25 Oct2016
Post-Doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in XAS for energy storage materials
Location DUBBLE beamline (BM26) at the ESRF, Grenoble, France
Job Type: Research
Contract Type Fixed Term; 24 months
Salary (£) Dutch PDRA (scale 10.5); from 3234-3837 Euros per month
Closing date for applications: 8/11/2016
Interviews to be held: early November, 2016
Starting date: December 2016 or early thereafter
The aim of the research project will be to develop in operando measurements for soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy, employed to study the evolution of the oxygen (O) K-edge during battery cycling. Such measurements will be of importance to progress research on high-voltage (HV) layered oxides and Li-O2 electrode materials, as well as interfacial reactions including SEI formation and aqueous electrolyte based systems. Considering both high voltage and Li-O2 systems, it is known that the evolution of O2 (as well as CO and CO2 gases) results in interfacial reactions between the electrode and electrolyte. The products and intermediate species depend on the choice of electrolyte, salt and cycling rate. By following the O K-edge during battery cycling, in combination with the L-edge of transition metal ions, progress in this field can be achieved, developing new salts and electrolytes, as well as understanding doping and coating effects. For interpretation of the results a database consisting of O K-edge reference materials will be collected, and combined with theoretical spectra calculated by the PDRA.
The Role
The PDRA will be based at the DUBBLE beamline at the ESRF and will be part of the DUBBLE team. (As part of the DUBBLE team he/she will be responsible to the project leader. These arrangements are standard for PDRAs within the DUBBLE project). The PDRA will also be accountable to the mentors at the Universities of Kent, Delft and Montpellier to undertake work associated with the ALISTORE-ERI XAS platform. The duties of the PDRA will be to:
- Coordinate the day-to-day running of the Alistore-ERI XAS Platform.
- Assist on experiments on the various XAS stations.
- Train members of Alistrore-ERI teams in synchrotron techniques.
- Analyse XAS results for Alistore-ERI members.
- Assisting on writing beamtime proposals and reports.
- Undertake your own research project on soft X-ray O K-edge materials as described.
This position is funded by Alistore-ERI (www.alistore.eu), which is an European research institute studying energy storage materials. It currently consists of 22 universities and 15 industries around Europe.
The DUBBLE beamline is a collaborative research group (CRG) at the ESRF funded by the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO) and Flemish Research Foundation (FWO). BM26 is split into two branches: BM26-A devoted to X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and BM26-B to combined small angle scattering (SAXS) and wide angle scattering (WAXS).
How to apply and Further Information
A copy of your curriculum vitae and a statement of research experience and interest should be submitted by email to:
Dr. Maria Alfredsson, University of Kent, UK;
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: (+44-1227-823237)
PROJECT LEADER FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS (SYNTHESIS/PRECIPITATION)
