Jake Clifton

Jake Clifton is a PhD student in the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Göttingen, investigating nanoparticle design in photocatalysis

Research Focus

Jake’s research explores how controlling energy dissipation routes can drive reaction selectivity on nanoparticle surfaces, with a current focus on selectively exciting vibrational modes of carbon monoxide on platinum and palladium nanoparticles to induce desorption. This work combines:

• Kinetics of vibrationally driven desorption from surfaces
• Machine-learning interatomic potentials trained via electronic structure calculations
• Analysis of electronic and vibrational friction contributions
• Structural design of Pt/Pd nanoclusters

Designing solar-activated photocatalysts capable of efficiently converting pollutants is a crucial step toward sustainable reaction frameworks that prioritize green chemistry principles: reducing waste, minimizing hazardous reagents, and harnessing renewable energy.

Background

Jake completed his MChem at the University of Warwick, where he worked under the supervision of Gabriele Sosso on amorphous drug design for improving bioavailability. Alongside his degree, he completed a year-long internship at Solvay (now Syensqo) in Brussels, working in the battery modelling department, where he was first introduced to the application of computational methods in chemistry.

Professional Experience

• Integrated Master’s in Chemistry (with intercalated year) (2021-2026), University of Warwick