This thematic focuses on the synthesis, organization and characterization of silica-based organic-inorganic hybrid materials. In this view, the sol-gel process is ideally suited, allowing us to synthesize metastable materials with controlled texture, morphology, and functionality. With this process, any kind of organic or bioorganic group (e.g. sugar, peptide) can be accommodated in the final material, the structure of which can be controlled at the micro- and nano-meter level, by playing on supramolecular interactions in solution (for instance by adding organic templating agents.

The control of architecture and of localization at nanometer scale of functional groups is a major goal in the design of advanced materials, whether to generate a collective property (e.g. ionic conduction) or  to improve th accessibility to functional sites (e.g. through a better dispersion) and their efficiency (e.g. identical sites rather than a distribution, for instance for catalysis, molecular recognition or biological activity).


The use of ionic liquids, which are both structured and structurating media, with remarkable properties (thermal stability, extremely low vapor tension, high conductivity, outstanding solvents, etc.) or of precursors inspired from ionic liquids is a major axis of the group, further widening the possibilities of hybrid materials (ionogels, ionosilicas).

 

Main research activities

• Organic-inorganic and bioorganic-inorganic hybrid materials 
• Sol-gel and organization in ionic liquid medium or using precursors inspired fron ionic liquids: ionogels, iono-silicas

Selected publications

• (1) Anion selectivity in ion exchange reactions with surface functionalized ionosilicas, M. Petrova, M. Guigue, L. Venault, P. Moisy, P. Hesemann, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2015, 17, 10182-10188.
• (2) Precursor Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructured Silicas, From Precursor-Surfactant Ion Pairs to Structured Materials, P. Hesemann, T. P. Nguyen, S. El Hankari, Materials 2014, 7, 2978-3001.
• (3)  Sol-gel synthesis of collagen-inspired peptide hydrogel, Cecile Echalier, Said Jebors, Guillaume Laconde, Luc Brunel, Pascal Verdie, Lea Causse, Audrey Bethry, Baptiste Legrand, Helene Van Den Berghe, Xavier Garric, Daniele Noel, Jean Martinez, Ahmad Mehdi and Gilles Subra
   Mater. Today 2017, 20, 59-66
• (4) Ionic Liquid Mediated Sol-Gel Synthesis in the Presence of Water or Formic Acid, Which Synthesis for Which Material?, L. Viau, M.-A. Néouze, C. Biolley, S. Volland, D. Brevet, P. Gaveau, P. Dieudonné, A. Galarneau, A. Vioux, Chem. Mater. 2012, 24, 3128-3134.
• (5) Ionogels, ionic liquid based hybrid materials, J. Le Bideau, L. Viau, A. Vioux, Chem. Soc. Rev. 2011, 40, 907-925.
• (6) PEO-Silsesquioxane Flexible Membranes, Organic-Inorganic Solid Electrolytes with Controlled Homogeneity and Nanostructure,  A. Mehdi, C.V. Cerclier, J. Le Bideau, D. Guyomard, F. Dalmas, J.-M. Chenal, L. Chazeau, O. Fontaine and A. Vioux
  ChemistrySelect 2017, 2, 2088-2093.
  (7) New organic–inorganic hybrid material based on a poly(amic acid) oligomer: a promising opportunity to obtain microfluidic devices by a photolithographic process, E. Mechref, J. Jabbour, S. Calas-Etienne, K. Amro, A. Mehdi, R. Tauk and P.Etienne
  RSC Adv. 2016, 6, 90666-90673.

Collaborations (outside ICGM)

• Dr. Gilles Subra (IBMM)
• Prof. Michael Knorr, Dr. Lydie Viau (Université de Franche-Comté)
• Dr. Jean-Luc Coll (Grenoble) et Dr Vincent Humblot (UPMC)
• Dr Wilfried Blanc (Nice)
• Prof. Andreas Taubert (Univ. Potsdam, Allemagne)
• Philippe Moisy (CEA Marcoule)
• Ahmed Bouhaouss (Université Mohammed V, Rabat, Maroc)
• Laurent LEBLANC (BioMérieux, Lyon, France)

Financing

Université Montpellier, CNRS, ANR (NICE DREAM), LABEX Chemisyst (PEPSIMAT, ION-EX), Région Languedoc-Roussillon (Pepsimat), SATT AxLR (ION-EX), Europe (COST HINT), GDR NEEDS.