Dirk is a graduate student in chemistry. He obtained his BSc from Hogeschool Utrecht and his MSc from Utrecht University. Dirk works on the synthesis of ammonia at low temperatures and pressures using transition metal complexes in the Peters group. The formation of ammonia is an important reaction due to its use in fertilizers. In this process, the reaction is performed at high temperatures and pressures, however this reaction has potential to be performed at lower temperatures and pressures because enzymes can do it at room temperature. Understanding how earth-abundant metal complexes catalyze this reaction at low temperatures and what governs their reactivity should result in a decrease in energy required and therefor a more sustainable method for ammonia synthesis.
