| Description du poste : |
Understanding structural transformations of inorganic salt hydrates for thermochemical energy storage Key words: Solid-state Chemistry, Material characterization, Physical-Chemistry, X-ray diffraction Context: Thermochemical energy storage stores heat as chemical energy in reversible solid-gas reactions. Inorganic salt hydrates absorb heat on dehydration and release it on rehydration, which makes them candidate materials for heat storage and other solid-state technologies. Their cycling performance is governed by the crystal structures traversed between hydration states, which can differ markedly in unit-cell volume and symmetry. Ex-situ characterization before and after reaction yields only the end members, not the transformation pathway. This internship will follow the transformation in situ to identify which phases form, in what sequence and with what kinetics, and to determine why rehydration can remain incomplete. SrBr₂ hydrates serve as a model system, and the approach extends to other salt hydrates and gas-solid reactions. Objective and Tasks: Review the literature on salt hydrates for thermochemical storage. Run dehydration and rehydration cycles with in situ X-ray diffraction under controlled temperature and humidity. Obtain phase fractions by Rietveld refinement. Relate structure (phases, volume change, intermediates, microstructure) to performance (recovered fraction, rate, cycling stability) and writing report and a short presentation. Expected Skills: This project is primarily experimental and analytical. The candidate is expected to have skills in materials characterization and solid-state chemistry. Interested candidate should be enrolled in Master 2 and enrolled Final year of Materials Science, Chemistry, Physics, engineering or a related field. Prior experience with X-ray Diffraction is a plus but not mandatory. The work will be carried out completely within the laboratory. |
AFC_cristal