WISELY - NeW chemIstries for the deSign of rEcyclable poLYmers

PRISM programme

The PRISM (PhD Research Programme for International Training in Sustainable Soft Matter) programme has launched its first call for applications, offering up to 14 fully funded PhD fellowships starting from 1 March 2027 at Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) University. The programme trains researchers to address ecological transition challenges through sustainable soft matter science, with projects focused on eco-friendly chemical processes, circular economy, renewable energies, and carbon capture, storage, and valorisation. Co-funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe MSCA COFUND (Grant Agreement 101261637) and partner institutions, PRISM provides interdisciplinary, international, and intersectoral training, including mobility opportunities, secondments, and courses in sustainability, innovation, entrepreneurship, career development, and transferable skills.

Applications must be submitted via the PRISM website by 31 October 2026 (23:59 Paris time).                                                                    

The PhD project

The C3M laboratory is internationally recognized for its expertise in designing, synthesizing, and studying recyclable and/or self-healing materials. [1-4] Recently, the laboratory developed new additives that enable the recycling and upcycling of polyolefins and their blends, including post-consumer waste, through reactive processing. [5,6] The additives are triazine azides that decompose to form triplet nitrenes at typical polymer processing temperatures. These nitrenes can graft onto organic polymers, such as polyolefins and polyesters, and also oligomerize to form mechanically reversible polyazane crosslinking sites.[5] This allows for the creation of polymers with new properties, such as high-temperature creep resistance and adhesion between incompatible polymers, as well as improved properties, such as increased ductility and mechanical strength in polyolefin blends.

Through the "New Chemistries for the Design of Recyclable Polymers" (WISELY) project, we aim to develop new mechanically reversible chemical groups that will make thermoplastics, thermosets, and plastic blends more recyclable and easier to process.

The project WISELY will focus in a first stage on synthesizing and characterizing (using 1H, 13C, 15N, and 2D NMR, as well as mass spectrometry, among other techniques) new functional groups that incorporate mechanically reversible chemical bonds.

These new links will then be incorporated into various polymer matrices (thermoplastics and thermosets) during polymer synthesis or through reactive processing of commercial polymers. Various types of polymer matrices (polyesters, polyolefins, polyurethanes, polystyrene, poly(meth)acrylates, etc.) will be tested. The physicochemical, thermomechanical, and tensile properties of these new materials will be studied in detail, notably using TGA, DSC, SEC, DMA, TEM, SEM, and tensile testing. The processability and recyclability of these materials will also be investigated. In particular, the linear and non-linear rheology of the materials will be thoroughly investigated in collaboration with the group of Prof. Evelyne van Ruymbeke at the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) in Belgium. Research secondments will be conducted in the group of Prof. van Ruymbeke at UCLouvain for this purpose.

The project WISELY is expected to result in the publication of articles in leading scientific journals, oral presentations at national and international conferences, and potentially patent applications. Based on the results, industrial collaborations may be established to test these new chemistries in various application areas, such as construction, transportation, and adhesives.

References:

1. Cordier, P. et al., Self-healing and thermoreversible rubber from supramolecular assembly. Nature 2008, 451, 977. DOI: 10.1038/nature06669

2. Montarnal, D. et al., Silica-Like Malleable Materials from Permanent Organic Networks. Science 2011, 334, 965. DOI: 10.1126/science.1212648

3. Röttger, M. et al., High-performance vitrimers from commodity thermoplastics through dioxaborolane metathesis. Science 2017, 356, 62. DOI: 10.1126/science.aah5281

4. Van Zee, N. J., Nicolaÿ, R., Vitrimers: Permanently crosslinked polymers with dynamic network topology. Prog. Polym. Sci. 2020, 104, 101233. DOI: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2020.101233

5. Vialon, T. et al., Upcycling Polyolefin Blends into High-Performance Materials by Exploiting Azidotriazine Chemistry Using Reactive Extrusion. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 2673. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c12303

6. Sun, H. et al., Reactive Processing of Polyethylene with Azidotriazine: From Modified Thermoplastics to Injection Moldable Covalent Adaptable Networks. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2025, 7, 2123. DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.4c04096

