Postdoc: Electrophoretic Silicate Gel Separations

Idaho National Laboratory; Idaho Falls (ID); On-site; USD 95,000 - 116,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation Package

Tuition Assistance

Paid Time Off

Job summary

Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, geochemistry, or closely related fields.

The role focuses on developing electrophoretically driven silicate gel platforms to extract and separate critical metals from silicate-rich feedstocks, with collaboration across spectroscopy, soft matter chemistry, and geological analytics.

Qualifications

• PhD in chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, geochemistry, or comparable disciplines.
• PhD requirements must be completed by commencement of appointment and within the previous 5 years.
• Experience designing and evaluating electrophoretically driven silicate-related extraction processes.

Responsibilities

• Conduct electrophoretically driven silicic acid polymerization and metal extraction research under varying pH, ionic strength, and field conditions.
• Perform EXAFS, XPS, FTIR, PDF analyses and electron microscopy to study adsorption mechanisms and gel morphology.
• Design and test ligand-assisted free-flow electrophoresis systems for selective metal separation from silicate matrices.
• Author manuscripts and present results at national and international conferences.

Skills

Electrophoresis methods

Electrochemical separations

Field-assisted extraction

Education

PhD in chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, geochemistry, or comparable discipline

Tools

EXAFS/XANES

FTIR

XPS

PDF analysis

Electron microscopy

Job description

Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, geochemistry, or closely related fields.

The role focuses on developing electrophoretically driven silicate gel platforms to extract and separate critical metals from silicate-rich feedstocks, with collaboration across spectroscopy, soft matter chemistry, and geological analytics.