Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Organometallic Chemistry and Sustainable Ammonia Synthesis

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Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Organometallic Chemistry and Sustainable Ammonia Synthesis

At the Department of Chemistry there is a vacancy for a postdoctoral research fellow in experimental organometallic chemistry and sustainable ammonia synthesis. The position is for a fixed term of 3 years. The position is funded by Norwegian Centre for Hydrogen Value Chain Research (HyValue), a research centre for environmentally friendly energy (FME). The expected start date for the position is during the first quarter of 2027.

About the project/work tasks:

Ammonia is the most important ingredient in the production of artificial fertilizers and is also a very promising carbon‑free energy carrier. Ammonia is produced via the Haber–Bosch process, which requires high temperatures and pressures using hydrogen from natural gas. The research group works to make ammonia production more sustainable and environmentally friendly and develops catalysts and processes for the synthesis of ammonia directly from water and nitrogen. More broadly, the group integrates quantum chemical insights with experimental research to design, synthesize, and evaluate new catalysts in our laboratories. The postdoctoral fellow will contribute to this broader initiative, with a particular focus on electrochemistry, electrocatalysis, and process development. Working closely with the project team, the fellow will study the electrocatalytic use and regeneration of Sm(II) and assess strategies for recycling molybdenum catalysts within the reaction system.

In this reaction system, Sm(II) acts as the reductant, supplying the electrons required to reduce dinitrogen to ammonia. During this process, Sm(II) is converted to Sm(III), and a central goal of the project is to develop electrochemical methods to regenerate Sm(II) from Sm(III). By achieving efficient electrochemical regeneration of Sm(II), the overall transformation becomes truly electrocatalytic—hence the strong emphasis on electrochemistry and electrocatalytic methodology.

We seek a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow with a broad background in organometallic chemistry, synthesis, catalysis, and mechanistic studies, and with an interest in applying and extending this expertise to electrochemistry and sustainable ammonia synthesis.

The successful candidate will be integrated in a team ranging from bachelor’s and master’s students, via PhD students, to postdoctoral researchers. The candidate thus has ample opportunity to both receive and give supervision, and to develop leadership skills.

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree (PhD) in chemistry, or must have submitted his/her doctoral thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. It is a condition of employment that the PhD has been awarded.
• Documented experience in the following areas is a requirement:
• the use of samarium diiodide (Kagan’s reagent) in chemical synthesis.
• experimental organometallic chemistry.
• Experience from one or more of the following areas is considered an advantage:
• synthesis of organometallic compounds.
• homogeneous catalysis.
• inert‑atmosphere techniques (e.g., glovebox).
• electrochemistry and/or electrocatalysis.
• modern analytical instruments, including the acquisition and/or interpretation of cyclic voltammetry and other techniques (e.g., NMR, UV-Vis, FTIR, GC, elemental analysis).
• experimental and/or computational mechanistic work on dinitrogen activation.
• The appointed person must have:
• good abilities for critical thinking and writing.
• ability to work in a structured and independent manner, and to collaborate with others.
• good knowledge of both written and spoken English.

Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Research experience, ambitions and potential will also count when evaluating the candidates.

Special requirements for the position
The University of Bergen is subjected to the regulation for export control system. The regulation will be applied in the processing of the applications. If necessary, the university will apply for an export license before an offer of employment is made. If UiB has not received a positive response to the export license application within 16 weeks, the position may be offered to another applicant.

We can offer:

• a good and professionally stimulating working environment
• position as postdoctoral fellow (code 1352 in the basic collective agreement) and a gross annual salary of NOK 685 900 upon appointment. Further increases in salary are made according to length of service in the position. A higher salary may be considered for a particularly well-qualified applicant.
• enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• good welfare benefits

Your application must include:

• a brief account of the applicant's research interests and motivation for applying for the position.
• a detailed justification of your qualifications in relation to the listed requirements, explaining how you meet each criterion. Additionally, you should address the "advantages" mentioned above, as these will be taken into account when ranking the candidates.
• the names and contact information for two referees. One of these should be the main advisor from the PhD programme.
• CV
• transcripts and diplomas. If you have not yet completed your PhD degree, please submit a statement from your institution confirming that the thesis has been submitted.
• relevant certificates/references
• list of any works of a scientific nature (publication list with links)

The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at JobbNorge