3i dimensions

INTERNATIONAL: The project will be carried out in collaboration with Prof. Evelyne van Ruymbeke at the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) in Belgium. The linear and non-linear rheology of the materials will be thoroughly investigated in collaboration with Prof. van Ruymbeke, a recognized expert of polymer rheology. For this purpose, research secondments, for a duration of at least one month, will be conducted in the group of Prof. van Ruymbeke at UCLouvain. The project WISELY will also benefit from the existing collaborations of the C3M laboratory and of Prof. van Ruymbeke with numerous European academic groups and industrial partners specializing in the physical chemistry, modeling and processing of polymer materials and dynamic covalent networks.  These collaborations are through the Doctoral Network ReBond (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01, REA Grant Agreement No. 101119786; https://www.rebondproject.eu/).

INTERSECTORAL: The C3M laboratory has a long history of industrial collaborations resulting from its fundamental research and the intellectual property generated by this activity. The research underpinning the WISELY project (DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c12303 ; DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.4c04096) has been the subject of a patent application and has led to the establishment of several ongoing collaborations with industrial partners in the automotive and construction sectors. We hope and expect that the research resulting from the WISELY project will also lead to patent applications and, subsequently, to the establishment of industrial collaborations.

INTERDISCIPLINARY: The WISELY project is inherently interdisciplinary. It involves molecular and macromolecular organic synthesis, as well as the advanced chemical, physical, and mechanical characterization of polymer materials and polymer processing engineering.

Salary

The PRISM programme offers a competitive salary above the national average for PhD candidates in France to attract and support excellent researchers.

Doctoral candidates will receive an approximate net monthly salary of €2,200, with additional family and mobility allowances available for eligible fellows.

The salary is subject to French income tax, with the exception of the family and mobility allowances. Depending on the candidate's individual tax situation, income tax may represent approximately 2–5% of the net salary and is levied by the French tax authorities independently of the employer.

To ensure consistent management and equal employment conditions across the programme, all PRISM doctoral candidates will be employed by ESPCI Paris, regardless of the host laboratory where their research is carried out.

Employer’s benefits

Remote working opportunities, access to sports and leisure activities, free access to public Paris city council’s swimming pools, access to CROUS canteen, scientific campus in central Paris, professional development programs, well-being workshops, social benefits through CNAS, partial health insurance support, and 75% support for sustainable mobility.

Name of the school of PSL

ESPCI - PSL (Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris)

Research Unit

Laboratoire Chimie Moléculaire, Macromoléculaire, Matériaux (UMR7167, C3M)

The C3M unit develops and exploits synthetic chemistry at all scales, from molecules to materials. The unit is organized into three complementary teams, creating a continuum of well-identified and recognized expertise in molecular and macromolecular synthesis, and in the physical chemistry of soft matter. The research topics developed in the unit and the methodologies implemented reflect the broad spectrum of skills and expertise of its members. Nevertheless, they can be grouped according to generic themes, revealing thematic coherence and the possibility of synergies.

• Exploring molecular diversity: strained cycles, development of exchangeable reactions
• Sustainable chemistry: catalysis with naturally abundant metals, enzymatic catalysis, photocatalysis, continuous flow chemistry, solvent-free syntheses, reactive extrusion.
• Materials using dynamic covalent chemistry.
• Architectural systems for medicine, robotics and polymer materials.
• Formulation of functional colloidal gels and glasses.

Supervision

Supervisor: Renaud Nicolaÿ renaud.nicolay@espci.psl.eu

Co-supervisor: Nathan Van Zee nathan.van-zee@espci.psl.eu

Candidates are encouraged to contact the project supervisors to discuss the proposed research topics before applying. All projects are open PhD projects, meaning that the research plan will be further developed collaboratively by the selected doctoral candidate and the supervisors.

The candidate must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent in molecular chemistry and/or polymer chemistry, and be interested in conducting research at the intersection of molecular chemistry and polymer materials science. Practical experience in academic laboratories focusing on molecular or polymer chemistry will be a significant asset. The candidate should be passionate about science, interested in interdisciplinary research, and eager to discover and learn numerous characterization techniques.