Designation/Position- PhD position
SOLEIL is the French national synchrotron facility, located on the Saclay Plateau near Paris. It is a multi-disciplinary instrument and research laboratory whose mission is to conduct research using synchrotron radiation, to develop cutting edge instrumentation on the beamlines, and to make these developments available to the scientific community.
SOLEIL synchrotron, a unique tool for both academic research and industrial applications across a wide range of disciplines including physics, biology, chemistry etc. Opened in 2008. It is used annually by thousands researchers from France and abroad. SOLEIL is based on a synchrotron source that is state-of-the-art both in terms of brilliance and stability. This large scale facility, a partner of the Université Paris Saclay, is a publically owned private company, founded by the CNRS and the CEA.
The Laboratoire Electrochimie Moléculaire (LEM) is a joint laboratory between the Université Paris Diderot and the CNRS located in Paris. It focuses on the development and use of electrochemistry tools for the analysis of fundamental processes such as electron transfer and bond breaking or formation. It has a long-standing experience in the study of proton and CO2 reduction electrochemical reactions and is renowned worldwide for its contributions in the field.
SOLEIL and the LEM are starting an ambitious project on the study of electrochemical reactions by time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy.
Research/Job area– Chemistry or physical chemistry
Project Title- study of molecular CO2-reducing electrocatalysts using time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy
Location- SOLEIL, France
Eligibility/Qualification- Research group is looking for a highly motivated candidate with a Master degree in chemistry or physical chemistry, and a strong interest in understanding electrochemical reactions related to energy issues.
Experience in electrochemistry and / or spectroscopy are expected, as well as basic knowledge of inorganic synthesis. Experience in synchrotron techniques or instrumental developments would be a plus but is not required.
Good communication skills (both written and oral) in English are expected, while the French language is not required.
Job/Position Description- The development of time-resolved in situ / operando X-ray spectro electrochemistry would allow the study of many electrocatalytic reactions and the identification of critical intermediates.
Our project focuses on the study of molecular electrocatalysts (Fe porphyrins) for the CO2 to CO reduction reaction. The exact structural and electronic structure of the reaction intermediates along the CO2 to CO remains unknown due to difficulties in probing the solid-liquid interface under catalytic conditions. The identification of reaction intermediates is, however, critical to the development of catalysts that can further reduce CO into valuable chemicals.
The PhD candidate will work on the development and use of time-resolved spectroelectrochemical tools at SOLEIL in order to observe intermediates species hypothesized from electrochemical measurements at the LEM.
Synchrotron campaigns at the ROCK beamline in SOLEIL will be part of the project as well as data analysis using chemometric tools available at SOLEIL.
How to Apply- Eligible and interested candidate can apply online.
For Contact- Dr. Benedikt Lassalle, Synchrotron SOLEIL : benedikt.lassalle synchrotron-soleil.fr
Pr. Marc Robert, Univ. Paris Diderot : robert univ-paris-diderot.fr
