sophiecarenco

August 31, 2024: Article about Cobalt and Nickel Phosphides for Catalysis

Our latest work from the ERC NanoFLP research program is out. Here we developped a large-scale robust synthesis of Co₂P and Ni₂P nanoparticles based on the commercial phosphine HETAP. We also showed that addition of a well-selected second phosphine was able to trigger a low-temperature catalytic hydrogenation of phenylacetylene. Read the article.

With: Anthony, Sophie

July, 2024: Outreach Article about NanoFLPs

Just published in the French journal "L'Actualité chimique": a feature article about our ERC Research program on NanoFLP, or "nanoparticles as partners in Frustrated Lewis Pairs".

It describes our recent works on this topic, with a focus on what where ou guidelines and purposes.

Read the article (in French)

July, 2024: Interview for ARTE

In this series of podcast for the franco-german TV, I was interviewed by journalist Xavier de la Porte to discuss about nanoparticles and conspiracy theories. A very interesting opportunities to bring the debate in front of a broad audience!

Watch the video (in French)

July 18, 2024: NanoSea Conference

This international conference, held this year in Marseille, gathers a dynamic community about nanomaterials and their applications. I had the opportunity to give a talk dealing with synthesis and opportunities of our gadolinium-based oxysulfide nanoparticles.

Read the program.

April 28, 2024: GdR Chalco Workshop

I was invited to give a talk in the workshop organized in Rennes by the GdR Chalco about the synthesis and applications of chalcogenides. A great opportunity to learn more about recent trends in the field, and to discuss our latest results about lanthanide oxysulfide nanoparticles.

Read the program.

April 21, 2024: Seminar at CINaM

I spent the day at the Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanosciences de Marseille (CINaM), to give a seminar and discuss research opportunities and ongoing collaborations with colleagues. An exciting way to discover other facets of Nanosciences than these I am more familiar with!

April, 2024: Défi NAP-XPS

I recently joined this French initiative from the Fédération de Recherche Spectroscopies de Photoémission. Its aim is to promote near-ambient-pressure XPS as a unique spectroscopy to solve scientific questions related to surfaces, catalysis and more.

Read more.

Another article out: Hydride formation on defective CeO₂ monitored by NAP-XPS

As a follow-up on our work about reduced ceria nanoparticles, we used near-ambient-pressure XPS to characterize the surface state under H₂ moderate pressure. We show that homolytic cleavege on Ce^(III) sites is the main activation path at 100 °C, forming a significant amount of surface hydrides. This is a key insight to further develop ceria as a self-standing catalyst for low-temperature hydrogenation reactions. Read the article.

With: Rémi, Sophie

New article: Unveiling the effect of phosphines on Nickel Nanocatalysts

Still chasing NanoFLPs! as part as our ERC project, Karim and Anthony showed that well-chosen phosphines allow reducing the onset temperature of terminal alkyne hydrogenation in colloidal suspension of Ni nanoparticles. Read the article.

With: Karim, Anthony, Sophie

February 29, 2024: Congrats to Anthony!

Anthony Ropp defended his PhD thesis with brio. Titled "Phosphine-enhanced activity of transition metal nanocatalysts for H₂ activation", his work dealt with a variety of metal and metal phosphide nanoparticles decorated with phosphine ligands. Congrats!

November 25, 2023: Agora des Nanos

I participated at Théâtre de la Ville to an exciting scientific mediation event: after a presentation of my activities to a group of students from Ecole Estiennes, they conceived and produced a poster for a broad public. Splendid work from their side! It allowed for a rich discussion with the public.

A few other scientists were also invited to share their work wih the students, which made up for a very interesting poster session, for us, for them, and most importantly for a public keen to discuss about nanosciences.

November 2-3, 2023: TraPCat3 conference

I was invited to this conference in Toulouse, about catalysis and nanochemistry and gave a plenary talk about our recent results in the ERC NanoFLP project. It was an exciting meeting with a lot of new connections made!

New article: Phosphines and Cobalt Phosphide Nano-Urchins

In the quest of NanoFLPs, as part as our ERC project, Anthony and Rémi developped these fancy nano-urchins that are able to hydrogenate phenylacetylene when put in the presence of a well-chosen phosphine. Read the article.

