Career

Studentische/wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft (m/w/d), Studiengang Chemie, für die Bestandsaufnahme und Zusammenfassung von Daten zu Studierendenzahlen im Fach Chemie

Um die Studiengänge Chemie auch zukünftig hochattraktiv zu gestalten, wollen die Verantwortlichen der Chemie-Studiengänge an den Standorten Karlsruhe, Stuttgart und Freiburg sich inhaltlich austauschen. Dieser Austausch soll langfristig zu Synergien bei der Studienorganisation, einer erhöhten Durchlässigkeit für die Studierenden sowie zu gemeinsamen Veranstaltungsformaten führen. Um hier zu einem Ergebnis zu gelangen, bedarf es zunächst einer Bestandaufnahme
des Status quo. Für diese Aufgabe suchen wir eine studentische Hilfskraft (möglichst mit Bachelorabschluss) zur Vorbereitung und Dokumentation von Treffen der verwandten Standorte Karlsruhe, Stuttgart und Freiburg für bis zu 4 Monate, 20 h/Monat, im Zeitraum September bis einschl. Dezember 2024).

Properties of polymer material are mostly defined by its primary structure. However, polyurethane has been typically produced with only rough structural control, which could limit its potential, although it is one of the most popular industrial materials in the world. To overcome this problem, this project aims to establish an original synthetic methodology of polyurethane based on new monomer synthesis in order to achieve programmable polymer design, which also contributes to sustainable chemical production by degradable and/or bio-based material development.

In a time of resource shortage, it is crucial to seize every possible source, especially for in regards of metals and rare earth metals since they are existential for most communication, mobility and manufacturing infrastructure. However, tapping new sources besides commercial mining methods requires innovative methods that are yet to be developed. Ground water, ocean water and even waste water hold great potential as sources for metals, therefore this project deals with the development of new chemistries and their application in functional materials for the filtration of metal ions from water.

Sulfur is one of the most abundant by-product in chemical industry with only limited applications such as production of sulfuric acid. In recent years it was shown that elemental sulfur holds great potential in polymer and materials science with the development of inverse vulcanization, opening up a new class of materials need to explored. Sulfur also shows promising results in applications for energy storage, either in the electrode or in the electrolyte materials. In this project new methods for the application and incorporation of sulfur in polymerization techniques, materials synthesis and its application will be explored.

Conventional controlled polymerization techniques such as RAFT and ATRP allow a wide range of functional monomers to be polymerized, yet the maximum molecular weight that can be achieved is limited. On the other hand, ionic polymerization allows ultra-high molecular weights (UHMW) but has a low tolerance towards functional groups. In this project, advanced polymerization techniques are applied to synthesize new functional UHMW copolymers, including their post polymerization functionalization, characterization and evaluation of potential applications e.g. for electrospinning/jetting and 3D printing.

3D printing revolutionizes manufacturing and research by enabling the rapid fabrication of complex structures and materials with unprecedented precision. It facilitates prototyping, reducing development timelines and costs, while also enabling customization at scales previously unattainable. Furthermore, it fosters innovation across disciplines like biology, polymer chemistry and materials science for example for the development of medical implants, micro-structured cell environments or printed reactor systems. In this project new functional printable monomeric building blocks will be synthesized for the development of 3D printed gradient structures and porous materials. This is a collaborative project between the ITCP and the IOC.

3D printed milli-scale reaction vessels offer scientists the freedom to design reactors using low-cost materials with a quick production turn-around. An initial design to a functional reactor is completed within a few hours and chemical reactions using the device can be completed on the same day. With our flow set-up we want to build an autonomous system that offers the possibility to perform reactions in 3D printed flu-idic reactors. In this project (in collaboration with the University of Leeds) a solution for the control of the individual system modules and their visual representation is to be developed. Additionally, an algorithm needs to be developed in order to optimize the reaction parameters to drive the polymerization/post-functionalization process to the desired product such as maximum conversion or a specific molecular weight. Input parameters are received from coupled online size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR ).

Compressed air is often used in hospitals for medical applications and laboratories, but can be contaminated with oils from compressors and pumps. To clean the air stream, highly oleophobic membranes are utilized to filter out oil droplets. State-of-the-art glass fiber membranes achieve good oil separation, however they are limited in their chemical structure as well as responsive behavior e.g. towards temperature change, light irradiation or specific gas streams. Electro spun polymer fibers present a huge platform that allows easy chemical modification and therefore adaption for a wide range of different separation systems (gas/liquid, gas/gas, liquid/liquid, and so on). In this project new membrane materials for gas/liquid separation are developed in a collaboration between the Soft Matter Lab at Campus North and ITCP as well as MVM at Campus South.

The transition from laboratory-scale chemistry to industrial production is fraught with many challenges related to chemistry, engineering, safety, economics, and environmental considerations. In large batches reaction rates, heat and mass transfer as well as mixing of the reaction medium behave differently, therefore a successful scale-up requires a multidisciplinary approach, involving chemists, engineers, and process experts to design reaction schemes and suitable reactor layouts. In this interdisciplinary project, a reactor system is developed to scale-up modern polymerizations.

Master Project 1 (Chemical engineer/technical chemist): Development of a suitable reactor system for large-scale chemical syntheses.
In the first part of this project, the reaction behavior is investigated through computer simulations and theoretical considerations with the support of experimental data. From this, a suitable reactor system as well as reaction conditions will be developed, including the construction and optimization of a first prototype.

Master Project 2 (Chemist): Investigation of kinetics of model reactions in confined geometries.
In the second part of this project, respective polymerization reactions are investigated on the lab-scale to analyze the kinetic behavior as well as heat and mass transfer effects. Further, suitable monomers and monomer combinations (also from renewable sources) will be investigated, including the optimization of the respective reaction conditions.