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Immobilization of molecular catalysts for CO2 conversion


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-DRT-26-0840  

Direction

DRF

Thesis topic details

Category

Condensed Matter Physics, chemistry, nanosciences

Thesis topics

Immobilization of molecular catalysts for CO2 conversion

Contract

Thèse

Job description

Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, is also an abundant carbon resource that can be converted into value-added chemicals. Although CO2 reduction using hydrogen is a conventional approach, it remains energy-intensive due to the high dissociation energy of the H–H bond. An alternative strategy relies on the use of inorganic hydrides, such as hydrosilanes and hydroboranes, whose Si–H and B–H bonds are more readily activated. These compounds enable CO2 reduction under milder conditions through a homogeneous catalytic hydrosilylation step. To establish a sustainable cycle, the hydrides are regenerated electrochemically from silyl chlorides. With the aim of large-scale implementation and continuous operation, this PhD project focuses on the immobilization of molecular catalysts onto conductive surfaces. The objective is to functionalize these catalysts with anchoring groups in order to optimize their activity and increase the density of active sites. Various chemical and electrochemical strategies will be investigated. The modified catalysts will be grafted onto conductive supports and characterized using physicochemical and electrochemical techniques. Finally, the performance of the immobilized systems will be evaluated in terms of activity, selectivity, and stability, and compared with that of their homogeneous counterparts to identify the most efficient architectures for CO2 valorization.

University / doctoral school


Thesis topic location

Site

Saclay

Requester

Position start date

01/10/2026

Person to be contacted by the applicant

FRANCOIS Mélanie melanie.francois@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRAMIS/NIMBE/LICSEN
CEA Saclay – Bâtiment 125 – P232
91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette Cedex - France

0169089083

Tutor / Responsible thesis director

JOUSSELME Bruno bruno.jousselme@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRAMIS/NIMBE/LICSEN
IRAMIS/NIMBE/LICSEN
Bât.466, p.14.
91191 Gif sur Yvette
0169 08 91 91

En savoir plus


https://iramis.cea.fr/nimbe/licsen/