Soft chemistry routes to functional optical coatings

Event details
Date | 31.03.2014 |
Hour | 13:15 |
Speaker | Thierry Gacoin, Ecole Polytechnique Paris, France |
Location | |
Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Soft chemistry routes are now well known for the elaboration of oxide or hybrid organic/inorganic coatings starting from precursors in solution. Basic principles rely on sol-gel condensation reactions or colloidal synthesis of nanoparticles, and on the ability to achieve hybrid organic/inorganic compositions. Formulations are usually processed as thin films using conventional deposition techniques such as spray or dip-coating.
In addition to a relative simplicity of processing, soft chemistry routes allow for the rational design of materials combining the properties of various components and exhibiting an optimized microstructure down to the nanometer scale.
In this talk, I will present different strategies of elaboration of functional thin films and show how materials can be tailored to target optimized properties with respect to practical applications. I will especially focus on the case of nanostructured coatings with optical properties, and give examples of practical applications in the field of self-cleaning substrates, anti-reflective coatings and light emitting devices.
Bio: Thierry Gacoin graduated from Ecole nationale Superieure de Chimie de Paris in 1990. He prepared his PhD thesis in the University Paris VI (1994) working in the field of semiconductor quantum dots and sol-gel materials. Since 2007 he is a CNRS senior scientist and, since 2012, associate professor in the Physics and Chemistry departments of the Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France). He heads the Solid State Chemistry Group of the Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory since 2007, having research activities in the field of sol-gel chemistry, colloidal nanoparticles, luminescent rare earth doped oxides, dielectric coatings and photocatalytic thin films. He is co-author of about 160 publication and 18 patents. He was awarded the 2006 Price of the Solid State Chemistry Division of the French Chemical Society.
In addition to a relative simplicity of processing, soft chemistry routes allow for the rational design of materials combining the properties of various components and exhibiting an optimized microstructure down to the nanometer scale.
In this talk, I will present different strategies of elaboration of functional thin films and show how materials can be tailored to target optimized properties with respect to practical applications. I will especially focus on the case of nanostructured coatings with optical properties, and give examples of practical applications in the field of self-cleaning substrates, anti-reflective coatings and light emitting devices.
Bio: Thierry Gacoin graduated from Ecole nationale Superieure de Chimie de Paris in 1990. He prepared his PhD thesis in the University Paris VI (1994) working in the field of semiconductor quantum dots and sol-gel materials. Since 2007 he is a CNRS senior scientist and, since 2012, associate professor in the Physics and Chemistry departments of the Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France). He heads the Solid State Chemistry Group of the Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory since 2007, having research activities in the field of sol-gel chemistry, colloidal nanoparticles, luminescent rare earth doped oxides, dielectric coatings and photocatalytic thin films. He is co-author of about 160 publication and 18 patents. He was awarded the 2006 Price of the Solid State Chemistry Division of the French Chemical Society.
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Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- IMX Seminar Series
Contact
- ingrid.fischer@epfl.ch