With: Anthony, Rémi, Sophie

September 28, 2023: PhD Defense of Léna Meyniel

Today, Léna defended her PhD thesis, titled "Investigation of the Nano-Bio Interface by the Design and Development of Nanostructured Lanthanide Oxysulfide Thin Films using Ellipsometric and Electrochemical Techniques". Her work was co-supervised with Natacha Krins, from the RMES team of the lab.

Congrats Léna!

September, 2024: Now teaching on a regular basis!

I joined in September the teaching staff of the Chemistry Department at Ecole Polytechnique.

This appointment comes as a complementary position to my CNRS main position at Sorbonne University. I am honored and happy to contribute to showing the wonders of chemistry in my old school!

Article out: Cerium(IV) as you never saw it

While the literature contains tens of protocols to prepare cerium oxide nanoparticles from Ce(III) precursors, there is still an open question regarding the time at which the cerium oxidation occurs and the role of hydroxide phases in this process. This article identifies an oxyhydroxide phase of Ce(IV) of the chemical formula CeO(OH)₂ as a key intermediate and proposes a crystal structure for it. Read the article.

With: Rémi, Sophie

Post-doc position opening

There is an opening to join the group as a post-doctoral fellow, from September 2023, on the "Modeling Surface Reactions on Ligand-Covered Metallic Nanoparticles". The project is in the scope of ERC NanoFLP and will be done in co-supervision with Dr. David Loffreda (ENS de Lyon).

The candidate should have a a good knowledge of DFT applied to materials science and chemistry or catalysis. He/she may have already worked on the theoretical modeling of metallic nanoparticles at various scales or methodologies.

%%% The position is now filled. %%%

New article: Influence of the Cobalt Active Site Neighbors in NiCo Nanocatalysts for Phosphine-Assisted Silane Activation

NiCo nanoparticles are active catalysts at room temperature for Si−H bond activation. We designed nanoparticles with a nickel core and a limited amount of cobalt surface sites to clarify which of the two metals was the active site and if the neighbouring atoms influenced the reaction efficiency. The trend in catalytic activity is consistent with cobalt being the active site, and it shows a higher activity when its immediate neighbours are cobalt atoms. Read the article.

With: Anthony, Sophie

Post-doc position opening

There is an opening to join the group as a post-doctoral fellow, from May 2023, on the "Metal-Containing Nanoparticles for the Catalytic Activation of Small Molecules". The project is in the scope of ERC NanoFLP.

The candidate should have a background in catalysis, homogeneous or heterogeneous, using nanoparticles or organometallic complexes. He/she should have a background in inorganic chemistry and materials science.

%%% The position is now filled. %%%

New article: Phosphine-Catalyzed Activation of Phenylsilane for Benzaldehyde Reduction

Here, we studied the organocatalyzed hydrosilylation of benzaldehyde with a phosphine, introduced at 10 mol %, and phenylsilane at room temperature. The best results of the screening over 13 phosphines and phosphites were obtained with linear trialkylphoshines (PMe₃, PnBu₃, POct₃), indicating the importance of their nucleophilicity. The products of the hydrosilylation were identified, allowing a monitoring of the concentration in the different species. Read the article.

With: Rémi, Alberto, Cyprien, Sophie

February 10, 2023: Journée annuelle de la chimie

This local workshop gathers colleagues from the Chemistry department of Sorbonne Université. I took this opportunity to share our recent results in an uncommon fashion: by telling the fairy tale of "Martine the phosphine"... an experiment in scientific mediation well received by the colleagues!

January 13, 2023: Cyprien PhD Defense

Cyprien defended his PhD thesis about "Borane adsorption on MgO nanoparticles for increased catalytic activity in the cycloaddition of CO₂ on epoxides".

Congrats to the new doctor!

Article out! Thin film of Lanthanide Oxysulfide Nanoplates

We recently managed to form thin films of lanthanide oxysulfide nanoparticles using colloidal suspensions. The films are of optical quality and the bandgap of the nanoparticles is preserved. The thickness can be finely tuned using various concentration or multiple layer deposition. Read the article.

