FPU2025 - Responsive Photonic Materials: Design, Characterization and Applications

The doctoral candidate will join the SCOMOPORES project at ICMM-CSIC, focusing on the development and characterization of self-assembled photonic materials with stimuli-responsive optical properties. The experimental work encompasses three main areas: (1) Fabrication of photonic materials with controlled disorder, including ceramic and polymeric photonic crystals and responsive microgel systems; (2) Advanced structural characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 3D confocal microscopy with novel acquisition methodologies, and optical spectroscopy techniques; (3) Computational simulation of optical properties through FDTD (Finite-Difference Time-Domain) methods to correlate spatial configurations with optical responses. The research aims to establish fundamental connections between structural order—including different types of disorder (point defects, positional, compositional)—and optical characteristics in photonic systems. This knowledge will enable the design of materials that modify their optical response to external stimuli such as temperature, pH, glucose, light, and bacteria. Applications target chemical and biological sensors, biomedical scaffolds for tissue engineering, and drug delivery platforms. The work involves close collaboration with research groups at CINN (Asturias) and Universidad de Alcalá, combining expertise in physics, chemistry, materials science, and biotechnology.