Nantes Université MSCA-PF 2024 - hosting offer at the CEISAM institute

Mireia Rodriguez-Zubiri researcher from the Interdisiplinary Chemistry: Synthesis, Analysis, Modelling (CEISAM institute) at CNRS is looking for postdoctoral candidates interested in applying for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF) in 2024.

• Key words

Terpenes, myrcene, hydroamination, homogeneous, heterogeneous catalysis, fragrances, transition metal, nanoparticles, silica-based materials, computational studies, plasmonic

• What is a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship?

MSCA Postdoctoral fellowships support the career development of researchers for enhancing their individual competence diversification in terms of skills at multidisciplinary level and intersectoral experience. The MSCA-PF grant provides a competitive salary plus mobility and family allowances if applicable, as well as research, training and networking costs. This call to interest concerns the European Postdoctoral Fellowships (12 to 24 months of duration in Europe + optional placement in private sector in Europe of 6 months). For more information: MSCA-PF.

• Team description

The CEISAM Institute ("Interdisciplinary Chemistry: Synthesis, Analysis, Modelling") encompasses all the research activities carried out in the area of molecular chemistry in Nantes and its surroundings. The CEISAM Institute has 140 members and reaches an annual average of 120 publications, and about twelve PhD Defenses are conducted each year. The CEISAM institute benefits from cutting-edge equipment and associated methodological development. International cooperation has always been a core component of research activities carried out in the CEISAM Institute, which fosters continuous relationships with universities over the five continents.

• Profile of the supervisor

Mireia Rodriguez-Zubiri is a CNRS researcher. For more information :

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mireia-Rodriguez-Zubiri

https://cv.hal.science/mireia-rodriguez-zubiri

• Research project

Fragrances from terpenes: a renewed hydroamination process
Context:
Biological feedstocks are an important sustainable alternative to petrochemicals. Terpenes are widely available renewable substances non-competing with food. They present a very similar structure to unsaturated hydrocarbons from oil and gas. Among them, the β-myrcene, a simple acyclic monoterpene containing isolated and conjugated double bonds without functional groups, represents an interesting model substrate for applying well-known olefin chemistry in catalysis. An interesting case study is the hydroamination of terpenes, a sustainable and economic alternative to the current industrial production of alkylated amines.[1] This transformation affords terpenyl amines as useful precursors for the huge international trade of surfactants, top-selling flavours and fragrances.[2] Nowadays, the atom-efficient hydroamination of β-myrcene has only been implemented in industry by the Takasago Perfumery Company (5000 t/y (-)-menthol), in the presence of Li metal catalyst, affording low TON/TOF (12 h-1).[3] Intense efforts have been devoted to study the transformation of β–myrcene in the presence of transition metal-based homogeneous catalysts containing phosphorous ligands featuring improved catalytic activities. The presence of competing isomerisation and telomerisation side-reactions along with the partial deactivation of the catalyst to inactive black metal, prevented from achieving satisfactory TON/TOF (and operating conditions), and thus to develop an efficient industrial application for this sustainable process.
Objectives:
The aim of this project is to develop an innovative strategy to investigate the hydroamination of terpenes as an alternative to petrochemicals, towards the preparation of fragrances. In order to develop efficient hydroamination[4] processes, the project intends to use industrially feasible catalyst-product separation technologies. Moreover, supercritical fluids which appear as important commercial and industrial reaction media will be applied. Thus, along with classical transition metal based homogeneous catalysts, heterogeneous systems based on covalently anchored transition metal complexes onto original plasmonic nanoparticles (Dr. Clémence Quéffelec) or silica-based materials will be studied. Computational studies will assist to understand the catalytic cycle under homogeneous and heterogeneous conditions of the targeted process. The project will be developed under the supervision of Dr M. Rodriguez-Zubiri and Dr. Clémence Queffélec at the CEISAM Laboratory (Nantes Université, France). International collaborations (Spain, Belgium) are already undergoing for this project.

• What are the eligibility criteria?

Candidates must hold a PhD at the call deadline (11 September 2024) and have 8 years maximum of full-time research experience after the PhD.

“Mobility rule”: candidates must NOT have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in France for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.

Candidates can be from any nationality.

Although not an eligibility criterion, a good track record is recommended.

• What’s in it for me?

1. Selected candidate will have access to online training programme and one-to-one proposal preparation sessions with our experienced European Officers.
2. Selected candidate will have the opportunity to come to Nantes for two days in the beginning of July to meet his supervisor and to start working on the writing of the project. The grant awarded for this stay will cover travel, hotel and subsistence expenses for 2 days and 3 nights (up to 1000€ for the EU countries and up to 2000€ for the non-EU countries). Nantes Université does not cover the visa fees.

• I’m interested. What should I do?

If you are interested and have the required background, apply by sending the application form to the European office (europe.drpi@univ-nantes.fr)

More information on the dedicated webpage

Registration for this scheme does not imply automatic funding. Applications will be examined in the light of the MSCA PF evaluation criteria, both by your potential supervisor and by the experienced European Officers. Selected candidates will be ranked and the short-stay grant will be distributed among them within the limits of the available budget.

You should expect feedback for your application by May 31^st.

• Brief description of Nantes Université

Nantes Université is a higher education and research institution created in 2022. This new institution has adopted a new University model unprecedented in France by bringing together a university, a university hospital (CHU de Nantes), a technology research centre (IRT Jules Verne), a public scientific and technological institute (Inserm) and higher education establishments (Centrale Nantes, École des Beaux-Arts Nantes Saint-Nazaire, École d’Architecture de Nantes).

Nantes Université is a sustainable and committed institution and one of the driving forces behind societal development. With a global and outward-looking culture, it promotes innovativeness and openness: open science, open research, open education, open innovation. Nantes Université has received the HR Excellence in Research Award and is already involved in various European projects, notably MSCA actions.