With: Léna, Cédric, Natacha, Sophie

6-month post-doc position opening

There is an opening to join the group as a post-doctoral fellow or a research engineer fellow, from early 2023 (as soon as January). This innovation project deals with the fabrication of polysiloxanes containing graphite.

The candidate should have hands-on experience with air-sensitive molecular species, and ideally be familiar with the preparation of potassium graphite. He/she should have a background in molecular chemistry, polymer chemistry or materials science.

Job description here.

October 21, 2022: Hybrid Materials International Conference

I was invited to give an overiew of the group recent works during this international conference held in Genoa, Italy. Excellent opportunity to discuss the descriptor approach in nanochemistry! Check the program.

July 25-29, 2022: Sol-gel International Conference

This conference was held in Lyon and gathered a broad community around sol-gel but also materials design, thin films and coatings etc. Léna presented her work on lanthanide oxysulfide thin film design while I was invited to give a broad overview of our recent works. Check the program.

With: Léna, Sophie

June 21-22, 2022: Workshop Carmen Evolution

I was invited to contribute to this prospective workshop organized by CARMEN, a joint laboratory about materials characterization and the energy transition. A fascinating variety of talks from contributors in several topics! Science and strategy were discussed together by academic and industrial players: check the program.

May 30-June 3, 2022: FCCat conference

This week, we are a this international conference that nicely mixes homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis communities... a great opportunity for us, standing at the frontier with our colloidal catalysis projects! Anthony and I will be presenting recent results of the team.

With: Anthony, Sophie

Another accepted paper: Ni₃C nanocatalysts for colloidal hydrogenation

In this work, we investigated the potential of well-defined hcp nickel carbide nanoparticles as hydrogenation catalyst for a range of chemical moities. We also looked at the effects of solvent polarity and the presence of water on the conversion. The full story here.

With: Rémi, Léna, Sophie

Paper accepted: Phase-controlled NiCo nanoparticles

We all know that nanoparticles synthesis is a tricky job, especially when dealing with bimetallic air-sensitive compositions. Here, we investigated in details the role of many parameters for the preparation of core-shell NiCo nanoparticles presenting the sole fcc phase. Read the paper.

With: Alberto, Cyprien, Alexy, Anthony, Sophie

March 14-18, 2022: CatEnerChem School

This week, I am attending this interdisciplinary school as a member of the organization comittee. We will learn about five key molecules for the catalysis and energy challenges, hearing from chemists and also colleagues from social sciences. Anthony and Cyprien will present posters as participants. Follow us here.

With: Cyprien, Anthony, Sophie

March 3, 2022: Invited conference at IUVSTA Workshop

The workshop "Surface Chemistry of Catalytic Systems", organized by Israeli colleagues, was postponed several times due to the pandemic. It finally hapened online for the international speakers! I presented a talk titles "Surface ligands: friends or foes?" where I discussed several recent works from the point of view of spectroscopy and surface sciences.

Check the full program here.

Feb 11, 2022: Post-doc position opening

There is an opening to join the group as a post-doctoral fellow, from April 2022, on the "Colloidal catalysis under soft reaction conditions for the activation of small molecules". The project is in the scope of ERC NanoFLP.

The candidate should have a strong background in catalysis, homogeneous or heterogeneous, using nanoparticles or organometallic complexes. He/she should have a background in inorganic chemistry and materials science.

%%% The position is now filled %%%

Feb 9, 2022: LCMCP seminar of Léna

As a second-year PhD student, Léna gave today a seminar at the lab, regarding her results so far and the perspectives of her work. It was judiciously paired with a short talk of Cédric about ellipsometry, one of the key techniques employed to characterize her thin films of nanoparticles.

With: Léna

Feb 5, 2022: Conference for the general public

I was invited to give a conference titled "Nanoparticules, du fantasmes à la réalité" in the city of Saint-Nazaire. This was a great opportunity to discuss with the audience about nanotechnology from the past and for the near future.

Jan 28, 2022: Article out

We just published our interdisciplinary work titled "Risk Analysis and Technology Assessment of Emerging (Gd,Ce)₂O₂S Multifunctional Nanoparticles: An Attempt for Early Safer-by-Design Approach". This is a highly collaborative study in the framework of the PhD thesis of Anh-Minh Nguyen. Check the paper!

With: Minh, Olivier, Corinne, Sophie, and more!

