13 July 2022

Contact: anna.roehnelt@uni-tuebingen.de, philipp.martin@uni-tuebingen.de, stefan.haderlein@uni-tuebingen.de (Environmental Mineralogy and Chemistry)

Environmental Background:

Aminopolyphosphonates (APPs) are high volume chemicals used in various industrial and household applications, e.g., as scale inhibitors or bleaching stabilizers. Incomplete removal of APPs in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) results in significant concentrations in WWTP discharge and thus in receiving waters. To investigate the fate of such compounds in the environment, robust and sensitive analytical methods are required. Until now, the quantification of such highly anionic compounds has proven quite difficult. Although a method for trace-level determination of APPs by ion chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (IC-MSMS) has been published, a robust method without the need for expensive cutting-edge instrumentation is still missing. We aim for the development of such a method using IC-ECD, which benefits from significantly less measurement costs and less intensive instrumental care.

Goals:

1. Optimization of the chromatographic separation of APPs and selected transformation products (chromatographic column, eluent composition, gradient elution, …) 

2. Optimization of detector parameters (oxidation potential, integration time, …) 

3. Application of the method to environmental samples (matrix effects on quantification limit and chromatographic separation?) 

We are looking for a highly motivated master student, who is …

•    Enjoys working with novel analytical instruments and chromatography 
•    Communicates openly and is eager to learn 
•    Has a background in environmental sciences / geoecology /chemistry  

We offer …

•    A well-designed thesis project 
•    Close lab supervision and supportive working group 
•    Insights into and collaboration with ongoing PhD projects 
•    A HiWi job prior to or after completion of the MSc work.