A three-year PhD position in solid-state NMR spectroscopy of microbattery materials is available at the University of Lille, Lille, France. It will start in the fall 2019.
Project description: All-solid-state microbatteries are promising devices for a broad range of applications pertaining to communication, consumer electronics, products and people identification, traceability, security (bank transaction) as well as to smart environment and the internet of things. Nevertheless, a limitation of these devices is the limited Li+conductivity of the lithium phosphorous oxinitride (LiPON). The conductivity of this the commercial standard electrolyte is 3 orders of magnitude lower than that of conventional Li-ion cells using liquid electrolytes. Recently innovative electrolytes with conductivity enhanced by one order of magnitude have been developed. In this project, we will develop and apply advanced solid-state NMR, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Pair Distribution Function (PDF) techniques in order to elucidate the atomic-level structure and dynamics of these innovative electrolytes. For solid-state NMR characterization, Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP), small rotor diameters and high magnetic fields will notably been employed in order to improve the sensitivity and/or the resolution of this technique. The structural and dynamic information obtained in the project will be correlated to the electrical and electrochemical properties of the electrolytes, in order to improve in a rational way the performances of the microbatteries. This PhD grant is funded by ANR funding agency.
Host and research infrastructure: Lille is a vibrant and handsome city, imbued with a rich history, located in the middle of northwestern Europe (only 30 min by high-speed trains from Brussels, 1h from Paris and 1h30 from London). Lille is one of France’s top student cities and the university of Lille is a leading center for magnetic resonance. Lille NMR facility includes 800 and 900 MHz NMR spectrometers and has been selected to host the first 1.2 GHz NMR spectrometer to be installed in France. Our research group is internationally known for the development of solid-state NMR methods, notably for quadrupolar nuclei, and the characterization of inorganic materials. We have an expertise in high-field solid-state NMR spectroscopy and were among the pioneers of high-field DNP-NMR of hybrid and inorganic materials.
The person: We seek application from national and international students who have graduated in physics or chemistry, preferably with a background in material sciences or NMR spectroscopy. The successful applicant will be given the opportunity to work in an exciting environment with national and international collaborations.
Contact: Applications (cover letter, CV, transcripts of grades and names for recommendation) and informal queries about the lab and research projects should be directed by email to olivier.lafon@univ-lille.fr and frederique.pourpoint@ensc-lille.fr.
Recent selected publications:
(1) Wang, Z.; Jiang, Y.; Lafon, O.; Trébosc, J.; Kim, K. D.; Stampfl, C.; Baiker, A.; Amoureux, J.-P.; Huang, J. Brønsted Acid Sites Based on Penta-Coordinated Aluminum Species. Nat. Commun.2016, 7, 13820. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13820.
(2) Qi, G.; Wang, Q.; Xu, J.; Trébosc, J.; Lafon, O.; Wang, C.; Amoureux, J.-P.; Deng, F. Synergic Effect of Active Sites in Zinc-Modified ZSM-5 Zeolites as Revealed by High-Field Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2016, 55(51), 15826–15830. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201608322.
(3) Giovine Raynald; Volkringer Christophe; Ashbrook Sharon E.; Trébosc Julien; McKay David; Loiseau Thierry; Amoureux Jean‐Paul; Lafon Olivier; Pourpoint Frédérique. Solid‐State NMR Spectroscopy Proves the Presence of Penta‐coordinated Sc Sites in MIL‐100(Sc). Chem. – Eur. J.2017, 23(40), 9525–9534. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201700584.
INSTITUTE FOR CATALYSIS AND SOLID-STATE CHEMISTRY
UCCS - UMR CNRS 8181
Univ. de Lille
59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq cedex
France
Olivier Lafon
Professor
Member of Institut Universitaire de France
Tel.: (+33) 03 20 43 41 43
Fax: (+33) 03 20 43 68 14
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