MSc (Res) in Chemistry - Catalysis and Synthesis

University of St Andrews

The MSc by Research, or MSc (Res) degree offers the opportunity to gain key independent research skills with a focus on industrially relevant projects. There is no compulsory coursework instead, the student focuses on training through undertaking a research project. The course is designed for students and professionals who have a degree in Chemistry or a similar subject. This research-based degree will increase your proficiency in a range of advanced chemistry concepts and analytical techniques, by working in a world-leading research environment with potential to be involved with industrially relevant projects. The research will be carried out in the School of Chemistry, which hosts leading research in diverse themes, and is a key driver of Technology Transfer Activities at the Eden Campus. You will be involved in the design, planning, implementation, analysis and write-up phases of a high-level research challenge. Through this degree, you will develop a wide range of practical and computational skills. The challenge to discover novel and efficient ways to construct chemical bonds has catalysis and synthesis at its heart. Catalysis underpins efficient industrial processes that minimise energy, waste and harmful by-products, and has revolutionised the way the products we depend on as a society are made. It significant impacts healthcare (pharmaceuticals, imaging), food security (herbicides, pesticides), as well as energy conversion and harvesting (materials, catalysts). New synthetic methods and their intregration into catalytic cycles will be crucial to the development of new processes, such as biomass/CO2 utilisation, plastic recycling and renewable polymers, that will drive the move to a circular economy that will allow us to meet Net Zero targets. Research in this theme covers all aspects of catalysis and synthesis across a broad range of scales. Interests range from the construction of single chemical bonds for the preparation of specific molecules, through to the manipulation of nanoparticles and supramolecular compounds, and the preparation of multi-layered materials. The Catalysis and Synthesis Theme at EaStCHEM aims range from making bonds and materials in entirely new ways to making larger scale processes more efficient. Much of this activity relies upon an in-depth understanding of how molecules behave, so we also study the physical, spectroscopic, and chemical properties of molecules/materials as well as understanding reaction mechanisms and kinetics, supported by advanced computational modelling.

Chemistry