Job offer

European Commission; France; Sur place; EUR 30 000 - 40 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

A leading research laboratory in France is seeking a First Stage Researcher (R1) in the field of Chemistry. The role involves investigating sustainable routes for polyurethane synthesis and the development of new catalysts, focusing on environmental impact. This opportunity is ideal for candidates holding a PhD in Chemistry with a passion for innovative research.

Qualifications

• Research experience in catalytic processes.
• Ability to work on sustainable chemistry projects.
• Familiarity with polymer chemistry.

Responsabilités

• Investigate alternative synthetic routes for polyurethanes excluding isocyanates.
• Develop and design catalysts for dehydrogenative couplings.
• Conduct integrative research in catalytic systems.

Connaissances

Catalytic chemistry

Polymer chemistry

Sustainable synthesis

Formation

PhD in Chemistry

Description du poste

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Laboratoire de chimie de coordination Research Field Chemistry Physics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country France Application Deadline 25 Jun 2025 - 23:59 (UTC) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination of Toulouse (LCC) was founded in 1974 with the mission of studying the electronic nature of coordination bonds, and has since expanded its areas of research to include a variety of related disciplines, notably catalysis. Today, the LCC employs over 250 people in 15 teams, working in three main areas of research: catalytic chemistry, health chemistry and materials chemistry. The project will be carried out under the direction of Dr. Stéphanie Bastin and Prof. Jean-Baptiste Sortais.

Dehydrogenative couplings of formamides and alcohols for catalytic polyturethane synthesis
Polyurethanes (PUs) are polymers used in many industrial sectors to formulate adhesives, paints, elastomers, foams and fibers, to name only a few applications. Their success is grounded in their versatile synthesis by polyaddition of polyfunctional alcohols and isocyanate monomers. The growing range of precursors available enables the structures of PUs, and hence their related properties, to be varied almost as required. However, despite the robustness of this route, with the growing concerns regarding the toxicity of isocyanates and of its phosgene precursor, as well as the risks associated with storage (Bhopal disaster), the design of non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) has increasingly raised the attention of both academic and industrial communities. Alternative reactions producing polymers with the same properties as that of conventional PUs but without using isocyanates as starting building blocks are investigated.
In this context, we propose to investigate alternative and more sustainable synthetic routes to PUs excluding the use of isocyanates following an integrative strategy ranging from the development of metallo-catalyzed dehydrogenative couplings (DC) between alcohols and formamides to their implementation for the elaboration of NIPUs
The strategy to reach this goal is to finely tune the metal electronic and steric properties by an appropriate ligand design. Therefore, one important part of the research work will be devoted to the design and synthesis of Earth abundant transition metals catalysts, and of the corresponding ligands.