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Biosourced alditol anhydrides, tunable molecular architectures for a sustainable approach to the uranium


Thesis topic details

General information

Organisation

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.

Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.

The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
  

Reference

SL-DES-25-0044  

Thesis topic details

Category

Condensed Matter Physics, chemistry, nanosciences

Thesis topics

Biosourced alditol anhydrides, tunable molecular architectures for a sustainable approach to the uranium extraction

Contract

Thèse

Job description

Although current applied processes for extracting uranium in sulfuric, phosphoric and nitric media, are efficient enough to justify their large-scale application, they require improvements to increase their efficiency and reduce their environmental impact. This doctoral project aims to improve these performances by focusing on the liquid-liquid extraction stage. This consists of selectively transferring uranium, extracted after crushing, grinding and leaching rocks, to an oil phase containing a lipophilic ligand compatible with the leachate medium. The ambition here is to develop new extractants analogous to trialkylamines (AMEX process), trialkylphosphines and phosphoric diesters (URPHOS process), and trialkylphosphates (refining). The PhD student will synthesize chiral amphiphilic extractants, derived from bicyclic anhydrides of biosourced alditols (isosorbide, isomannide and isoidide). He will evaluate their affinity towards uranium and their selectivity in the presence of competing ions. He will then characterize the molecular and supramolecular mechanisms of these new extractants (coordination, aggregation) using state-of-the-art methods such as UV, IR, multinucleus NMR, X-ray scattering and neutron scattering. The doctoral training will help the PhD student to integrate easily into academic or industrial environments, particularly in the fields of the nuclear fuel cycle, separative chemistry and formulation. Research will take place in the LTSM laboratory of the Institut de Chimie Séparative de Marcoule, renowned for its expertise in the chemistry and physical chemistry of extractants for hydrometallurgy. The PhD student will benefit from high-quality supervision and a collaborative working environment, surrounded by PhD students, post-docs and engineers, in a serene and stimulating setting.

University / doctoral school

Sciences Chimiques Balard (EDSCB)
Montpellier

Thesis topic location

Site

Marcoule

Requester

Position start date

01/10/2025

Person to be contacted by the applicant

Giusti Fabrice fabrice.giusti@cea.fr
CNRS
UMR5257/ICSM
Institut de Chimie Séparative de Marcoule
ICSM UMR 5257 – CEA / CNRS / UM / ENSCM
Site de Marcoule, Bâtiment 426
BP 17171
F-30207 Bagnols sur Cèze Cedex
0466397471

Tutor / Responsible thesis director

PELLET-ROSTAING Stéphane stephane.pellet-rostaing@cea.fr
CNRS
ICSM, UMR CEA/CNRS/UMII/ENSCM 5257
Institut de Chimie Séparative de Marcoule, ICSM/LTSM
Bat 426
30207 Bagnols sur Cèze
04 66 33 93 08

En savoir plus


https://icsm.fr/ltsm.html