GANDALF aims at modifying the surface of positive electrodes (LiFexMn1-xPO4 (LFMP) and LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO)) of Li-ion devices by a novel atomic layer fluorination process, improving their inertness towards their electrolytic environment, augmenting their performances as high-voltage systems, and validating their use as real-life size SAFT prototypes. Through a PhD funded by the RS2E, we could study our novel atomic layer fluorination process, so-called ALF, on TiO2, Li4Ti5O12 (LTO), LiCoO2 (LCO), and Li(Ni0.80Co0.15Al0.05)O2 (NCA). For each system, we demonstrate that ALF-electrodes display improved cyclability, polarization, and cycle life. Electrochemical operando FTIR measurements show that ALF-NCA is relatively inert towards its electrolyte, as compared to pristine NCA. Encouraged by the ANR, we were advised to build this project as PRCE in order to reach the industrial validation.

The aim of the GASPER project is to develop and fully characterize a new concept of gas diffusion photoelectrodes with backside illumination for CO2 conversion under solar light. To this end, we will take advantage of a very recent discovery by one of our partners that has made backside illumination of a CIGS solar cell possible (patent pending). We will then implement this device by adding a porous layer to the front of the photoelectrode into which we will insert a molecular catalyst. Several investigation tools will be employed, including fast time-resolved spectroscopy, to understand the elementary phenomena at play in the photoelectrode. At the same time, the data collected will be used to feed a multi-physics model simulating the transfer and transport steps and the associated kinetics, in order to optimize the photoelectrode structure by inverse design. Finally, the catalytic properties of the photoelectrode thus developed will be studied in detail for CO2 conversion.

Marine plastic litter is a global environmental problem (descriptor 10 of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive) since almost 10% of the 299 million tons of plastic produced worldwide gets accidentally or deliberately into the environment. The oceans are considered as the ultimate recipient of plastic litters. Plastics containing pro-oxidant additives called oxo-biodegradable (OXO) have been introduced onto the market (10% of the plastic bags in France are OXO) as material promising biodegradability, but their fate in marine waters is poorly investigated. The OXOMAR project gathers together the largest manufacturer of OXO in Europe (Symphony Environmental Technologies), a small or medium-sized enterprise specialized in valorization of academic researches on polymer ageing (CNEP), and three academic units (ICCF, LOMIC, IFREMER) specialized in chemistry of materials, marine microbiology and ecotoxicology. The objective of OXOMAR is to evaluate the abiotic (task 1) and biotic (task 2) degradation of OXO at sea, as well as its potential toxicity for marine organisms (task 3). This project present several novelties including: (i) the use of artificial ageing to evaluate the fate of OXO of different compositions (including an OXO-HYDRO hybrid polymer) in the Oceans related to abiotic environmental factors, (ii) the combination of innovative methodologies using stable isotope labelled 13C-OXO to deliver the first estimation of the OXO biodegradation rate at sea, together with the original identification of the bacteria performing this biodegradation, (iii) the evaluation of the possible toxicity of OXO by considering both the ingestion of micro-plastics and the leaching of pro-oxidant additives by using unprecedented set of marine organisms from various trophic levels, habitats and feeding behaviors. The evaluation of the fate of new formulations of plastics in the environment is a societal and environmental concern, which perfectly fits with the objective of the “Défi 1” (ORIENTATION 4). The potential for scientific breakthrough is very high in this project, since very few studies have been done so far on the fate of OXO in marine waters. The new research results obtained in this PRCE project will be mutually beneficial for the academic and industrial parts and for the market of OXO in general. For instance, “the impact of the use of oxo-biodegradable plastic carrier bags on the environment” has been identified as one of the priority of the European Council and Parliament for the reduction in consumption of plastic bags (Art. 20a (2) of Directive 2015-720).

Since 1992 and the first Earth summit, different countries have recognized that climate is strongly impacted by human activity and they planned to tackle it under an international convention. In this context that, under the United Nations aegis, COPs (Conference of parties) bringing together many countries to make commitments. However, in order to take meaningful action, it is important that scientists around the world come together to provide the useful data to policy. It is in this context that the REACTE project, involving internationally recognized French and German researchers in respective highly complementary scientific fields, is proposed. The atmosphere is a complex and highly reactive system in which many bio-physicochemical processes take place. It is therefore crucial to have a good understanding of this system and its evolution according to the different pressures it is subjected to. One of the key points is therefore to have a good understanding of the capacity of such a system to react according to the species present. Redox reactions are one of the major transformation pathways that should be carefully considered in order to better understand the evolution of the atmosphere. The REACTE project will focus on the (photo)chemistry of transition metal ions (TMIs) which represents a major source of highly reactive species in aerosols and in the water phase of tropospheric clouds. Indeed, very little data currently exists on the exact role and reactivity of these metals, which are currently almost considered almost exclusively in free form, whereas they are known to be present as complexes in natural environments. The REACTE project will focus on answering the following questions: i) How will the complexation of TMIs influence their photo-reactivity and redox reactions directly through the metal and/or with H2O2 as "Fenton" type reactions; ii) What will be the reactive species associated with these reactions, H2O2, HO●, HO2●/O2●- and their formation yields? What will be their impact on the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere and thus on, more generally, its chemical composition? The obtained results will be then implemented in a multiphase atmospheric chemistry models involving the chemical mechanisms of radicals in aqueous phase (CAPRAM) to predict their influence on the organic matter transformation, the HOx balance and the valence states of TMs in atmospheric droplets or aerosols. The REACTE project, which associates complementary scientific competences, will allow to better understand the chemistry of the TMIs complexes present in the atmosphere and thus to understand their role on atmospheric chemistry. More generally, it will provide data to better understand/assess their impact on climate and air pollution, impact that is currently strongly underestimated.

Liquid handling is actually a key operation in many laboratories, public or private, for research or education, in a broad spectrum of important fields such as Biology or Chemistry. Among liquid handling instruments, the micropipette is today a must-have in laboratory, with performances largely sustained by the interactions between the liquid and the consumable of the device, namely the tip made in polymer. The modulation of these liquid-polymer interactions is possible by acting on the surface chemistry and / or the physical characteristics of the solid surface at the microscale. In this context, the Institute of Chemistry of Clermont-Ferrand (ICCF - UMR 6296) via its "Inorganic Materials" team and the SME GILSON SAS wish to put their respective expertise to the development of new innovative solutions for liquid handling. Based on an already established collaboration that has allowed to identify promising research routes, the joint laboratory INOMALIS will develop a panel of innovations with variable TRL, allowing both to target its future sustainability through short time to market research axes, while developing new strategic research pathways, contrasting with contender solutions : A first axis will aim to implement innovative solutions to avoid the loss of samples during erroneous or delicate manipulations with a micropipette. This issue is of a huge interest in sampling situations with high value liquids (such as in certain areas of biology or in forensic science, for example). Based on surface treatment strategies by controlled fluorination, chemically modified polymer components will allow to efficiently confine the liquid, while maintaining its integral distribution. Others research axes will focus on modifying the liquid-polymer interactions of conical surfaces by approaches aiming to control the microtexturation of the polymer or to modulate finely the chemical functionnalization at the polymer surface. The objectives of the labcom INOMALIS will thus be to feed both the scientific knowledge in the field of innovative surface treatments on polymers with complex geometries and their interaction with a liquid of variable nature, while extending the potentialities of using a laboratory micropipette for liquid handling, with the opportunity to impact other devices where the dynamic interaction between a liquid and a polymer is critical.