Study of a low-cost K-ion storage system: CAM synthesis, electrolyte, safety and prototyping
The UPBEAT project (France 2030) aims to develop a low-cost potassium-ion technology that is free of critical materials and capable of providing the performance of LiFePO4-type Li-ion cells. The work proposed to the post-doc is in line with this objective: after having optimized the upscaled synthesis of the positive electrode active material, it will involve developing optimized organic liquid electrolytes for this new system (Prussian White vs. Graphite), by studying the most promising salts, solvents, and additives, while maintaining the objectives of cost and durability. The proposed solutions (with and without fluorine) will be formulated, characterized, and electrochemically tested in complete cells (coin cells and pouch cells, including component optimizations) to measure their effectiveness in terms of lifetime and power response. Operando measurements and post-mortem characterizations will be used to understand the effects of the various components. The systems that best meet the project's requirements will also be subjected to abuse tests to assess the safety of the final system.
Co-firing of Electromagnetic Ceramic Materials by Tape Casting
The objective of this post-doctoral research is to optimize the co-firing of electromagnetic ceramic materials produced by tape casting, with the aim of designing and developing multilayer stacks with enhanced electromagnetic properties.
The research will focus on several key areas :
- Development and optimization of the tape casting process to produce high-quality material tapes (controlled thickness, homogeneity, and porosity);
- Study of co-firing conditions, including the stacking and simultaneous firing of different material layers to form multilayers. Particular attention will be given to minimizing mechanical stresses, especially to prevent cracking risks during the process.
- Characterization of the obtained materials and stacks, including microstructural analyses (e.g., SEM, XRD) and electromagnetic property measurements (e.g., permeability, permittivity);
- implementation of 1D modeling to correlate process parameters with the final properties of co-fired materials, thereby guiding material elaboration and co-firing optimization.
This approach will enable the optimization of the performance of the developed multilayer structures.
Data Mining and Accelerated Characterization for Understanding Oxidation in Duplex Layers
The FOCACCYA project, conducted over two years by an interdisciplinary consortium (CEA, Institut Clément Ader), aims to understand and prevent the formation of duplex oxide layers, which are critical for material corrosion in industrial environments such as nuclear reactors. It combines bibliographic and experimental data mining, statistical analysis, and advanced characterization experiments to identify the key parameters of this phenomenon. The results will be integrated into a database to model corrosion mechanisms and improve material protection. The recruited candidate, on a two-year post-doctoral contract, will be responsible for setting up the database and exploiting it using numerical methods (statistics, ML, and AI).
European standardization of corrosion experiments in molten chlorides
Molten Salt Reactors represent a promising lead for Gen-IV nuclear reactors wit inherent safety features and the possibility to reuse the spent fuels of PWR. Two halides are envisioned for this concept, namely fluorides and chlorides salts. Their choice is justified either by their thermo-physical properties or by their compatibility with the already-existing infrastructures.
Despite their numerous advantages, halides salts -and more specifically chlorides and fluorides- are highly hygroscopic leading to a very aggressive impurity-driven corrosion of the structural materials. In order to investigate both the mechanism of this phenomenon and its kinetics, corrosion studies are carried out worldwide at the lab scale. Due to the plurality of experimental procedures and equipment, the literature is rich but the published data are usually scattered and therefore not usable to compare the corrosion behaviour of materials across different facilities.
The ENHARMONY project aims at providing guidelines for salt purification and corrosion testing in order to standardize corrosion experiment in molten halides. To do so, the corrosion behavior of two materials (stainless steel and nickel-based alloy) in either molten fluorides or molten chlorides will be investigated in several european laboratories following the same experimental procedures and aiming at having a good reproducibility.
Coupled X-ray / neutron tomography to reveal fluid evaporation in porous materials made by additive manufacturing for heat pipe applications
Improving efficiency of electronic cooling systems is paramount in many industrial domains. This is why CEA is currently developing a new heat pipe technology, based on the integration of a porous network produced by additive manufacturing. This project is a collaborative work between two laboratories of CEA Grenoble, in which you will develop an experimental bench dedicated to multi-modal tomography using X-ray and neutron beams. The goal is to characterize vapor region formation in porous networks infiltrated by a fluid and in contact with a hot source. Such advanced characterization method will allow you to better understand the physical phenomena at play, and propose new porous designs so as to increase the thermal powder density that can be dissipated by the system. The postdoc will supervise all development regarding the test setup, lead experimental campaign(s) at beamlines such as those offered by the Institute Laue Langevin (or equivalent facilities abroad), and analyze the data.
