Manipulating Porous Matter
Postdoctoral position: Metal-organic clusters for novel porous materials & next-generation lithography
We are looking for a motivated postdoctoral research fellow to combine the following topics:
(i) Synthesis of metal-organic clusters as building blocks for novel porous materials. This part of the work will focus on the synthesis and in-depth characterization of well-defined metal-organic clusters. These clusters will be assembled into novel porous metal-organic materials (e.g., through linker exchange strategies) in close collaboration with a PhD student in our group and several other researchers in a large network project involving 6 Belgian universities. We will mainly investigate clusters that are stable, soluble, and cannot be obtained in situ under typical synthesis conditions of metal-organic frameworks.
(ii) Synthesis of metal-organic clusters for use in next-generation lithography. Starting from our exploratory study using metal-organic frameworks (see https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-020-00827-x), this part of the work will focus on the development of novel resist materials for EUV lithography. This novel type of lithography is deemed to be the future of the semiconductor industry but requires novel materials to reach optimal performance in nanometer-scale patterning. Conventional chemically amplified resists (CARs) that worked well in the past do not provide high-resolution patterning through EUV lithography. This limitation is mainly due to their multi-component chemistry and acid diffusion mechanism. Single-component resist platforms with simple patterning mechanisms will need to be applied for next-generation nanopatterning applications.
In this postdoctoral project, you will be working together with scientists and engineers with complementary expertise in materials synthesis, film deposition, the characterization of porous and crystalline materials, the characterization of novel resist materials for lithography, etc. Part of this project will be carried out in collaboration with imec (https://www.imec-int.com/en), a leading micro- and nanoelectronics research center.
More information can be found here.
We are looking for a candidate willing to tackle a highly interdisciplinary application-oriented project with:
Please consider applying if you have several of the following skills:
Apart from the posted positions, we are always on the lookout for excellent post-docs to apply for a prestigious Marie Curie fellowship together. Only experienced researchers can apply. This means you will have your doctoral degree or at least four years of full-time research experience by the time of the call deadline. Contact us well in advance to propose a topic! More info here and on the Horizon 2020 participant portal.
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Cleanroom Fabrication Of MOF-Functionalized Gas Sensor Arrays With An Impedance Spectroscopy Readout
A metal-organic framework capacitive sensor array as an electronic nose for volatile organic compound detection
Detecting and monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is an important task with applications ranging from disease diagnosis via breath analysis to monitoring exposure to toxic chemicals. However, in all such applications, selectively measuring specific VOCs is challenging due to their low concentrations and the presence of a multitude of interfering compounds. Since current miniature sensors cannot efficiently distinguish between VOCs, there is a need for a novel technology capable of distinguishing a VOC of interest from a complex background.
This RR project will address this challenge by bridging the worlds of porous crystalline materials and sensor technology. For the first time, kinetic selectivity in the nanopores of MOFs will be leveraged to mimic nature’s approach to olfaction and enable selective sensing. You will focus on developing a MOF-based electronic nose integrating a new sensing strategy based on the system’s transient behavior. This application-oriented project includes the characterization of adsorption and diffusion of probe molecules in MOFs, the efficient integration of MOF films in a suitable e-nose architecture, and analyzing their performance towards target atmospheres via multi-component sensing studies and chemometric data analysis. A range of in-situ characterization protocols (gravimetric, optical, and capacitive transduction) combined with advanced in-house-built dosing systems will be used to study the sensing properties and evaluate the e-nose performance.
More information can be found here.
We are looking for a candidate willing to tackle a highly interdisciplinary application-oriented project with:
Please consider applying if you have several of the following skills:
Click here for applying!
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