13 Marie Curie PhD Positions Available in Several European Locations! (23 September 2025)
CHIRALNANOMAT is a multi-disciplinary DN project between 7 laboratories and 6 companies in 8 European countries. The network merges physics, chemistry, and biosciences into a unique combination of advanced synthesis and characterization of chiral metal nanoclusters, as well as their applications in catalysis and biosensing. CHIRALNANOMAT’s innovative approach overcomes the current state-of-the-art through: (A) production of chiral atomically precise metal nanoclusters and their assemblies, (B) extensive characterization of their chiral properties, structure and optical properties; both in solution phase and on solid supports, (C) catalytic and biomedical applications followed by the prototyping of the most promising enantioselective catalysts and bioprobes, and (D) development of new computational tools to study chiroptical, catalytic properties and interface of nanomaterials and biomolecules and integration of computational and experimental studies to understand their functionalities.
CHIRALNANOMAT will train 13 Doctoral Candidates who will become experts in chiral nanomaterials and will be able to answer to the future needs of academic and industrial sectors in Europe. By acquiring skills in chemical synthesis, spectroscopic methods, nonlinear surface optics, surface science imaging and scanning probes, bio-functionalization, bio-imaging, and computational electronic structure and molecular dynamics methods as well as machine learning for modeling, and being exposed to an intersectoral environment (through secondments and network-wide training) they will be competitive in future job markets in critical areas of nanotechnology having impact, among others, on synthesis for production of drugs and fine chemicals and novel biotechnology enabled personalized nanomedicine.
We’re looking for 13 talented and motivated PhD candidates to join an interdisciplinary research program at the crossroads of chemistry, physics, materials science, and computation.
🗓️ PhD recruitment: November 2025
📌 informal contact encouraged now!
📅 PhD starts : April 2026
Who can apply?
✅ Master’s degree by late 2025 / early 2026
✅ Not already holding a PhD
✅ Compliant with Marie Curie mobility rule: must not have resided or worked in the host country for more than 12 months in the past 3 years
📍 Host institutions include:
🇮🇹 CNR, Pisa Alessandro Fortunelli
🇵🇱 Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Joanna Olesiak-Banska, NONAgroup
🇦🇹 TU Wien, Noelia Barrabés Rabanal, ClusCAT Lab nanocluster catalysis research group
🇧🇪 KU Leuven, Ewald Janssens, Thierry Verbiest
🇮🇹 University of Trieste, CNR Pisa, Mauro Stener, Alessandro Fortunelli
🇫🇷 CNRS Lyon, Rodolphe Antoine
🇳🇱 SCM Amsterdam, Sergio Lopez Lopez
🇨🇭 University of Geneva, Thomas Bürgi
📩 Interested? Check out their LinkedIn page for additional information!