Presentation:
A better understanding of the construction mechanisms and structures found in natural materials serves as inspiration for creating new materials and systems. Methods for developing inorganic or hybrid nanomaterials based on “Soft Chemistry” involve broad “mineral polymerization” reactions and take place at room temperature. Through this type of approach, it is possible to simultaneously generate both organic or biological and mineral components within the same material, resulting in true organo-mineral hybrids or nano-composites. Combining the properties of certain organic or biological molecules with those of mineral compounds into a single material has become an achievable goal.
These cross-disciplinary approaches, in which molecular engineering and ingenious processes are synergistically combined, encompass biomimetic and bio-inspired synthesis strategies that allow chemists to develop complex systems of varied forms with precise control over size, composition, functionality, and morphology at every scale. The creation of hybrid hierarchical architectures involves cross-disciplinary synthesis methods and illustrates the central role of “Chemistry” in the field of advanced materials. It is in this context that the new field of investigation concerning bio-inspired inorganic or hybrid materials is developing, at the intersection of chemistry in all its forms, physics, biology, and materials science.
Three academic examples illustrating the analogies between natural and synthetic materials will be presented. In terms of applications, some organo-mineral hybrids and nano-composites are currently at the development or prototype stage, while others are already commercially available.
Prof. Clément Sanchez
Clément Sanchez is Emeritus Professor at the Collège de France, holder of the Chair in “Chemistry of Hybrid Materials,” and Professor at the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study (USIAS). He served as Director of the Laboratory of Chemistry of Condensed Matter in Paris (UMR 7574, Université Pierre et Marie Curie – Collège de France – CNRS) from 1999 to 2013. He spent a large part of his career at CNRS as a Research Director and also served as a Professor at École Polytechnique for 12 years. He obtained an engineering degree from the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris in 1978 and a doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Paris VI in 1981. He completed postdoctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley, and currently conducts research at UMR7574 in Paris and at USIAS in Strasbourg.
He specializes in the nanochemistry of porous and non-porous gels based on transition metal oxides, and of porous and non-porous hybrid organic-inorganic materials in the form of monoliths, microspheres, and films. He has established a new school of thought in materials chemistry and opened a new disciplinary field with both fundamental and technological impact. He was the first to develop functional inorganic-organic hybrid materials synthesized by “soft chemistry” combined with environmentally friendly processing methods.
He has successfully transferred a large number of his fundamental concepts into applied technologies in the fields of adsorption, optics, catalysis, protection, waste recycling, smart coatings, sensors, membranes, cosmetics, and more.
He has also scientifically organized numerous national and international meetings in the fields of soft chemistry, hybrid materials, and related biological aspects. He has received many national and international awards, including: the CNRS Silver Medal, the Gay-Lussac-Humboldt Prize, the P. Süe Prize of the French Chemical Society, the French Petroleum Institute Prize of the Academy of Sciences, the François Sommer “Man and Nature” Prize, the Eni “Environmental Protection” Prize, and the Blaise Pascal Chemistry Medal of the European Academy of Sciences.
He is a member of several academies, including the French Academy of Sciences, the European Academy of Sciences, the French Academy of Technologies, and the World Academy of Ceramics. For a more complete CV, please visit:
http://www.college-de-france.fr/site/en-clement-sanchez/biography.htm
