Course Catalogue

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The practical laboratory training will provide the skills for the students to prepare a series of catalyst materials and characterise their properties via a number of key techniques. At the end of the course you will write and deliver a presentation to the class and research section.

90 hours of practical labs (demonstrated and independent lab work), 3 seminars and 4 meetings with the assigned supervisor who will guide analysis of results and the presentation.

Admission to MSc programme in Industrial Heterogeneous Catalysis

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1. Presentation (75%)

Delivery 10%, Slides 15%, Tech content 40%, Structure and layout 15%, responses to questions 20%

2. Portfolio mark from the assigned supervisor (15%),

Planning (25%), Initiative (25%), Tech quality of work (25%), understanding of experiments undertaken (25%)

3. Practical skills assessment, from academic in charge of lab (10%),

Following safety 25%, time management 25%, attendance 25%, ability/effort to pick up new skills 25%

The students will be introduced to techniques such as incipient wetness impregnation and co-precipitation, then trained on the techniques used to characterise these materials such as surface area analysis via BET, phase composition via powder XRD, dispersion of metal surface sites via CO chemisorption. The course aims to add practical knowledge to the lecture courses Preparation of Catalytic Materials (CHEM5074) and Catalyst Structure and Function (CHEM5070).

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

1. Follow the safety protocols of the laboratory, working in ways which show a clear awareness of own and others' responsibilities and demonstrate skills of personal safety, and the safety of others, in a research environment.

2. Follow the instructions to prepare a series of catalysts and execute characterisation methods, working effectively under guidance.

3. Show competence in a range of technical skills (experimental and other) related to practical chemistry, and deliver accurate output of data and/or critical analysis and demonstrate some independent thought in interpretations of results or solutions to practical problems which may arise

3. Critically analyse data generated from each characterisation technique and show an awareness of the limitations of the characterisation techniques

4. Use literature searching methods and critically evaluate and interpret research literature in areas related to the project.

5. Write a presentation based on the results obtained during their practical weeks

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.