From Waste Biomass to Furanic Monomers & Photopolymerized Thermosets

The internship will be conducted at the PBS Laboratory (Polymères, Biopolymères, Surfaces UMR CNRS 6270), within a multidisciplinary research environment combining polymer chemistry, bio-based materials and advanced material characterization. The student will have access to complementary expertise spanning molecular synthesis, photopolymerization and thermoset characterization. The internship will be located within INSA Rouen. Thereby access to INSA Rouen’s infrastructures will be possible (cafeteria, sport association, …)

Acrylate-functional monomers and oligomers are widely used in UV-curable coatings, inks, adhesives and additive manufacturing (DLP, SLA) thanks to their rapid free-radical photopolymerization. To this day, most conventional systems still rely heavily on fossil-derived molecular building blocks.
Furanic compounds obtained from renewable waste biomass offer an attractive alternative. Indeed, their rigid heterocyclic structure provides a versatile platform for designing high-performance photoreactive monomers. However, the relationships between molecular features, polymerization behavior and the properties of the resulting thermoset remain crucial design questions for these furanic systems.
The objective of the internship is to investigate structure-property relationships through an integrated approach combining the synthesis, photopolymerization and material characterization of bio-based furanic acrylates.

We are looking for a Master 2 or final-year engineering student with a background in polymer science, materials chemistry and/or organic chemistry. The candidate should be motivated by experimental research and interested in polymer chemistry and bio-based materials.
Previous laboratory experience in organic synthesis and/or polymer characterization would be advantageous. Familiarity with spectroscopic techniques such as NMR and FTIR, or with thermal and mechanical analysis of polymers, would be an asset.
The candidate should demonstrate scientific curiosity, rigor, autonomy and an ability to work collaboratively within a research team. Ability to read and write scientific English is expected.

The student will receive hands-on training in the following activities:
• Knowledge of renewable-feedstock and furanic value chain
• Organic synthesis of furan-derived acrylate monomers
• Structural characterization (NMR, FTIR, …)
• Formulation of monomers and photopolymerization
• Monitoring of curing using photo-DSC and photo-FTIR
• Structural, thermal and mechanical characterization of cured networks (FTIR, DSC, DMA, tensile, gel content, hardness, …)
• Structure-property relationships
• SLA/DLP trials on selected formulations
• Data acquisition, analysis, presentation and scientific writing