Dec 6, 2021: PhD Defense of Antoine Pesesse

Antoine defended today his PhD thesis, titled "Synthèse de nanoparticules contenant des métaux pour la catalyse assistée par des bases de Lewis en suspension colloïdale". The jury was enthousiastic about the discussion that followed.

Congrats!

Nov 23-25, 2021: C'Nano conference in Toulouse

Several of us attended this interdisciplinary conference about Nanosciences. Cyprien presented his work on MgO nanocatalysts, Rémi on nano-carbides and nano-hydrides, and myself on molybdenum-containing oxysulfide nanoparticles. An excellent opportunity to reconnect with the community after the lockdown periods.

With: Cyprien, Rémi, Sophie

Nov 23, 2021: Art & Science round-table

C'Nano network organised a special session on this theme, and I was invited by Giancarlo Rizza as a panelist to the round-table "Bringing Science, Art and Society together to question our interdependence and technological risks", along with Jean-Marc Chomaz (artist and scientist) and Patrick Chaskiel (sociologist). We had a great discussion, along with the audience, on this complex question!

With: Sophie

Nov 15-19, 2021: Journées de la Division de Chimie du Solide

These scientific days were held online. I was invited to give a plenary talk on metal oxysulfide nanoparticles, while Rémi got the opportunity to present our recent paper about metal carbide nanoparticles.

With: Rémi, Sophie

Oct 7, 2021: PhD Defense of Rémi André

Rémi defended today his PhD thesis, titled "Tailored routes to metal-containing nanoparticles for hydrogenation reactions in solution: surface design for H₂ activation", in front of an enthousiastic jury and audience.

Congrats!

Sept 29, 2021: European Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry

Rémi presented online his recent work on metal carbide nanoparticles at this international conference broadly interested in a more sustainable world.

With: Rémi

Sept 24, 2021: Journées de Chimie de Coordination

Antoine had the chance to present in person his work on copper nanoparticles stabilized by NHCs at the national Journées de Chimie de Coordination.

With: Antoine

Sept 23, 2021: GECAT invited webinar

In relation with the Young Researcher Award from the Catalysis division of the French Chemical Society, I was invited to present our latest results at the "Jeudis du GECAT", a national webinar series that appeared in 2020 and is very successful amongst colleagues. This was a great exchange with the broad catalysis community, thanks all for your feedbacks.

Article on Nickel-Cobalt NanoFLP

Very happy to share our first publication proposing the concept of NanoFLP, that is, nanoparticles as partners in Frustrated Lewis Pairs. We investigated the activation of Si-H bonds by Lewis acid NiCo nanoparticles and a series of phosphines as Lewis base. We demonstrate the key effect of the Tolman cone angle on the success of the reaction, which strongly suggests that we achieved the formation of a NanoFLP in the colloidal solution. This is the key concept of ERC Starting Grant NanoFLP, a project that started in 2018. Read the paper.

With: Alberto, Sophie

Sept 13-15, 2021: Meeting on Nanosciences Advances

This week, I am participating to an onsite (!) conference about nanosciences. This is a highly interdisciplinary week under the auspices of the CNano network, in which I am presenting our recent paper on metal carbide nanoparticles.

Sept 1-3, 2021: WiFO conference from the German Chemical Society (online)

I was invited to give a talk at this international forum organized by the GdCh, in the symposium concerning phosphorus chemistry. A great opportunity to share our latest results on metal phosphide nanoparticles!

Article on Molybdenum L-edge XAS

Compared with Mo K-edge, the Mo L-edge is less often employed to analyze materials, catalysts or processes. In this article, we provide guidelines to measurement and a series of reference spectra, including some from air-sensitive compounds. This work was done with the team of B. Lassalle-Kaiser at synchrotron Soleil. Read the paper.

With: Alexy, Rémi, Cyprien, Kim, Sophie

July 9, 2021: Award from the French Chemical Society

I am honored to be the recipient of the "Researcher Award" from the Solid State Chemistry Division of the French Chemical Society for year 2021. This yearly national award exists since 1977 and distinguished a number of chemists: here, the list of awardees.

Many thanks to all the colleagues involved in our various projects since I joined CNRS in 2014!

