Postdoctoral position (M/F) in the structural characterisation of a conductive polymer

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the molecular-scale structural characterisation of a polymer complex (PEDOT:PSS), the structure of which remains a subject of considerable debate within the global scientific community. The aim will be to transfer and adapt the approaches developed in structural biology for the reconstruction of cryo-TEM structures to the field of chemistry. The project is funded by the CNRS Chemistry Division. The aim of this research project is to develop a quasi-atomic-scale 3D model of PEDOT:PSS fibres (a pi-conjugated, semiconducting polymer) dispersed in water. This polymer complex is a benchmark in numerous fields of energy (photovoltaics, thermoelectricity, sensors, etc.), bioelectronics and biomedicine, in both industrial and academic contexts. The approach used to reveal the structure combines (1) high-resolution cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and (2) image analysis using software such as RELION or cryoSPARC. This methodology has already been widely used in structural biology but has not yet been applied sufficiently to polymers. Our aim is therefore to apply the same approaches to PEDOT:PSS. Using high-resolution cryo-TEM datasets, we will analyse the structures present in the micrographs and select features based on their morphology. A step to optimise the image processing parameters, which will help to obtain average 2D cl