Description du sujet de thèse

The Conservation Research Centre (MNHN), the Soft Matter Sciences and Engineering Laboratory (ESPCI) and the Polymer Chemistry Group (IPCM) are offering a PhD in partnership with the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre and the National Archives on the eco-conservation of cellulose-based cultural assets.
Papers of the cultural heritage, especially the first industrial papers, made from highly lignified cellulose pulps, are a major conservation challenge because of their mechanical fragility due to the acidification that develops rapidly during natural ageing. Current solutions are to slow down the acidification. However, the addition of a consolidant that would enable a safe handling while limiting material loss is not a common practice, due to a lack of sustainable solutions.
The aim of this PhD is to develop eco-responsible conservation treatments using bio-based polymers capable of deacidifying paper as well as imparting mechanical strength. The approach will be based on the use of nanocelluloses and aminated biopolymers such as chitosan, amino-dextran and ε-polylysine.
The successful candidate will work in a multidisciplinary team, interfacing with the 3 laboratories, and will be responsible for developing the treatments using laboratory papers that will be artificially aged, in order to reproduce the state of conservation of fragile historic papers. The development of the treatments, their harmlessness to the paper and the performance tests will be assessed using mechanical testing, as well as physico-chemical analyses (pH, rheology, viscosimetry, FTIR, SEM/EDS, colour measurements) in order to ensure that the solutions abide to current ecological requirements and are adapted for conservation purposes.
References : Ferrandin-Schoffel, N. et al. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2 (2020) 1943–1953 ; Dufresne, A. Mater. Today. 16 (2013) 220–227 ; Zanetti, M. Thèse (MNHN ; Padua University, 2022)

Contexte de travail

The PhD position is part of a project funded by the Domaine de recherche et d'innovation majeur (DIM) Patrimoines matériels - innovation, expérimentation, résilience (PAMIR), by the French Ministry of Culture and by the Conservation Research Centre.
The doctoral student will carry out his/her research within the CRCC team (CRC-CNRS UAR 3224, MNHN Jardin des Plantes,Paris 5e) and will be required to carry out some analyses and characterisations at the SIMM (CNRS UMR 7615, ESPCI Paris - PSL, Paris 5e) and in collaboration with the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre (ENSAV) and the Archives nationales (AN).
The successful candidate will hold a degree in chemical engineering, a Master's degree in organic or polymer chemistry or a Master's degree in conservation-restoration of graphic documents
The selection criteria will be based on the following scientific skills:
- Desired knowledge and experience of structural characterisation techniques
- Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team
- Proven experience in writing and communicating scientific results
- Fluency in scientific English and good writing skills in French and English
- Experience of research in a multidisciplinary context is desirable.

Contraintes et risques

The position involves exposure to chemical risks, which will be managed in accordance with the national regulatory rules and the laboratory's internal regulations.