Postdoctoral Researcher in Adsorption and Environmental Fate of Water-Soluble Polymers

The Environmental Chemistry Group in the Department of Environmental Systems Sciences at ETH Zurich invites applications for a postdoctoral position investigating the adsorption and environmental fate of synthetic water-soluble polymers. The project will be conducted jointly at ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). Our group has extensive expertise in macromolecular interactions with solid–water interfaces in natural and engineered systems.

Project background

Water-soluble and water-dispersible polymers are widely used in personal care, home care, and agriculture, leading to releases into wastewater treatment systems, soils, and aquatic environments. Adsorption to mineral and organic surfaces can strongly influence their transport, retention, and bioavailability, yet the underlying mechanisms remain insufficiently understood.

The project will investigate the interaction forces driving polymer adsorption, the reversibility of attachment, and the conformations that polymers adopt on surfaces. A central goal is to understand how polymer properties—including functional group chemistry, charge, and molecular weight—combine with surface characteristics and solution conditions to govern adsorption and desorption.

While fundamental in approach, the research will inform environmental fate assessments and regulatory approaches for water-soluble polymers. You will interact with industry partners and regulatory stakeholders to connect mechanistic findings with practical assessment needs.

Job description

You will investigate polymer adsorption onto model mineral and organic surfaces and selected soils, sediments, and sludge, establishing quantitative or semi-quantitative relationships between polymer properties, adsorption, and mobility.

Depending on your expertise and the development of the project, your research will combine:

• Batch adsorption and desorption experiments across a range of polymers, sorbents, and solution conditions
• Column experiments to assess polymer retention and transport under flowing conditions
• In situ surface measurements to investigate adsorbed amounts and polymer conformations
• High-resolution mass spectrometry for selected polymer classes to characterise fractions remaining in solution and investigate selective adsorption

You will contribute to developing research questions and experimental strategies, publish and present your findings, exchange results with project partners, and support Master’s thesis research.

Profile

• You should hold a PhD in surface or interfacial chemistry, colloid science, polymer science, environmental chemistry or sciences, materials science, or a closely related field
• We particularly welcome applicants with experimental experience in adsorption, desorption, attachment, or the characterisation of solid–water interfaces
• This expertise may come from fundamental research or applications in polymer, environmental, or materials science
• Prior experience with the environmental fate of synthetic polymers is not required
• Experience with surface-sensitive analytical techniques, polymer characterisation, batch adsorption experiments, or column transport studies is valuable; you are not expected to have experience with all these approaches
• We seek a curious and motivated researcher who can design and quantitatively interpret experiments, work independently, and collaborate respectfully in an interdisciplinary team
• Good written and spoken English is required
• An interest in connecting fundamental research with industrial and regulatory questions is welcome; prior stakeholder engagement experience is not required

Workplace

Workplace

We offer

We offer access to state-of-the-art analytical facilities, complementary expertise at ETH Zurich and Eawag, and opportunities to develop your research profile. You will join international research groups with English as the common working language. We support professional training and career development.

The workplace is located at ETH Zurich in central Zurich and Eawag in Dübendorf. The position is funded for up to two years with a competitive postdoctoral salary.

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