PhD student in physical chemistry of biobased materials: "development of biobased materials for...

The thesis work will be performed at the Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolécules Végétales (CERMAV, UPR CNRS 5301) located on the university campus of Grenoble in the Glycomaterials team, which has an international recognition in the field of bio-based materials. The research works will be carried out within the framework of an ANR project and will be the subject of close collaboration with the Polymer Materials Engineering Laboratory (IMP, Lyon), which specializes in the chemical modification of polymers, and the Centre Technique du Papier (CTP, Grenoble), which has strong expertise in materials for packaging.

The development of low environmental impact packaging meets a strong societal demand because of its major impact on ecosystems and generates intense industrial innovation. In this context, cellulosic fiber-based substrates (paper, cardboard) play an increasing role but are limited by poor performance under high temperature or humidity conditions. The objective of the thesis will be to design multifunctional coatings that provide these cellulosic substrates with good barrier properties to liquids and gases irrespective of temperature and humidity conditions while respecting durability and recyclability criteria. The chosen strategy will consist in chemically modifying cellulose microfibrils by an innovative method of green chemistry in order to modulate in a controlled way their physicochemical properties and to deposit them in the form of a thin film on the cellulosic substrates to obtain the desired properties. It is thus a multidisciplinary and multi-scale project combining aspects of heterogeneous chemistry and physicochemistry of biosourced colloids and integrating the evaluation of the final barrier properties. Particular attention will be paid to the detailed characterization of the chemical modifications performed and the adhesion and filmification properties. The studies will benefit from access to state-of-the-art experimental techniques (solid state NMR, electron microscopies, quartz crystal microbalance, etc.) and will be based on recent proofs of concepts and innovations.