Project description
Young researchers are catalysing development of innovative molecules for industrial processes
Catalysis is central to industrial chemistry, speeding the rate of chemical reactions and thus their productivity. Catalysts are molecules that reversibly bind with high specificity to other reactants to lower the activation energy required for a reaction to occur. When the reaction is completed, the catalysts are free to work their magic on more of the same. An important class of compounds with catalytic potential have a central atom surrounded by ligands attached to it with coordinate bonds. Fine-tuning ligands for functionalisation open the door to significant improvements in catalyst performance. CCIMC is training a new generation of scientists in coordination chemistry for molecular catalysis to fill an important gap and enhance European competitiveness in numerous industrial processes.
Objective
The CCIMC EJD addresses the current lack of coordinated doctoral training at the European level on molecular catalysis. It
aims to push the frontiers of knowledge in ligand design, coordination chemistry, precatalyst development, catalyst recovery
and catalytic process implementation, while also offering full scale training in professional and personal transferable skills, to
prepare a new generation of junior scientists to meet the economic and societal challenges of the chemical industry in the
21st century. To achieve these objectives, a consortium of 9 academic beneficiaries from 7 European countries will recruit
15 doctoral students to work on coordinated projects in close cooperation with the industrial sector. The projects use
complementary know-how to address synthesis, high level spectroscopy, mechanistic and computational studies, bond
activation, catalyst anchoring and confinement, optimization and scale-up. The innovative training approach also involves 8
partners from the non-academic sector that are fully integrated via secondment for all 15 ESRs and participation in the
theoretical training and Network meetings. The training programme comprises a core course, tutorials and an international
school, plus network meetings, international workshops and an international conference where the ESRs will present their work.
The ESRs’ progress will be monitored by an Academic Board. The management structure involves all beneficiaries
and partners plus students’ representatives and will receive input from an external Advisory Board. Gender balance is
insured at all levels. The CCIMC outreach and public engagement will be implemented through a Communication Plan and a
Dissemination and Exploitation Plan and will be monitored by an Outreach Committee. The Student Union, comprising all
ESRs, will play an active role in the Network administration, in the outreach activities, and in the evaluation of the Network
training.
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Programme(s)
Coordinator
75794 Paris
France