Nanocellulose ionic membranes for blue energy

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Contexte

Blue energy is a renewable and nonintermittent energy source originating from salinity gradients between fresh (river) and salty water (sea, brine), whose potential (1 TW) largely exceeds hydroelectricity, for instance. It can be converted to electricity by reverse electrodialysis, a technology relying on the employment of anionic and cationic membranes.1 Membranes currently available are nonrenewable and exhibit low performances to harvest blue energy due to their poor nanostructure and the impossibility of tuning the membrane critical parameters (ionic content and spatial distribution, pore size). In order to overcome those issues, we propose a new membrane design based on the use of nanocellulose, which will provide a biosourced nanostructured scaffold once hydrated,2 further associated with grafted polyelectrolytes,3 which can bring the ionic transport properties. The purpose of the thesis is to establish the full potential of such an approach.

 

[1] Jang, J., Kang, Y., Han, J. H., Jang, K., Kim, C. M., & Kim, I. S. (2020). Developments and future prospects of reverse electrodialysis for
salinity gradient power generation: Influence of ion exchange membranes and electrodes. Desalination, 491, 114540.
[2] Nicolas, M., Serghei, A., Lucas, C., Beyou, E., & Fumagalli, M. (2023). Grafting of polyamines onto periodate oxidized nanocellulose,
and its application to the fabrication of ionic nanopapers. Polymer, 270, 125760.
[3] Nicolas, M., Beyou, E., & Fumagalli, M. (2021). Two-step synthesis of polystyrene sulfonate-based copolymers bearing pendant
primary amines. European Polymer Journal, 152, 110455.

Objectifs

  • to investigate the chemistry and processing to graft reactive polyelectrolytes onto the nanocellulose surface and subsequently obtain ionic membranes.
  • to establish the relationship between the nanocellulose ionic membrane composition and nanostructure and its ability to harvest blue energy.

Méthodologie

Membrane grafting chemistry (titration, FTIR, solid-state NMR), membrane nanostructure characterization (swelling coefficient, electron microscopy, small angle scattering on large-scale instruments), membrane performance to harvest blue energy (in collaboration with Sweetch Energy a start-up pioneer in the field of blue energy). Polyelectrolytes will be provided by the IMP lab @ Lyon.

Profil du candidat

We are looking for a highly motivated physical chemist with a degree in chemistry or in material science. A background in biosourced materials and polymer chemistry will be appreciated. The candidate should have a good command of English and be willing to engage in an interdisciplinary project.

Personnes à contacter

The PhD thesis should start on October 1st 2025. It will be carried out in the Structure and Properties of Glycomaterials research team at Cermav (www.cermav.cnrs.fr) in collaboration with partners from the ANR Cellosmo project (IMP and Symmes labs, Sweetch Energy start-up).

To apply, please send your CV, a motivation letter, your Master 1 and Master 2 transcripts and the contact of at least one reference person to

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