The research project was titled ‘Deactivation of Vanadia Exhaust Gas Catalysts: Characterisation, Activity and Performance in Selective Catalytic Reduction’. This was basically the study and comparison of performance of different Vanadia-based catalysts in the common industrial process that is the selective catalytic reduction of NO and NO2. This is important because these are harmful greenhouse gasses from combustion (both in cars and industry) and optimising their removal was the overall aim of the project. This involved remotely (because of COVID) studying large amounts of spectroscopy data for the first half of the project to compare the mechanisms taking place and performance changes in different conditions.
The second half of the project involved carrying out activity experiments in the university laboratories where the reaction was carried out over each catalyst in controlled conditions whilst changing temperature, gas composition etc, to observe the effects through measuring conversion. This all resulted in a successful project where a range of conclusions were made such as the optimum operating conditions. In addition, the results will be published as part of a real scientific paper by someone else in the future, of which I will be labelled as a co-author which is something I am very proud of.
I was working closely with a PhD student in Sweden, particularly for the remote aspects of the project. I really enjoyed this as it allowed for a wider understanding of the subject and gave me appropriate support where required. This was beneficial as it allowed me to indirectly contribute to his broader research on the subject. For the lab work I worked very closely with my supervisor who is a university professor and taught me a lot about the subject, university and was very supportive. He also gave me great advice about living in Finland and where I should visit!
From my PDP I have learned a huge amount about the subject but also more crucially how to carry out a research project successfully and professionally. This is very beneficial to me as it is something I may be inclined to do more of in the future and gave me a great skillset that will be useful in any career. For example, I learned how to concisely present my results to large audiences (through presentations etc.) and developed my communication skills, practical knowledge, and experience in conducting experiments successful but also safely without incident, particularly as a number of very hazardous compounds were used.
Before my PDP I was interested in trying research but had no real motivation to pursue this further after university. However now having completed it, I am much more on the fence about what career path to go down, for example a research-based role working in laboratories or working in a more industrial role as I originally planned. This is definitely a positive thing as it gives me much more options and versatility in the future.