Missions

Mechanochemistry is becoming one of the mainstream methods used by synthetic chemists. Notably, it is considered as very important for the development of « green chemistry », because it allows solvent quantities to be significantly reduced. One of the most common approaches to mechanochemistry is ball-milling (BM), which consists in mixing in a reactor different reagents (most often in their solid form), using milling beads. This enables reducing the size of the solid particles, mixing them efficiently, and making them react at their interfaces. More recently, it was shown that when one also heats the reaction medium during the milling, it is possible to accelerate the kinetics of reactions, and/or change their selectivity.
In Montpellier, at the ICGM, we have developed a device we have named "i-BM", which enables to heat by induction the milling media. This approach is advantageous, because (i) it allows performing the heating in a precise, rapid, and reproducible way, and (ii) it can be used to selectively heat either the walls of the reactor or the beads, depending on the materials they are made of. This versatility of i-BM opens up unique opportunities to further investigate mechanochemical reactions, and notably to decipher the relative contributions of milling vs heating on the synthetic outcome.
In this general context, the purpose of this post-doctoral research position is to push forward the instrumental developments around i-BM:
* By adapting the apparatus to other mixer-mill geometries (notably the horizontal mixer-mills), and testing a variety of heating schemes;
* By coupling the technique to analytical methods which enable to follow the course of mechanochemical reactions in real time (i.e. "operando" methods), to help rationalize the changes in kinetics and/or selectivity ;
* By extending the range of applications of i-BM to the synthesis of other molecules and materials of high added value.

Activités

- Syntheses by mechanochemistry
- Modifications and instrumental adaptations for i-BM
- Multi-technique characterizations of materials
- Treatment and analysis of large quantities of data (arising from real-time measurements of mechanochemical reactions)
- Detailed analyses and reporting of the data collected

Compétences

Scientific skills:
- Analytical chemistry, physico-chemical measurements, and data treatment
- Synthesis and characterization of materials (notably by vibrational spectroscopies and powder X-ray diffraction…)
- Computational modeling of physical phenomena (optional)

Non-scientific skills:
- Excellent level of communication in English (oral and written), to be able to valorize the work, under the form of publications, webinars, and presentations at national and international conferences.
- Autonomy and rigor
- Team-working

Contexte de travail

Research will be carried out at the Institut Charles Gerhardt of Montpellier (ICGM, UMR5253, https://www.icgm.fr/), within the MISOTOP research group (https://www.misotoplab.org/).
The ICGM is internationally recognized in the field of molecular and materials sciences, and very well equipped for their synthesis and characterization. For this project, the MISOTOP team has direct access to 7 different ball-mills,1 device for milling while heating, and several instruments to analyze in real-time the evolution of the reaction medium (thermal imaging camera, microphones for acoustic measurements, Raman spectrometer, and high-speed optical camera).
On a daily basis, the recruited post-doc will work in a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment, in direct interaction with the team of researchers, engineers, and students directly associated to the project, and more specifically C. Leroy, N. Fabregue, T.-X. Métro, and D. Laurencin. He/she will be expected to push forward the research on i-BM, and to communicate on the results in publications and presentations at national and international conferences.

Le poste se situe dans un secteur relevant de la protection du potentiel scientifique et technique (PPST), et nécessite donc, conformément à la réglementation, que votre arrivée soit autorisée par l'autorité compétente du MESR.

Contraintes et risques

Ce poste se situe dans un secteur relevant de la protection du potentiel scientifique et technique (PPST) et nécessite donc, conformément à la réglementation, que votre arrivée soit autorisée par l'autorité compétente du MESR.