Postdoc position in spectroscopic characterization of nanocellulose

Project description
This postdoctoral position is a full-time temporary employment opportunity for two years. The project is a part of the Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC). The goal of the project is to explore and adjust the dielectric properties of nanocellulose.

Nanocellulose is used in various applications due to its impressive mechanical properties, thermal stability, and degradability. The high symmetry of nanocellulose results in the generation of high net value dipole moments of C-H and C-OH bonds.  This leads to high dielectric properties that, when interacting with electromagnetic waves impact light absorption, reflection, refraction, and transmission of the waves. The main tasks of the project will involve surface modification of nanocrystalline cellulose, creating films from it, and characterizing the dielectric properties using broadband dielectric spectroscopy and other relevant methods.

In the project nanocrystalline cellulose (CNC) will be used as the cellulose material. An initial part of the project is to characterize and surface functionalize the CNC. The surface modification is intended to promote uniform CNC aggregation during film formation. Since the alignment of crystals depends on how the film is prepared, different methodologies for film formation must be considered. The overall goal is to find correlations between dielectric properties, alignment of the crystals, and the surface properties of the crystallites in order to design films with tailor made dielectric properties. A key parameter in this process is to develop methodologies for creating interphases that provide the overall structure with flexibility, strength, and excellent optical properties such as transparency or uniform (tunable) structural color.

The Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC) is a research center dedicated to achieving scientific excellence in the development of new materials from trees. The center aims to generate knowledge and build competence and expertise to drive innovative and sustainable value creation from forest resources. WWSC is a multidisciplinary collaborative effort between KTH, Chalmers, and Linköping University, made possible by a donation from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. The forest industry also supports WWSC through the national platform Treesearch.

Information about the division and the department
The project will take place at Chalmers department of Chemistry and chemical Engineering, Division of Chemistry och biochemistry under Professor Gunnar Westman. Division of Chemistry and Biochemistry has research within analytical, physical, theoretical, inorganic and organic chemistry. It is an interdisciplinary group with appr 10 research groups focusing on synthesis and characterization of materials. Our goal is to correlate molecular structure with properties, function and activity of studied materials and systems.

Major responsibilities
As a postdoc, you will be expected to perform spectroscopic characterization of prepared Nanocellulose films, evaluate, analyze and interpret data from measurements. Furthermore, you will be responsible for experimental planning, sample preparation, characterization, data handling, writing of publications and communications of results from the project. You may also take part in supervision of PhD and master students.

Read more about doctoral studies at Chalmers here.

Qualifications



• Candidates must hold a PhD degree in chemistry, physics or related fields, this degree should typically not be more than three years old, although exceptions can be made for, e.g., parental or sick leave
• Previous wet lab experience, preferably with nanocellulose
• Previous experience from spectroscopic characterization of molecules or polymer aggregates.
• Previous experience of using softwares for data analysis
• An ability to work independently as well as in teams and take responsibility for progress of the project
• Strong publication record, evidenced by first-authorships in peer-reviewed publications
• Advanced scientific writing skills with an ability to write peer reviewed papers independently
• Fluency in spoken and written English.

To qualify for the position of postdoc, you must hold a doctoral degree awarded no more than three years prior to the application deadline (according to the current agreement with the Swedish Agency for Government Employers). Exceptions from the 3-year limit can be made for longer periods resulting from parental leave, sick leave or military service*.

* The date shown in your doctoral degree certificate is the date we use, as this is the date you have met all requirements for the doctoral degree.

Meritorious qualifications and skills


•  Use of software for multi variate analysis
• Interpretation of broadband dielectric spectroscopy data
• Experience with analysis of large-scale data (particularly if combined with experience of writing code in a scripting      language such as Perl or Python)
• Previous supervision of students
• Skills in project coordination, interdisciplinary collaborations and supervision will also be meritorious for the candidate selection.

Contract terms
This postdoc position is a full-time temporary employment for two years.

Application deadline: 2024-08-31. Interviews will take place continuously during the advertisement.


Application procedure

Application is made on Chalmers website