Description du sujet de thèse

ERC 2022 PERLA project
The project aims at developing electrically conductive fluids containing rod-like particles. Their novelty is based on the formation of dynamical system-spanning networks in fluid flow. We plan to validate fundamental hypotheses related to the out of equilibrium percolation of rod like particles in shear or elongational flows. This gain of fundamental knowledge will provide new concepts for the development of conductive fluids with low viscosity, high and tunable conductivity. Systems of carbon nanotubes and short carbon fibers will be used as conductive Brownian and non-Brownian rods. The structure, rheological and electrical properties of the suspensions will be characterized in various flow conditions, from dilute to concentrated regimes including liquid crystalline phases. The basic knowledge gained in the project will be exploited in timely applications, including flow capacitors, capacitive water desalination and soft electronics and robotics. Flow capacitors and flow batteries are among the most promising technologies for future demands of renewable energy storage. They uniquely allow decoupling of power and energy density, being therefore particularly appropriate to store energy intermittent wind and solar sources. These applications are particularly promising regarding energy and environmental issues. However, they are currently limited by the use of highly viscous slurries made of spherical particles, or of heavy and poorly stable liquid metals. Fluids developed in this ambitious project will circumvent these limitations, and provide new degrees of freedom for future sustainable flow electrochemistry applications.

Contexte de travail

The Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal is a CNRS physical-chemistry laboratory located in Bordeaux and associated to the University of Bordeaux. The CNRS is the main French research organism. The University of Bordeaux is recognized as a national cluster of excellence in Materials Science. Research activities of CRPP include soft condensed matter, materials science and biotechnologies. The laboratory has 150 employees, including students and post-doc, permanent researchers, administrative and technical staff. Our group on carbon nanotubes and graphene employs 15 persons and enjoys expertise for more than 20 years in physical chemistry of nanocarbons, nanocomposites, polymers and electrochemistry. Our group has pioneered several topics such as the carbon nanotube based fibers, or carbon nanotubes based liquid crystals. Bordeaux is a pleasant and lively city. It enjoys a lively student life. The city is not far from the Atlantic Ocean and in the heart of the most prestigious vineyards. Bordeaux enjoys the charming weather of south west of France.

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