Missions

In the area of solar cells, besides the well-established Si technology, the so-called 3rd generation solar cells explore either cheaper materials or they aim at alternative uses, i.e. beyond the classical roof top black solar cells.
In this context, the aim of the French consortium TRANSITION is to explore so-called « dye-sensitized solar cells » (DSSCs), which would be fully transparent, e.g. absorbing only the invisible part of the sun's spectrum. Transparent solar cells could ultimately replace windows, and produce electricity while preserving the aesthetics of a building.
To this end, the inter-disciplinary project TRANSITION includes chemists from Amiens (F. Sauvage, coord.) and Nantes (F. Odobel and his team), and the physicists/laser experts of the BIODYN team at the Strasbourg Inst. of Physics and Chemistry of Materials (IPCMS, https://www.ipcms.fr/en/equipe/biodyn/). We have recently made important progress with near-IR absorbing dyes for dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) [1-3]. In particular, we have been able to obtain the best performances in terms of power conversion efficiency (PCE) and average visible transmission (AVT) for transparent solar cells. The next steps in our project adress DSSCs with new and better performing near-IR dyes and solid state electrolytes, which should increase the PCE to up to 7%.
Ultrafast spectroscopy is the tool of choice for investigating the carrier injection processes, and their competitive processes like monomer-to-aggregate energy transfer. One central issue is to test by 2D electronic spectroscopy whether aggregates release electrons and thus contribute to the production of photo-current. This has so far been considered impossible, but for our cells, the energetics (driving force for electron injection) might allow this process.

[1] T. Baron et al., Angewandte Chemie (2022), 61, e202207459
[2] T. Baron et al., J. Mat. Chem. A (2023), 11, 16767-16775
[3] M. Kurucz et al., ChemPhotoChem (2024), 8, e202300175

Activities

The post-doc researcher will conduct femtosecond spectroscopy experiments, 2D transient absorption as well as fluorescence, in the visible and near infrared (IR) range on home-made solar cell prototypes, testing the new materials, namely merocyanines as near-IR dyes, and solid state electrolytes. Most importantly, the post-doc will contribute to optimizing the 2DES set-up, and to adapting our present data analysis tools (Python) to 2D spectroscopy.
Combined with the device performances obtained by the partners in Amiens, these results will form a solid basis for understanding the mechanisms that may limit the photo-current produced, so as to be able to design new and improved materials. The results will be published in leading scientific journals.
He or she will be in charge of co-supervising a PhD project on the same subject. A contribution to tutored projects for masters and bachelor students, to the proper organization and development of our ultra-fast spectroscopy facilities, as well as to fundraising is expected.

Skills

The candidates must hold a doctorate in Physics or Physical Chemistry. This position requires a solid background in ultrafast molecular spectroscopy and nonlinear optics, and is a must for recruitement. Additional qualifications such as training and supervision of master students, and proficiency in Python and/or Matlab are valuable assets.

Work Context

At the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of Materials in Strasbourg, we study near-IR DSSCs since more than five years. The post-doc position builds on the PhD thesis I. Nikolinakos carried out with the same partners. The group of F. Odobel (CEISAM Nantes) invents and synthesizes new near-IR absorbing dyes, based on cyanines. F. Sauvage and his team (LRCS Amiens) will make the solid state electrolytes and optimise the material properties (e.g. electrolyte composition) so as to achieve the best device performances.
In TRANSITION, the spin-off company G-LYTE has joined the consortium with the aim of producing larger 10x10 cm^2 solar cell panels, and to test these in terms of their shelf life and identify processes that may degrade the materials.
BIODYN (“Biophysics and Dynamics of Organic Nanostructures”) is a research team led by J. Léonard and S. Haacke (https://www.ipcms.fr/en/equipe/biodyn/).
The position should ideally be filled by January 1st, 2025.

The position is located in a sector under the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST), and therefore requires, in accordance with the regulations, that your arrival is authorized by the competent authority of the MESR.

Constraints and risks

Laser safety
Minor chemical hazards (solvent handling)

Additional Information

Funding by ANR project TRANSITION (2023-26)