PhD position (M/F) in physical chemistry

Job Description

Thesis Subject

Complex coacervates are liquid droplets formed in aqueous solutions of polyelectrolytes. Thanks to their unique properties, their biocompatibility, and their environmentally friendly processing, they have found applications in multiple research fields. As the interest for these materials grows, it becomes necessary to develop new characterisation techniques that can be used to quantify their properties.
This PhD project aims to develop a new technique to characterise the viscosity of coacervates, based on molecular rotors. These molecules are viscosity-sensitive fluorophores, that change their fluorescence properties as a function of the surrounding medium. The PhD student will characterise the photophysical properties of these molecules by time-resolved fluorescence and confocal microscopy, and compare them to viscosity measurements (studied by rheology). This will lead to new knowledge of the local environment of the coacervate phase.

Your Work Environment

The project will be carried out in collaboration between two teams:

- The UMR7140 (Chemistry of complex matter) is a mixed research unit affiliated to the University of Strasbourg and the CNRS. It is a multidisciplinary unit that groups different teams and research lines in molecular and supramolecular chemistry, chemo-informatics, physical chemistry, and molecular modelling. In particular, the candidate (M/F) will be supervised by Dr. Guillermo Monreal Santiago Maître de Conférences HDR in the "Laboratory of Systems Chemistry". This team is dedicated to the research of complex systems, such as chemical reaction networks, supramolecular structures, or coacervates, among others. The laboratory has the necessary equipment to characterise the complex coacervates that will be studied in this project (optical and confocal microscopy, microplate reader, DLS), and has access to multiple technical and characterisation platforms (radiocrystallography, mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, etc.). This team is located in the Esplanade campus, a green space situated next to the city center of Strasbourg.

- The Institute Charles Sadron (ICS) is a CNRS unit associated to the University of Strasbourg. It is a pluridisciplinary institute dedicated to polymer science and to the study of self-assembled structures, and it has multiple characterisation platforms (size exclusion chromatography, electronic microscopy and atomic force microscopy, rheology). In particular, the candidate (M/F) will be supervised by Dr. Mehdi Vahdati (Chaire de Professeur Junior, HDR in the team "Sustainable (bio)materials: Self-assembly of peptides and polymers" (IRIS)), and responsable of the platform "Matthe'Rhéo" of the ICS. This laboratory is situated in the campus Cronenbourg, and it is easily accessible by public transport directly from the city center of Strasbourg. For more informations, consult the websites of both institutes https://complex-matter.unistra.fr https://www.ics-cnrs.unistra.fr/.

Additionally, the candidate (M/F) will be affiliated to the doctoral school ED222 (Doctoral school of chemical science), and will follow a training program in parallel to their research activities. The candidate (M/F) will benefit from access to administrative restaurants in both campuses with a subsidised price, to sport facilities in-campus, and to a partial reimbursement of public transport fees. The annual leave is 44 working days per year (32 days of leave + 12 RTT). Remote working is possible, within the specific circumstances of both units.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

The research professions