Units

Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry

Person in charge of the Unit : Oui

The Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry has a permanent staff of 3 persons (Prof Yves Geerts, Ms Adrienne Remacle  Ms Françoise Van Eycken and Ms Anne Laurent) and is composed of 8 postdocs and 3 Ph.D students. Research topics involve organics semiconductors and discotic liquid crystals.

Projetcs

Synthesis of Nanodiamonds (NDs) at mild Pressure and Temperature

This project aims to explore how the use of tailored adamantane derivatives could serve as precursors of Nanodiamonds (NDs) under mild pressure and temperature conditions. We suggest that this methodology based on radical reactions at only 200-400 °C and pressure <1 GPa is promising for an efficient synthesis and study of NDs and helps overcome the current technological barriers associated with Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) or High-Pressure and High-Temperature synthesis (HPHT). The use of moderate P,T conditions should render possible a better control of ND structure and growth. Specifically, the work plan is threefold: 1) The design
and synthesis of precursors based on adamantane derivatives that will act as nuclei for ND growth. 2) The conversion monitoring of these precursors into NDs under mild temperature and pression conditions by infrared spectroscopy, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Ruby fluorescence. 3) The characterization of the structure, size, defects, and morphology of NDs by electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Furthermore, the project aims to understand the nucleation and growth of covalent crystals at a fundamental level.

Organic semiconductors for charge and spin transport.

An electron at rest is achiral. When moving, it acquires a chirality from the coupling of its angular (spin) and linear momenta. As a consequence, electrons crossing chiral materials are filtered according to their spin, with a surprising efficiency that can reach 100%. This Chiral-Induced Spin Selectivity (CISS) effect has recently
been evidenced by Ron Naaman. It offers plenty of opportunities of fundamental researches and technological developments in the field of organic semiconductors for which chirality can be tailored by molecular structure. The “Pi-Chir” project aims at designing, synthesizing, and characterizing chiral organic semiconductors for studying CISS effect occurring when charge and spins are being transported. This project integrates into the general frame of the research activities of the group of Yves Geerts who coordinates the Marie Sklodowska Curie « UHMob » (2019-2023) network.