We are looking for a good and highly motivated candidate for a PhD project to be carried out in the academic group of Prof. G. Decher (CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron) working in the field of soft nanomaterials. This institute is part of the University of Strasbourg (UdS, Strasbourg, France) at which the candidate will be inscribed for carrying out his/her doctoral studies.

Description of the job:
Materials exhibiting simultaneously high strength, elastic modulus and toughness are desirable for many applications. Unfortunately, for non-metallic materials these properties are often mutually exclusive. Nacre, bone and wood are examples how nature has solved this problem by combining hard and soft building blocks. The exceptional mechanical properties of such natural hybrid materials have prompted the fabrication of bio-inspired composites.
Layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly¹ is an easy to use method for the fabrication of multicomposite films and has kindled widespread interest in such nanohybrids.² Simple ultrastrong LbL assembled films mimicking the structure of Nacre were reported in the literature.³, ⁴ However, despite of their excellent tensile strength, such systems are extremely brittle.
Recently, we have LbL-assembled "elasto-rigid" hybrid materials by combining hard nano-reinforcing elements such as clays and microfibrillated cellulose, providing strength and stiffness to the composites, with soft polymeric building blocks, allowing redistribution of stress and tension between the hard elements through shears between the layers. As expected, the properties (mechanical, optical, …) of these nanohybrid materials have proved to be highly dependent on their structure, composition and preparation conditions.

The goal of this PhD is the fabrication and characterization of hybrid materials where the hard elements (microfibrillated cellulose, …) will be oriented during their deposition and evaluation of their properties (mechanical, optical, …) as a function of their composition, structure and preparation conditions. The work will be carried out in the team of Prof. G. Decher at CNRS-lnstitut Charles Sadron, Strasbourg (France).

¹ G. Decher, Science, 1997, 277, 1232.
² Multilayer Thin Films: Sequential Assembly of Nanocomposite Materials, 2nd Edition (Eds: Decher, G. and Schlenoff, J. B.), Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, 2012.
³ Z. Y. Tang et al., Nature Materials 2, 413 (2003).
⁴ P. Podsiadlo et al., Science 318, 80 (2007).

We are looking for a good and highly motivated candidate having a master degree in chemistry, physical chemistry, chemical engineering or materials science and preferably with skills and/or interests in the following areas: materials, physical chemistry, chemistry, thin layers, polymers and surfaces. The successful candidate will be part of a team of several students and postdoctoral fellows.

Candidates should provide before May 18 a detailed CV, a letter of motivation, copies of their recent grades and of their diploma of the master degree and at least two references or letters of recommendation.
The PhD project will start on the 1st October 2014. The stipend available for the project will be paid following the national guidelines for doctoral work at French universities.
The candidate should be ready to integrate in a multinational team and must be fluent in English (written and spoken) and if possible in French.

Candidates should direct their application to:
Dr. Olivier FELIX
CNRS Institut Charles Sadron
23, rue du Loess
F-67034 Strasbourg
France
E-mail: lbljobs@ics-cnrs.unistra.fr

PS: Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, is a touristic hot spot in the upper Rhine valley and not only ranked highly with respect to science, but also with respect to the quality of life