PIF2024 - EXPLORATION OF OXYNITRIDES FOR ENERGY-RELATED APPLICATIONS (PID2023-146263NB-I00AF)

The aim of the PhD project is the design of new oxynitrides with targeted properties (e.g. magnetic, electronic and ionic conductivity) of interest for a range of applications (photocatalysis, energy storage etc). Oxynitrides are an emerging group of solids where bond covalency, bond polarization and band gaps are modified by nitride (nitrogen and oxygen show similar electronic and crystal chemistry features and may substitute for each other in the same crystallographic sites). Different main families of compounds will be explored including fully reduced compounds as solid electrolytes for all solid state batteries and transition metal perovskites or spinels with electronic and photocatalytic properties. The targeted compounds will be prepared by solid state synthesis under inert or reactive atmosphere, and characterized by X-ray and electron diffraction, microscopy and complementary techniques (physical property measurements). The most successful ones will be tested under application conditions in the framework of secondments in international laboratories (3 months). The recruited PhD student will enroll in the Materials Science PhD program at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and be co-supervised by Prof. A. Fuertes and Prof. M.R Palacín. Candidates with a degree and Master in Chemistry, Nanoscience or Materials Science are most suited. Additional experience in structural or physical characterization techniques is not mandatory but would be appreciated.