PhD position on 3D Printed liquid crystalline elastomeric elements with large mechanocaloric effect, within MSCA Doctoral Network MolCal

Offer Description

This PhD project corresponds to the Doctoral Candidate no. 3 (DC3) vacancy notice of the MSCA “Molecule-based magneto-/electro-/mechano-calorics” (MolCal) Doctoral Network composed of 8 beneficiaries and 6 associated partners from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom and United States. MolCal overarching scientific goal is the preparation of new molecular assemblies with outstanding potential as caloric materials for refrigeration and heat pump applications at near-ambient and very-low temperature, and their exploitation in prototype devices.

Specifically with the research activities of this vacancy notice, DC3 will work towards “3D Printed liquid crystalline elastomeric elements with large mechanocaloric effect.” Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) have been identified as promising elastocaloric (eC) materials as they can provide sizeable temperature changes at very low stresses. To fully exploit the potential in applications, efforts need to be directed to generate materials with a large latent heat to be sharply delivered at the liquid crystal to isotropic transition. Besides, processing methodologies of these materials rely on the preparation of films that need to be post-processed making them unsuitable for industrial production.

This doctoral research project targets to tackle the above-mentioned challenges by preparing new photopolymerisable liquid crystalline materials with optimized thermal properties and rheology. Printing of LCE-based elements with controlled morphologies will be performed and their mechanocaloric effect (mCE) characterized. The ultimate goal of the project is to progress towards the preparation of reduced size LCE-based cooling devices.

The selected DC will be hired by CSIC and based at the Institute of Nanoscience and Materials of Aragón (INMA) in Zaragoza (Spain). There will also be secondments with experienced MolCal partners at Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands) and Sunamp Ltd. (United Kingdom). The DC will enrol in the PhD degree programme in Physics at the University of Zaragoza and will work under the supervision of C. Sanchez-Somolinos and M. Evangelisti.

Additional information is available on the MolCal website



Research Field Physics Education Level Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field Chemistry Education Level Master Degree or equivalent



Applicants must be proficient in English language.

Students currently in the final year of a Masters degree are encouraged to apply.

Further information for the PhD enrolment at .

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent





The successful candidate will work under a 36-month employment contract in accordance with Spanish national rules with full social security benefits. The MSCA DN programme offers a highly competitive and attractive salary and working conditions, which include a mobility allowance and family allowance (when corresponding), namely:
Additional information can be found in Information Note for .



- Doctoral Candidate status: At the time of recruitment, applicants must not hold a doctoral degree or equivalent.

- Mobility Rule: Applicants can be of any nationality. However, applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the appointment. This excludes short stays such as holidays or compulsory national service.

Website for additional job details

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute INMA, Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón Country Spain State/Province Zaragoza City Zaragoza Postal Code 50009 Street Pedro Cerbuna 12 Geofield

Where to apply Website

Contact State/Province

ZARAGOZA City

Zaragoza Website

Street

Pedro Cerbuna 12 Postal Code

50009 E-Mail

carloss@unizar.es

STATUS: EXPIRED

Fecha de publicación: 01/03/2024