Description du sujet de thèse

As radical chemistry has now entered mainstream organic synthesis and is quite frequently encountered in multi-step syntheses of complex molecules due to its high versatility, much attention has been paid to catalytic processes involving homolytic processes because of their mild and sustainable conditions. To this end, photochemical transformations under visible light irradiation have recently witnessed a renaissance with the development of photoredox catalysis and have been notably applied to dual catalysis merging photoredox with organocatalysis or organometallic catalysis. However, the use of visible light suffers from a number of disadvantages including low penetration in reactions mediums, problems of reproducibility of experiments and inconsistency of results (light intensity, release of heat …), photodegradation of sensitive substrates, photoisomerization of double bonds as well as photoracemization of chiral reagents and products. To overcome these limitations, developments in the less energetic near-infrared (NIR) range have begun to attract attention, and enantioselectivity control under this type of irradiation regime has remained under-exploited for the time being. In this context, the development of NIR-induced asymmetric photocatalysis is both a major challenge and a highly desirable endeavor. To achieve this, the project will focus on developing various photoactive and chiral molecular platforms.
Our group is recognized for our pioneer developments of cyanine based NIR-photocatalysts which allow achieving oxidation, reduction and photosensitization on various substrates.
Building on this success, the project will explore chiral versions of relevant organic transformations, such as dual photoredox/organometallic catalysis, asymmetric oxidation with singlet oxygen and deracemization involving hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) processes to prepare enantiomerically enriched elaborated molecules.

Contexte de travail

Bringing together around 90 people, the Laboratory of Molecular Innovation and Applications (LIMA, UMR-7042) is jointly supervised by Unistra, UHA, and CNRS, and is located on two sites (Strasbourg and Mulhouse). Supervised by Dr. Morgan Cormier and Prof. Jean-Philippe Goddard, the PhD will take place within the Radical Chemistry, Heterocycles and Interfaces (CRHI) team at the Mulhouse site (IRJB-UHA). The CRHI team, based at the Jean-Baptiste Donnet Research Institute in Mulhouse, focuses on the development of new chemical reactions using radicals as reactive intermediates. The team has strong expertise in organic photochemistry, catalysis (both homogeneous and heterogeneous), and radical chemistry.
Our research group is project leader of a huge research program “Near Infra-Red Light-Induced Chirality and Catalysis” funded by the PEPR LUMA involving prestigious research teams from Collège de France, Sorbonne University and Toulouse University. We are located in UHA-Mulhouse with outstanding research facilities and stimulating environment. The selected candidate will be registered with the Doctoral School of Chemical Sciences at the University of Haute-Alsace (ED222, Mulhouse). Profile : We are looking for highly motivated candidate to pursue a PhD within our group and interested in multidisciplinary research. The candidate should have a strong background in organic synthesis. The PhD student (M/F) will work in an international environment and will develop his communication skills through oral presentations, writing articles, participation to conferences. The PhD will also have the opportunity to supervise one or more internship students at various levels (from L3 to M2), in agreement with the PhD supervisors

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.