Description of the thesis topic

At the CNRS Futuroscope site, the Pprime institute is recruiting a PhD student in collaboration with the Nantes Materials Institute Jean Rouxel (IMN).

This PhD project is part of a long-term research activity developed at the Pprime institute in collaboration with the IMN lab. This activity aims at manipulating the physico-chemical properties of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbide layers - known as MXenes - using defect engineering by ion irradiation/implantation as new tools for the structural and chemical engineering of the layers.

This research topic is at the centre of the ANR 2Dfects project, through which this PhD project is funded, and which gathers three academic partners: the Pprime Institute, the Nantes Materials Institute Jean Rouxel (IMN) and the Institute of Chemistry and Materials of Poitiers (IC2MP).

The PhD work will be developed in the framework of this project, more particularly in the Pprime Institute and the IMN. Working in these two labs will guarantee the access to all necessary experimental facilities required to achieve our goals:
- At the Pprime Institute: ion implanter, Transmission and Scanning Electron Microscopes (TEM & SEM), optical spectrometers covering the UV-visible-IR spectral ranges, low temperature (down to 2K) electrical resistivity measurements possibly coupled to a magnetic field.
- At the IMN: State-of-the-art aberration corrected TEM.

This work will be conducted in strong collaboration with the other PhD students already working on MXenes at the Pprime Institute, as well as with our colleagues from the IC2MP (Poitiers University, CNRS).

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1- MISSION:
This PhD project will be led in collaboration between the Pprime Institute, providing its expertise in defect engineering in MXenes and characterization of their physical properties, and the IMN, providing its expertise in nanomaterials characterization using aberration corrected TEM (AC-TEM).

The main goal will be to develop a defect engineering strategy based on three different approaches:
1- Use ion implantation in order to perform chemical doping of MXene layers with new elements.
2- Use ion irradiation in order to introduce structural defects in a controlled way in the MXene layers.
3- Use in situ electronic irradiation in a AC-TEM in order to both create structural defects and characterize them down to the atomic scale.

The structural and chemical changes induced in the MXene layers, as well as the associated modifications in the optical and electrical properties, will be characterized thanks to a complete set of experimental facilities available in the three labs involved in the 2Dfects project (including AC-TEM). This work will clearly deepen our understanding of the role of defects on the properties of this large class of 2D materials, providing a new approach for the control and tuning of their properties.

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2- REQUIRED SKILLS:

Candidates should hold a master degree in condensed matter physics, materials science or equivalent and should possess the following skills:
-good knowledge of radiation-mater interactions,
- scientific rigour, very good experimental skills,
-teamwork and communication skills.

Work Context

The recruited person will work at the Pprime Institute (Poitiers University – CNRS) for the first and third year of the PhD, and at the IMN for second year of the PhD.

In addition to the experiments conducted in these two labs, complementary characterizations will be accessible at the IC2MP (the third partner in the 2Dfects project). The PhD student will also participate to the progress meetings of the 2Dfects project which be alternatively held in each one of the three involved labs.

* IMPORTANT: The contract start date is flexible and may be extended to 01/11/2025 if necessary.

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

Short travel in France, possibly abroad, will be scheduled for progress meetings and conference presentations. The second year of the PhD will be done at the NMI (in Nantes).

The hired researcher will have to comply with the usual rules applied in CNRS laboratories involved in experimental activities in physics. In particular, these rules are focused on the use of ionising radiations (ion implanter and TEM).

This experimental work will imply to adapt to the availability of the lab experimental set ups.

The hired researcher will have to follow 90h of training hours on diverse topics related to a PhD project and provided by the doctoral school.