoxygenation and beyond

General context: Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a significant atmospheric pollutant resulting from human activity. It ranks as the third most impactful greenhouse gas and is currently the leading agent responsible for stratospheric ozone depletion. Its tropospheric concentration continues to rise compared to pre-industrial levels, driven by anthropogenic disruptions of the nitrogen cycle—primarily through the widespread use of synthetic fertilizers in modern agriculture, emissions from chemical industries, and the combustion of fossil fuels. A variety of strategies have been explored to mitigate N₂O emissions. Among them, electro-assisted reduction using molecular catalysts has recently emerged as a promising approach.This method enables energy-efficient deoxygenation of N₂O at room temperature (N₂O + 2e⁻ + 2H⁺ → N₂ + H₂O). However, this process typically discards the oxygen atom as water, failing to valorize it into value-added chemicals.

Project objectives: This PhD project aims to advance electro-assisted N₂O transformation processes through three main research directions:
(i) enhancing deoxygenation performance through careful ligand design allowing well-understood and controlled catalytic pathways,
(ii) developing novel catalysts capable to valorise the oxygen atom from nitrous oxide, thus allowing electro-assisted catalytic oxygenations,
(iii) integrating molecular architectures into functional electro-active devices through heterogenization.

Contexte de travail

This PhD project is fully funded. The selected candidate will join the Small Molecules Activation (SMAc) team at the Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination in Toulouse, France. They will actively contribute to ongoing collaborative projects, including international mobility opportunities, and will benefit from access to state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation. Embedded in a dynamic and stimulating scientific environment, the student will also have the opportunity to attend seminars by leading international researchers.