Interfaces, Containment, Materials and Nanostructures (ICMN)

The activities of the ICMN  focus on the study of materials and divided matter, including structured nanomaterials, nanoparticles, porous media (certain carbons and clay media), confined or self-assembled complex fluids, colloidal suspensions, polymers, biomaterials, etc.

The ICMN is at the heart of a multiscale physico-chemical approach that tackles and exploits the intermediate scales of matter, between the nanometre and the millimetre, using both experimental tools for synthesis/transformation, laboratory characterisation, Synchrotron, and numerical tools (Monte Carlo, molecular and Brownian dynamics).

The ICMN's recognised skills and expertise in the study of divided matter range from fundamental issues (structure, porous texture, organisation, functionalities, thermodynamics, temporal evolution, dynamic and mechanical properties) to potential applications (photovoltaics, water purification and environmental protection, cosmetics, health, nanotechnologies).

Research topics:

Nanostructured and confined systems

• Identification of the possible effects of reducing the size and/or dimensionality of heterogeneous nanostructured and confined systems on the dynamic, thermodynamic or self-assembling properties of matter.
• The approach, which is both experimental and numerical, highlights the predominant role of interfaces and confinement, which locally create extreme conditions that give rise to new states of matter.

Three topics are addressed:

• Thermodynamics and structure of nanoalloys and confined fluids (transitions, size effects, composition, kinetics, etc.)
• Dynamics of complex systems: pore networks, ionic liquids, gels, suspensions, etc.
• Role of dimensionality on nanometric self-assembly of self-assembled systems: copolymers, colloidal systems, etc.

Functional carbons - Environment - Biomaterials

• Design and development of functionalized nano-textured carbon materials.
• The fundamental approach is to understandthe mechanisms governing the functionalisation of carbons in order to control the surface properties of these materials and to studyand simulate their properties, in particular their adsorption properties. Expertise ranges from the synthesis/transformation/characterisation/study of the desired properties of materials, to their implementation and integration into devices or processes.

Activities are structured around two themes:

• Environment: elimination and detection of micro pollutants in aqueous media
  • Processes based on activated carbons, enabling in situ regeneration of adsorbent materials.
  • Study of adsorption/desorption of emerging pollutants on electrochemically activated carbon fibre fabrics and ozonation/activated carbon coupling.
  • Chemical sensors based on functionalized carbon electrodes for in situ applications.
• Hybrid biomaterials: development of hybrid biomaterials based on activated carbon fibre fabrics coated with calcium phosphates. Study of the influence of the characteristics of the carbon fabric and the coating on cell growth and bioactivity.

Experimental resources:

microscopes (TEM, AFM, optical), X-ray diffractometers, SAXS-GISAXS, ultra-high vacuum deposition and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, FTIR and UV-Vis spectrometers, potentiostats/ galvanostats, impedance meter, profilometer, gas adsorption (N2, CO2), thermal analysis/mass spectrometry (TPD), high-temperature furnaces under controlled atmosphere, liquid chromatography, elemental analyser, computer workstations, rheometer, zetameter.