Postdoctoral Research Associate - Soft Materials and Membranes Group

Requisition Id 11996 

Overview: 

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 6,000 people! Our vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for the nation.

 

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research associate who will focus on designing materials, understanding and characterization of gas transport and development of analytical assays to measure molecular binding to advance area of direct CO2 capture and rare earth elements (REE) separation. This research requires hands-on experience with various characterization techniques and skills in synthesis. This research will be complemented by collaborations and interactions with polymer chemists, physicists, and polymer engineers, X-ray and neutron scattering experts and computational chemists, whose research is also focused on polymer characterization, simulations, and processing.

 

This position resides in the Soft Matter and Membrane Group in the Chemical Sciences Division (CSD), Physical Sciences Directorate (PSD) with potential collaboration with Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) and Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). As part of our team, the applicant will have the opportunity to make a significant impact in the fields of direct air capture and REE separation. Expertise in the characterization and synthesis is crucial in advancing fundamental research goals and developing practical innovative solutions in the field.

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

The research will be focused on developing materials and understanding the mechanism of CO2 transport in aqueous and hybrid aqueous /polymer systems. The part of research that is related to rare earth separation will be focused on developing methods to efficiently quantify ligand adsorption to REE minerals which enables achieving a thorough comprehension of the adsorption mechanism. This research requires hands-on experience with UV-vis, Raman, NMR, structural characterization with X-ray and neutrons, mechanical characterizations, including tensile, DMA, and rheology test. Experience in synthesis and fabrication of polymer membranes is required. Knowledge and skills to conduct data analytics and employing surface-specific spectroscopic tools are also preferred. Ultimately, the knowledge gained will provide the basis for understanding processes of CO2 transport and ion separation, thereby advancing the selectivity and efficiency of CO2 capture and separation processes related to rare earth minerals.

 

• Establishing a structure - transport relationship in materials using various techniques. This step includes characterization of chemistry, dynamics, structure, and mechanical properties of aqueous adsorbents and mixed aqueous /polymer materials and measure solubility and permeability of CO2 in these phases
• Design new adsorbent and polymer membranes for CO2 capture
• Develop analytical techniques to quantify the adsorption isotherms of organic ligands binding to REE minerals.
• Application of advanced spectroscopic tools to characterize the adsorption of ligands on mineral interphases.
• Develop strategies for ligand design in REE mineral beneficiation from the knowledge of ligand adsorption strength and the underlying mechanisms of adsorption.
• Characterization of polymers and small molecules by standard methods including SEC, NMR, FTIR, TGA, DSC, DMA, tensile, rheology etc.
• Responsible for presenting and reporting research results and publishing scientific results in peer-reviewed journals in a timely manner.
• Ensure compliance with environment, safety, health, and quality program requirements
• Maintain strong commitment to the implementation and perpetuation of values and ethics
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

 

Basic Qualifications:

• A PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering, Polymer Chemistry, Polymer Physics, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, or a related field completed within the last 5 years
• Expertise in various character