Description

The CRISMAT Laboratory (CNRS / ENSICAEN / University of Caen Normandy) is seeking applications for a PhD student to join an ambitious research program dedicated to the discovery and development of mixed-anion thermoelectric materials.

The project is funded by the University of Caen Normandy (Caesar Program) and aims to explore innovative mixed-anion compounds with complex crystal structures for efficient thermal energy conversion.

Research Project

Thermoelectric materials directly convert heat into electricity and are attracting considerable interest for sustainable energy harvesting from industrial waste heat, automotive exhaust systems, and autonomous electronic devices. Recent studies have demonstrated that mixed-anion compounds constitute a particularly promising class of materials owing to their exceptional structural flexibility, which enables the independent tuning of electronic and phonon transport.

 

The successful candidate will investigate new mixed-anion compounds through an interdisciplinary approach combining:

• Solid-state synthesis and materials processing (sealed-tube synthesis, mechanical alloying, spark plasma sintering);
• Crystal structure determination and microstructural characterization (X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, spectroscopy);
• Measurement and analysis of electrical and thermal transport properties;
• Correlation between crystal chemistry, lattice dynamics, and thermoelectric performance.

Skills required

Applicants should hold a master in Materials Science, Solid-State Chemistry, Solid-State Physics, or a closely related field.

Keywords

Materials chemistry, solid-state chemistry, solid-state physics