Group of Functional Materials (Bojdys)
Applications are invited for three PhD positions in high throughput discovery of layered functional materials “beyond graphene” as part of a European Research Council (ERC) granted project. You will have at least an Upper Second-Class Honours degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry – in particular a strong background and practical experience in (bio-)organic chemistry, polymer chemistry and advanced synthetic methods are required.
Description
Application Procedure (see http://web.natur.cuni.cz/orgchem/funanomat/index.php/jobs/phd-studentship/)
Applications should comprise:
*A completed applicant information form
*A copy of your full curriculum vitae
*A statement indicating the reasons for applying for this post and how your training and experience is relevant
THE POST
Postgraduate research opportunities for ambitious candidates with at least an Upper Second-Class Honours degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry, Physics or Materials Science. Excellent students from a broad range of backgrounds with a strong interest in new materials are encouraged to apply. These three projects in the “Functional Nanomaterials” group involve the design and synthesis of new functional organic nanomaterials under an ERC Starting Grant (30 MM CZK; 1.4 MM EUR) and a GACR Junior Grant (6 MM CZK; 0.25 MM EUR) that combine experimental work with analytical studies and a strong collaboration with international partners. The overall aim of the project is to discover new frameworks and materials to address specific societal problems, such as clean energy and materials security.
THE PROJECT
There is an apparent lack of porous, ordered materials with full electronic conjugation for the construction of devices in gas storage and catalysis. All known porous materials have at least one major drawback: zeolites and MOFs have limited modularity and no conjugation. COFs often lack conjugation and chemical stability. And microporous polymers suffer from poorly defined morphology. Hence, designing materials that simultaneously combine an ordered, internal structure, porosity, and full electronic conjugation is a great challenge. Recent breakthroughs in this area by our team (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 7450−7455) demonstrated the feasibility of the synthetic concept of crystalline, conjugated materials with triazine-based graphitic carbon nitride, a compound highlighted as an “emerging competitor for the miracle material” graphene. The project will use high-throughput methodologies and insights into framework design gleaned from our previous work (Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics 2015, DOI: 10.1002/macp.201500287).
The projects involve collaboration between the Charles University in Prague (high-throughput synthesis and evaluation), Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (UOChB) (analytics), and TU Berlin (photocatalysis). This is an opportunity for ambitious students to work in a multi-skilled team to develop a new class of 2D “Layered functional materials “beyond graphene” (BEGMAT)” as part of a European Research Council (ERC) granted project.
Nr of positions available : 3
Research Fields
Chemistry - Organic chemistry
Career Stage
Early stage researcher or 0-4 yrs (Post graduate)
Research Profiles
First Stage Researcher (R1)
Closing date for receipt of applications: Mon, 18 Jul 2016 18:00 CET