Organisation/Company CNRS Department Photophysique et Photochimie Supramoléculaires et Macromoléculaires Research Field Chemistry » Physical chemistry Chemistry » Computational chemistry Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country France Application Deadline 2 Dec 2024 - 23:59 (UTC) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Jan 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description As part of a collaborative project funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), involving the PPSM laboratory at ENS Paris-Saclay and the LCC (Toulouse), LGC (Toulouse) and PROMES (Perpignan) laboratories, we are developing innovative photochromic molecules for applications as molecular systems capable of converting solar energy into thermal energy. In particular, we have synthesized in the laboratory molecules that absorb in the visible range of the solar spectrum, to efficiently capture solar energy, and can undergo a photoinduced intramolecular cyclization reaction. This step corresponds to the "charging" of the molecule when exposed to sunlight. This more energetic, cyclized form of the molecule can reversibly and exothermically return to its initial state, which corresponds to the "discharging" of the molecule, thermally restoring part of the absorbed light energy. We now want to characterize the molecules already synthesized in the laboratory, through photochemical, spectroscopic, kinetic, thermodynamic and theoretical studies. Our ambition is to select the best candidate molecules for the targeted application and to determine whether the choice of solvent, the acidity of the medium, or the addition of a chemical species acting as a catalyst for the ring-opening reaction can enable us to design an "on-demand" heat release process. Finally, we plan to contribute to the development of a device capable of performing several "charge-discharge" cycles in flow at laboratory scale, in order to validate the proof-of-concept of this new type of renewable and eco-responsible energy system, capable of capturing solar energy, then storing it and finally converting it efficiently into thermal energy.
The activities proposed to the post-doctoral fellow will concern:
- the study of the photochemical and photophysical properties of photochromic molecules using steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy, under monochromatic or solar irradiation,
- the characterization of photochromic molecules in different solvents and in the presence of chemical species capable of catalyzing the reaction,
- the calculation, using quantum chemistry methods, of the geometries, spectra and energies of the various isomers of the molecules of interest.
The recruited post-doctoral fellow will work in the PPSM laboratory at ENS Paris-Saclay in France. The laboratory has the required equipment for the characterization of photoactive molecules, as well as for spectroscopic studies in solution. The project will be developed in close collaboration with the Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination (LCC, Toulouse), the Laboratoire de Génie Chimique (LGC, Toulouse) and the Laboratoire Procédés Matériaux et Energie Solaire (PROMES, Perpignan). Research visit(s) in the partner laboratories will be envisaged for the post-doc during the work period.
The expected areas of expertise of the recruited post-doctoral fellow are the following:
- general skills in molecular physical chemistry: photochemistry, kinetics, thermodynamics and theoretical chemistry,
- skills in UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, both steady-state and time-resolved.
Additional knowledge will be appreciated in organic chemistry.
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