Postdoc fellow in surface science
The food processing industry faces the major challenge of ensuring optimal surface hygiene while simultaneously improving process efficiency. The OREGANO project aims to create innovative metallic surfaces with a dual antimicrobial effect. This effect is achieved through the covalent grafting of arylbenzothiazole derivatives with biocidal properties, and through surface microstructuring that prevents the formation of bacterial biofilms. The project comprises several components: synthesis of new compounds, evaluation of their antimicrobial properties (using in vitro and in silico approaches) and cytotoxicity, grafting (chemically or electrochemically) onto surfaces, and inkjet printing technologies for microstucturation.
Study of precipitation in microfluidic-scale droplets of MoZr and actinide oxalate compounds.
Understanding the precipitation reactions that occur during the various stages of the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing process is a major scientific challenge for ensuring optimal control of this process.
In this context, the postdoctoral research project aims to study, at the microfluidic scale, the nucleation of species under different chemical conditions for two key systems:
-On the one hand, the formation of MoZr compounds, for which the aim of the study is to define the precipitation conditions and nucleation mechanism in order to limit their formation in the industrial system,
-On the other hand, the precipitation of plutonium oxalate, for which the objective is to evaluate the impact of hydrodynamics on the particles formed.
Since the microfluidic approach allows for better control of the conditions under which solutions are implemented, it will be essential to develop microfluidic tools suited to studying the precipitation of these species and then to plan their adaptation to a nuclear environment while coupling them with various characterization equipment for conducting parametric tests (SWAXS, DLS, etc.). This work on adaptation to a nuclear environment and system integration will be carried out with the assistance of specialists in this field.
Thermal properties of 3D aluminum nitride structures for electronic packaging
The 12-month postdoctoral fellowship is part of the overall 3DNAMIC project, funded by the Occitanie region and involving the Materials platform of the DRTDOCC department and the Laplace laboratory. A thesis began in December 2024 aimed at “the study and characterization of 3D aluminum nitride ceramics for the thermal packaging and management of electronic components.”
The postdoc is scheduled to begin at approximately in September 2026, with the following main objectives:
Objective 1: Perform a comparative analysis of the thermal properties of ceramics produced by AF elements and on model structures using different materials available in the CEA materials platform.
Objective 3: Propose, qualify, and validate, numerically and then experimentally, heat dissipation structures for ceramics obtained by FA as part of the 3DNAMIC project.
In-situ 4D tracking of microstructural evolution in atomistic simulations
The exponential growth of high-performance computing has enabled atomistic simulations involving billions or even trillions of particles, offering unprecedented insight into complex physical phenomena. However, these simulations generate massive amounts of data, making storage and post-processing increasingly restrictive. To overcome this limitation, on-the-fly (in-situ) analysis has emerged as a key approach for reducing stored data by extracting and compressing relevant information during runtime without significantly affecting simulation performance.
In this context, tracking the four-dimensional (space and time) microstructural evolution of materials under extreme conditions is a major scientific challenge. Atomistic simulations provide a unique spatial resolution to analyze crystalline defects such as dislocations, twinning, vacancies and pores, which govern dynamic phase transformations, melting, damage and mechanical behavior. By capturing their spatio-temporal evolution, it becomes possible to study their statistics, correlations and collective effects in out-of-equilibrium regimes, leading to more accurate predictive material models.
This project builds on advances of the exaNBody high-performance computing platform and a recently developed in-situ clustering method in the ExaStamp molecular dynamics code at CEA. This method projects atomic information onto a 3D Eulerian grid to perform real-time clustering. The objective is to extend this approach to full 4D tracking, enabling the time-resolved monitoring of clusters. This will allow dynamic graph-based analysis of their evolution, including changes in size, shape and temporal behavior, providing new insights into microstructural dynamics at the atomic scale.
Diamond-based electrochemical sensors for monitoring water pollution in urban environments
This postdoctoral position is offered by CEA List as part of the European UrbaQuantum project ("A novel, Integrated Approach to Urban Water Quality Monitoring, Management and Valorisation"), part of the HORIZON-CL6-2024-ZEROPOLLUTION-02 call for projects. The main objective of this project is to develop, in response to climate change, sensors, models, and protocols for better management of the water cycle in urban environments.
At the Sensors and Instrumentation for Measurement Laboratory (LCIM)of CEA List the postdoctoral fellow will contribute to the development of electrochemical sensors based on synthetic diamond and associated measurement protocols for the detection of pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, PFAS, and pesticides. These sensors will be miniaturized and integrated into a microfluidic cell, in partnership with CEA-Leti, then tested under real-world field conditions.