진학프로석·박사 채용 접수 플랫폼

LEPMI (CNRS/Grenoble INP/UGA) is a leading laboratory in electrochemistry and energy materials, with a team of 150, including 50 researchers and lecturers. Institut Néel (CNRS), based in Grenoble, is a leading laboratory in condensed matter physics, with a staff of 450, including 175 researchers
and lecturers. The MEM laboratory (CEA Grenoble) conducts research on the exploration of materials and devices using advanced simulation methods and experimental characterization techniques. The proposed research position will bridge the expertise of Prof. Maria Diaz Lopez’s group, specializing in X-ray diffraction and related analyses (Rietveld refinement and PDF analysis), of Dr. Marie-Ingrid Richard’s group at CEA Grenoble, experts in Bragg Coherent Diffraction
Imaging (BCDI) and of Dr. Frédéric Maillard group at LEPMI, which is spcialized in electrocatalysis.
The researcher will investigate cathodic embrittlement, a poorly understood phenomenon that can fragment metals (e.g., Pt, Au, Ni) in reducing environments, compromising their electrocatalytic performance in fuel cells and electrolysers.

Main goals:
- Unravel the atomic-scale mechanisms of cathodic embrittlement, including the individual or
combined effects of electric fields, hydride formation, and alkali cations.
- Correlate structural disorder (strain, defects, amorphization) with electrocatalytic activity for the
Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) and CO2 Reduction Reaction (CO2RR).
-  Develop mitigation strategies or transform embrittlement into a green synthesis route for advanced
nanocatalysts.

Missions and activities:
     -  Synthesize model metal micro/nanoparticles (Pt, Ag, Au, Cu, Ni) with controlled size and structure

     -  Characterize nanocatalysts using a combination of techniques, including:

• • electrochemistry (HER/CO2 RR activity tests (RDE, GDE) 
• • on-line ICP-MS for metal dissolution analysis)
• • advanced X-ray scattering: Total scattering, Pair Distribution Function (PDF), and Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging (at Institut Néel and ESRF)- (Identical-Location) Transmission Electron Microscopy- Analyze multiscale data to connect local atomic disorder with mesoscale degradation (e.g., particle fragmentation)- Collaborate with the group of Prof. Mathias Vandichel, University of Limerck, for DFT activities