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ERC - PhotoFreeze
ERC - PhotoFreeze
PhotoFreeze is a project funded by an ERC Starting Grant granted in 2023 by the European Research Council (Grant N° 101116355). PhotoFreeze is led by Dr. Antoine Goujon and aims at combining the dynamicity and synthetic advantages of dynamic covalent bonds with the robustness and performances of conjugated materials to discover new n-type organic semiconductors. The key of PhotoFreeze is the development of a light-frozen dynamic covalent synthetic methodology that can be applied to a wide variety of π-extended 1/2/3D structures.
Summary
Designing the materials of tomorrow requires the development of conceptually new synthetic methodologies. Creating large conjugated molecular scaffolds often requires many synthetic steps, hindering their exploration and the discovery of new organic semiconductors. PhotoFreeze is a synthetic methodology that combines the best features of dynamic covalent chemistry and conventional covalent synthesis. With this novel chemical approach, a wide range of new functional materials will be developed, namely underrepresented electron-poor organic semiconductors, studied for their important optoelectronic properties. These materials have become essential to the development of organic electronic devices such as Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), Organic Solar Cells (OSCs) or Organic Field Effect Transistors (OFETs) among others and are also essential in biomedical/bioelectronics applications.
The key concept of PhotoFreeze is that a complex dynamic covalent library of nanographene-based polyimines in exchange can be quickly and irreversibly “frozen” by visible-light irradiation via photocyclization. Such reaction retains and even strengthens the electronic conjugation between the starting materials. This method holds a great promise in the development of a wide variety of imide-based complex conjugated molecular architectures. By varying the reactants stoichiometry, composition, geometry and reaction conditions, a specific target molecule can be prepared in a one pot-sequence. The proposed materials hold a great promise for novel high performances organic electronics and will be integrated into relevant devices, guiding the design of future n-type organic semiconductors.
We are hiring!
Open positions are available for PhDs, Postdocs, a temporary Assistant Professor (teaching in French) and a lab technician.
All details regarding these positions, the requirements and guidelines for application can be found in the link below:
The Team
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Dr. Antoine Goujon – Principal Investigator | |
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Antoine Goujon received his PhD in organic chemistry in 2016 from the University of Strasbourg (France) under the supervision of Prof. Nicolas Giuseppone. His thesis was focussed on the macroscopic amplification of collective motions of nanoscopic molecular machines. In 2017 he joined the group of Prof. Stefan Matile in Geneva (Switzerland) where he worked on the development of mechanosensitive fluorescent probes for cell membrane tension sensing and imaging. This work has led to the co-invention of three organelle-selective probes now commercially available. He was appointed Maître de Conferences (Associate Professor) in 2019 at the University of Angers in the MOLTECH-Anjou laboratory (S2OMaF Team) to develop new n-type organic semiconductors. He was distinguished as “Rising Star” by the Région Pays-de-la-Loire in 2021 and was awarded an ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche) JCJC funding the same year. He was awarded the Marc Julia “Emergent Scientist” 2023 price from the Organic Chemistry Division of the French Chemical Society. Antoine now develops dynamic light-driven synthetic methodologies to control the growth of semiconducting conjugated polymers and n-type nanographenes and nanoribbons. |
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Dr. Arthur H. G. David (Postdoctoral Researcher – “Etoile Montante” CURVY) | |
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Arthur was born and grew up in Vannes, France. He received his B.Sc. (2014) and M.Sc. (2016) degrees from the University of Rennes 1, France. As an undergraduate student, he carried out two internships working on the synthesis of mechanically interlocked molecules: the first with Dr Victor Blanco at the University of Granada, Spain (2015) and the second with Dr Nicholas G. White at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia (2016). In October 2016, he returned to Granada to start his PhD under the supervision of Dr Victor Blanco and Dr Araceli G. Campaña working on the synthesis and application of rotaxanes based on vinyl sulfonyl click chemistry and the study of their chiroptical properties, as well as the supramolecular chemistry of saddle-shaped nanographenes. During his PhD, he spent three months working with Prof David A. Leigh at the University of Manchester, UK. After the completion of his PhD, he joined the group of Prof J. Fraser Stoddart as a postdoctoral fellow to explore the photophysical properties of highly charged cyclophanes, catenanes, pumps and materials. Arthur is currently a postdoctoral researcher working on the visible-light driven synthesis of electron poor nanographenes. |
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Dr. Elarbi Chartir (Postdoctoral Researcher – ANR PhotoSynth) | |
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Elarbi was born and raised in Ait Melloul, Morocco. In 2016, he earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Ibn Zohr University in Agadir (Morocco). He later moved to Grenoble, where he obtained another bachelor's degree in chemistry in 2017 and a master's degree in Organic Synthesis for Pharmaceutical and Agrochemical Industries in 2019 from Grenoble Alpes University. In October 2019, he start his Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Saioa Cobo at the University of Grenoble Alpes. His research focuses on the development and study of photo and electro-switchable molecular materials based on dithienylethene derivatives. Elarbi is currently a postdoctoral researcher in S2OMaF group and works on the visible light driven synthesis of semiconducting polymers with Antoine Goujon (ANR PhotoSynth). |
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Publications
Coming Soon
Contact
Dr. Antoine Goujon – Maître de Conférences (Associate Professor)
antoine.goujon@univ-angers.fr
+33 (0)2 41 73 50 99
Twitter/X : @antoinegoujon1
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S2OMaF Team
