Postdoctoral Appointee – Advanced Electrochemical Separations

About the role

The postdoctoral appointee will be part of a multidisciplinary team developing an innovative electrochemical rotating packed bed reactor platform for energy-efficient separation of elements from complex mixtures. Day-to-day responsibilities will include designing and fabricating electrochemical reactor prototypes, conducting electrodeposition experiments in deep eutectic solvent (DES) media, characterizing mass transfer and selectivity under flow conditions, and screening and tuning DES compositions to optimize solubility, speciation, and electrochemical accessibility for target elements. The candidate will work closely with computational modeling collaborators to validate reactor designs and optimize operating parameters.

Responsibilities

• Designing and fabricating electrochemical reactor prototypes
• Conducting electrodeposition experiments in deep eutectic solvent (DES) media
• Characterizing mass transfer and selectivity under flow conditions
• Screwing and tuning DES compositions to optimize solubility, speciation, and electrochemical accessibility for target elements
• Working closely with computational modeling collaborators to validate reactor designs and optimize operating parameters
• Contributing to report preparation, presentation of results at conferences, and production of peer-reviewed publications

Requirements

• PhD in chemical engineering, chemistry, electrochemistry, materials science, or a related field completed in the past five years or soon-to-be completed.
• Knowledge of general principles of electrochemistry, chemical engineering, and chemical technology.
• Knowledge of electrodeposition techniques, including potentiostatic/galvanostatic methods, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.
• Skill in oral and written presentation of ideas, discussion of technical results, and in the development of technical reports and presentations.
• Knowledge of the use of computers to design and control experiments and to analyze and interpret experimental data.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multi-institutional research environment.

Qualifications

• Experience with non-aqueous electrolyte systems such as deep eutectic solvents, ionic liquids, or molten salts.
• Experience formulating, characterizing, and tuning designer solvent systems (e.g., selecting hydrogen bond donor/acceptor combinations to control metal speciation, solubility, and transport properties).
• Experience with physical property measurement of non-aqueous solvents (viscosity, density, conductivity, electrochemical window).
• Familiarity with design, fabrication, or prototyping including 3D printing, SolidWorks, or similar CAD tools.
• Exposure to mass transfer principles in rotating or flow-enhanced electrochemical systems.
• Experience with analytical characterization techniques for deposit analysis.

Skills

• Experience with non-aqueous electrolyte systems such as deep eutectic solvents, ionic liquids, or molten salts.
• Experience formulating, characterizing, and tuning designer solvent systems (e.g., selecting hydrogen bond donor/acceptor combinations to control metal speciation, solubility, and transport properties).
• Experience with physical property measurement of non-aqueous solvents (viscosity, density, conductivity, electrochemical window).
• Familiarity with design, fabrication, or prototyping including 3D printing, SolidWorks, or similar CAD tools.
• Exposure to mass transfer principles in rotating or flow-enhanced electrochemical systems.
• Experience with analytical characterization techniques for deposit analysis.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits are part of the total rewards package. Click here to view Argonne employee benefits!

Pay

The expected hiring range for this position is $72,879.00-$121,465.00. Please note that the pay range information is a general guideline only. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as, but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, business considerations, internal equity, and external market pay for comparable jobs.