Accepted article on Nanocarbides

In this work, we discuss the solid-state metathesis reaction between metal chlorides and potassium dispersed in carbon, forming nano-carbides along other phases such as metals and hydrides.We decipher the phase speciation in relation with the experimental parameters to propose a unifying mechanism. Read the paper.

With: Rémi, Florian, Alexy, Guillaume, Sophie

July 5-8, 2021: Indisciplinary school on Nanosciences

This week, Léna participated to the annual summer school organized by the C'Nano network. She had the opportunity to learn about all branches of nanosciences and also to present a poster about her own work.

With: Léna

July 1-2, 2021: GecomMini (online)

Another online conference this month. I was invited to give a keynote to this event organized each year around coordination chemistry (usually under the name "Gecom-Concoord"). I discussed in particular the reaction mechanisms leading to metal-containing nanoparticles, how we can design them and how we should monitor the nanoparticles for optimal development of their reactivity.

June 29-30, 2021: Online conference of the Catalysis division

In relation with the online SCF21 conference, was held the symposium of the Catalysis division. Rémi and Antoine had the opportunity to discuss their respective works in the framework of ERC project NanoFLP and beyond.

With: Rémi, Antoine

June 24, 2021: Plenary conference for RJ-SCF

In relation with the online SCF21 conference, I was invited by the Young Chemist Network to give a plenary conference in their symposium.

Great chance to share our latest results about nanoparticle design and reactivity and discuss with the younger generation.

Accepted paper about Copper Nanoparticles Synthesis

Our work dealing with the analysis of organic side-reaction during the synthesis of copper nanoparticles was just accepted. In this article, we also discuss the further catalytic activity of the copper nanoparticles formed in situ. Read the paper.

With: Antoine, Sophie

June 8, 2021: Nanosafety in l'Actualité Chimique

The young chemist netwwork of SCF just published an editorial about nanoparticles safety in l'Actualité Chimique. I was interviewed to try and shed some light on this tricky topic. Check the article.

June 1-2, 2021: GECAT conference

The conference was held online with many talks in the field of catalysis. Excellent opportunity for Rémi and Cyprien to share their work in an oral communication!

With: Rémi, Cyprien, Sophie

June 1st, 2021: DivCat Young Investigator Award

I was awarded this year the "Young Investigator award", shared with Thibault Cantat, from the Division of Catalysis of the French Chemical Society. I am honored to share the award with Thibault and thankful to the colleagues (older and younger) with whom I conduct research on a daily basis and through long-term collaborations.

April 6-12, 2021: NAP-XPS at Soleil

We are now performing near-ambient-pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at TEMPO-B. This week, we look at a selection of nanoparticles stabilized by organic ligand for CO₂ activation. Thanks to Jean-Jacques Gallet and Fabrice Bournel for hosting us on the beamline!

With: Antoine, Anthony, Rémi, Alexy, Alberto, Cyprien and Sophie

April 4, 2021: Paper accepted

This article is from the consortium Module-Cat, funded by ANR, and in collaboration with the team of Prof. K. Kuroda in Waseda University. We explored silylation reaction in lamellar octosilicate. We were able to covalently graft a number of functional groups in the interlayer space.

Read the paper.

March 23-25, 2021: Operando spectroscopy on nanoparticles

This week we are at ROCK beamline in SOLEILto run some colloidal catalysis and follow the structural changes of the nanocatalysts using hard x-ray absorption spectroscopy. A very nice interlude in the third covid-19 lockdown!

With: Rémi, Alexy, Alberto, Anthony and Sophie

Jan. 22, 2021: Invited Webinar at ICP, Orsay

I gave a webinar for the Institut de Chimie Physique from Université Paris Saclay. I discussed our recent results: "Inside and Out Reactive Nanoparticles : Journey from Synthesis to Spectroscopy". Great opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues expert in spectroscopy and also photocatalysis... big cheers to the organizers!

Dec 11, 2020: European Innovation Summit

I will participate to the event from Knowledge for Innovation (K4I) in a session titled "the role of early career professionnals in driving sustainable innovation". Our pannel will discuss several aspects, from leadership to entrepreneurship, and how blue-sky research is related to innovation. Follow us here on friday at 11 am.

