Postdoc position offer:
«Rapid and visual detection of contaminants for aerospace»
Job location: CIRIMAT – Centre Interuniversitaire de Recherche et d’Ingénierie des Matériaux
Starting date: june 2022
Duration: 18 months
Funding: the applicant will be employed by the Toulouse III University as part of a collaborative project with
CNES.
Gross salary: ~2600 to 3050€ gross monthly depending on experience
Keywords: porous materials; phthalic contaminants; rare earths ; quantum dots; molecular crystals; surface
functionalization; luminescence; physico-chemical characterizations; surface analysis; electron microscopy.
Description of the project
Currently, CNES relies on QCM technology (quartz microbalance) to monitor the contamination of the environment of on-board systems. This method is called global, since it provides an assessment of the quantity of all the species degassed in the environment of the satellite in flight or in a clean room and then condensed
without any distinction of the chemical nature of the compounds probed.
Ground tests are based on ex situ analyzes of aluminum surfaces (controls) which are multi-step and not very precise. These findings underscore the need in both cases to develop selective and easy-to-implement approaches. It is therefore a question of designing detectors capable of identifying the usual contaminants of space.
The objective of the study is to know the prospects offered by different systems for the rapid and visual detection of phthalic contaminants present in clean rooms, on-board instruments and satellites. These systems will make it possible to detect the presence of contaminants by luminescence from a critical threshold set at a
surface contamination of 0.5 µg / cm². This will lead to rapid and visual detection of the presence of contaminants in real time for rapid decision-making (cleaning, installation of protection, etc.), thus avoiding anomalies in the clean room.
The work will aim to evaluate three families of different chromophores involving in particular rare earths, quantum dots or molecular crystals. More precisely, task 1 will consist of a complete bibliographic study on the three types of chromophores. Task 2 will aim to continue work already initiated on the functionalization of quantum dots. Task 3 will be devoted to the development of new luminescent materials suitable for trapping phthalic contaminants.
Work context
The applicant will join the “Coatings and Surface Treatments” team of CIRIMAT under the supersivion of M.J. Menu (PR) and M. GRESSIER (MCU). The RTS team has significant expertise and knowledge in the field of surface functionalization of inorganic nanomaterials. This work will be developed as part of a research program in collaboration with G. Rioland at CNES.
The recruitment of the selected candidate is subject to validation by the “Defense Security Officer”.
Additional informations
Expected applicant’s profile :
We are looking for a candidate with a doctorate in molecular chemistry with dual skills in synthetic chemistry (organic and inorganic) and in the field of phosphors. He (she) must be strongly motivated for the experiment. Ideally he (she) should be autonomous in the classic synthesis and characterization techniques used in molecular chemistry (SM, NMR, IR, Raman, etc.) with expertise in luminescent materials.
For any additional information on the project and/or the recruitment process, you can contact Marie-Joëlle Menu (marie-joëlle.menu@univ-tlse3.fr).
Application
Please send to marie-joëlle.menu@univ-tlse3.fr and marie.gressier@univ-tlse3.fr a detailed CV and a cover- letter with at least the name of a referent/letter of recommendation.