Job description

Applications are invited for postdoctoral researchers in the Advanced Materials Group (AMG) at the Department of Control Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, to work on the “Ab initio study on photocatalytic activity of van der Waals heterostructures”, under the supervision of Dr. Antonio Cammarata. AMG is a well-established group and consists of dynamic and motivated researchers leading international collaborations on broad interdisciplinary topics.

Low dimensional materials like layered van der Waals heterostructures are promising photocatalysts thanks to their easily tunable optoelectronic properties. The layer binding occurs thanks to the van der Waals forces, allowing the creation of a wide range of heterostructures which can be tailored to meet the prerequisite of a photocatalyst. However, designing an ideal heterostructure is certainly not a simple task because the chosen materials must fulfill some requirements; among others, an important requirement is that the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum must come from dissimilar elements, and the ideal band alignment is type-II. In this respect, the project goal is to design optimal heterostructures for photocatalysis applications. Ab initio molecular dynamic simulations will be employed to check the thermal stability of selected compounds in operative conditions. Static quantum mechanical calculations will be used to characterize the charge transfer, the electronic structure and the optical activity in terms of the chemical composition and the stacking geometry. The intermediate outcomes will guide the creation of further heterostructures possibly containing dopant species which will enhance the optical activity of the parent materials. The research will be carried out thanks to the access to High Performance Computing (HPC) centers.

For further details, the candidate may contact Dr. Antonio Cammarata ([email protected]).

Job requirements

Essential: Successful candidates must have a PhD in Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science or a closely related discipline obtained in 2016 or later. A strong background in solid-state density functional theory is mandatory. Experience in using large-scaling DFT methods represents a great advantage. At least 3 impacted publications as a main author are expected. Excellent oral and written communication skills in English are mandatory.

Desirable: Programming experience in widely-used scientific languages (Fortran, C, C++) together with knowledge of shell scripting in a UNIX environment. perform calculations on Linux-based HPC architectures.

Contract details

The positions will be available initially for two years. Based on performance and follow-up funding, the candidate will be offered an assistant professor position. The salary starts at 65000 CZK (~ 2800 EUR) gross per month with additional benefits, including 6 weeks of paid holidays.

How to apply

The call is open immediately and applications are received until 15.6.2023. The expected starting date is 1.10.2023, but we can also accept later starts. Your application must include a letter of motivation (up to 2 pages), structured CV (up to 4 pages), list of publications, reference contacts, proof of completed PhD and a cover letter (more details at https://international.cvut.cz/jobs-at-ctu/postdoc). Please direct all correspondence to [email protected] and to [email protected]; as email subject, please specify “application for postdoctoral position in ab initio on photocatalysis”.