Dec 8, 2020: Nanoparticles & Conspiracy theories

In a long interview for the French radio France Inter, I answer to journalist Xavier de la Porte, who was curious as why nanoparticles are often mentionned in conspiracy theories. A nice opportunity to discuss the perception of nanoparticles, and more generally, of chemistry. Also, a chance to explain what we do in the labs and why I find this fascinating. Podcast in French.

Dec 1, 2020: Joining the Early Career Advisory Board of ChemPlusChem

Supporting Chemistry in Europe and promotting the involvment of early career chemists in policy making at all levels are two key actions I am happy to participate in. Joigning the Early Career Advisory Board of ChemPlusChem, a journal edited by ChemistryEurope, is a great way to do both. This is the second ECAB that I join, after these of ACS Catalysis. Great discussions ahead!

Nov 9, 2020: Online Symposium of GDCh at University of Regensburg

At the invitation of German colleagues from GDCh, the German society of chemistry, I gave a talk during their online symposium organized on the topic of phosphorus chemistry. I presented our research program on metal phosphide nanoparticles.

In a period void of regular meetings, this was a welcome opportunity to get feedback from the community on our most recent work. Thanks to the organizing committee.

Oct 30, 2020: Second lockdown begins

Six months after the first lockdown, here we are again, with suppressed travel rights and strong limitations on our professional and personal lives. Hopefully, this time our students and post-docs are able to access the lab for a few days pe

Oct 28, 2020: Bilateral Workshop with U. Sydney

This morning, I am presenting works from the Institute in a joint catalysis workshop from Sorbonne Université and University of Sydney.

A nice opportunity to share our work with distant colleagues and learn about their expertise as well!

Oct 7, 2020: Congrats to Dr. Kim Le

Today, Kim defended her PhD, titled "Oxygen Reduction Reaction with Molybdenum-containing Oxysulfide Nanoparticles: from Colloidal Synthesis to Surface Activity" in front of a (half)-full room and with more public online. She is now a Doctor of Sorbonne Université: congrats!

Sept 17-21, 2020: Measuring Phosphorus K-edge at LUCIA

Still working with colloidal solutions of nanoparticles, we are measuring the P K-edge in order to monitor surface ligands.

This edge is in the so-called "tender X-ray domain", hence our venue at LUCIA! We are using liquid cells closed by thin membranes that separate the solution from the vacuum of the chamber. This allows the X-ray photons to go in and out the liquid.

Thanks to Benedikt Lassalle and the Soleil staff for welcoming us in the midst of the Covid crisis.

With: Alexy, Alberto, Cyprien, Rémi, Léna, Anthony, Sophie

June 30-July 3, 2020: Back on SAMBA

This week we are studying XANES and EXAFS of air-sensitive colloidal solutions at SAMBA beamline. The picture shows our air-tight setup. Great to be back to SOLEIL after the lockdown period! Huge thanks to Andrea and Guillaume for making the experiment possible at short notice.

With: Alexy, Alberto, Antoine, Sophie

May 11, 2020: End of lockdown in France

While the worst has past, universities and labs will take some time to reopen their doors. Meanwhile, we have now a well-established routine with one NanoSurf meeting per week and good practices for teleworking.

April 28, 2020: Article in ChemNanoMat

We have been interested for a while by phase control in metal phosphide nanoparticles... now we achieved it for iron! A new P₄-containing molecule for the synthesis, PDF for the structural investigation, and HER properties as a perspective. This project involved several colleagues from LCMCP, Collège de France and ETH Zürich. Read the paper.

With: Florian, Rémi, Capucine, Sophie, and many others

April 27, 2020: Online jury for a binational PhD Defence

Interesting experience today: I was a referee for the PhD Defence of M. Alves-Favaro (IRCE Lyon and Aachen University). This was a binational thesis in "cotutelle" with the two juries runing parallel evaluations. Due to Covid-19, the whole process happened online.

April 14, 2020: Interview for ChemCatChem

Following the Clara Immerwahr Award, I was interviewed by the journal ChemCatChem (part of Chemistry Europe). Read here.

March 31, 2020: LCMCP Webinar

Rémi was the speaker of the third LCMCP webinar. He presented his recent results in two directions: metal carbides and metal oxides, in the context of colloidal catalysis.

With: Rémi

March 31, 2020: Review on Metal Oxysulfides

"Metal oxysulfides: from bulk compounds to nanomaterials": Everything you always wanted to know about these exquisite inorganic compounds, now published in an open-access journal.

With: Clément, Sophie

March 16, 2020: the lab is in lockdown, we keep up online!

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemy, university are closing their doors. We keep the non-experimental activities going on (with adjustments): lab webinars, nanosurfs, project meetings, etc. The community is mobilised to help as much as possible at the local and national scale.

March 12, 2020: LCMCP Seminar

Antoine presented his work at the lab in the weekly seminar series. He discussed copper-containing nanoparticles in the context of sustainable chemistry.

With: Antoine

March 4-7, 2020: At ROCK beamline

This week, we are running experiments on the mechanism of formation of metal oxide and metal nanoparticles. We use the amazing Quick-EXAFS setup of ROCK beamline to measure XAS in solution during heating. Huge thanks to our colleagues on the beamline (especially: Valérie Briois and Laurent Barthe) for setting up the operando cell and helping us achieve the experiments!

With: Alexy, Rémi, Antoine, Alberto, Cyprien, Sophie

Feb. 28, 2020: Capturing Carbide Chemistry

Thanks to our colleague from the movie archives of CNRS, we captured a series of experiments on video, with professional quality. Now we will analyze these data and compare the reactions two by two!

With: Rémi, Sophie

Feb. 26, 2020: Workshop at Collège de France

Prof. Clément Sanchez organized a workshop on the broad topic of "Chimie Douce". I was invited to talk about "Nanoparticules minérales : des molécules aux matériaux".

Check the full program | Watch the video.

Feb. 20, 2020: News from the Young Chemists

In relation with the IUPAC2019 conference held in Paris, read about the Young Chemists Symposium and the General Assembly of IYCN in Chemistry International.

You can also check our earlier article about the symposium in l'Actualité Chimique.

Feb. 13-14, 2020: Visit to Berlin

In relation with the Clara Immerwahr award, I spent two days in Berlin, discussing with colleagues of TU Berlin, U. Potsdam and the Fritz Haber Institute about their work and how we could build new collaborations. I also had the opportunity to meet other women in chemistry (PhD students as well as colleagues)... nice continuation of the GWB2020 event the day before in Paris!

Feb. 12, 2020: Global Women Breakfast

This year again, a Global Women Breakfast was organized at Sorbonne Université by Dr. Lydia Sosa-Vargas and colleagues, with the strong support of the Chemistry Department: a unique opportunity to network and discuss about Women in Chemistry! I also participated to a round table about leadership and the glass ceiling.

Feb. 3, 2020: Video at SOLEIL

Let's embark in a tour of Soleil synchrotron and participate with us to a run on LUCIA! We were interviewed along with Benedikt Lassalle, the beamline scientist, about our experiments last July. Watch the video! (english subtitles available)

With: Kim, Alexy, Rémi, Cyprien, Sophie

Jan. 22-24, 2020: Journées Surfaces et Interfaces

This national conference was held this year at Sorbonne Université. It gathered a multidisciplinary community: surface sciences, solid-state physics, soft matter, metallurgy, nanosciences... I was invited to give a talk about nanocatalysis, in which I emphasized the role of ligands in defining and adjusting the surface nature.

Jan. 16-17, 2020: Soleil User Meeting

I was invited to present the complementary input of a range of spectroscopies for the study of lanthanide oxysulfide nanoparticles at the 15^th User Meeting of Soleil synchrotron. A great opportunity to keep in touch with this multidisciplinary community and learn more about advanced characterizations!

Jan. 9, 2020 : Accepted Article on Gadolinium Oxysulfide Nanoparticles

We knew for years that sodium ions were mandatory to the formation of colloidal Gd₂O₂S nanoparticles... but we finally uncovered why! Read the story.

With: Clément, Anh-Minh, Kim, Xavier and Sophie

Jan. 9, 2020: LCMCP Seminar

Alberto will be presenting his PhD work (done at CEA Saclay) at the lab in the weekly seminar series. He will talk about catalytic isotope exchange in organic molecules for the development of drugs.

With: Alberto

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