Presentation
Materials research impacts nearly every aspect of our daily lives — from advancing clean energy and safer transportation to enabling faster communication technologies and addressing critical healthcare challenges. In this context, the Centre of Materials and Chemistry at University of Caen, Normandy gathers a wide expertise in these fields thanks to its laboratories:
- CRISMAT: Laboratory Crystallography and Materials Sciences
- CIMAP: Research Centre for Ions, Materials and Photonics
- CARMEN: Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Molecular Reactivity in Normandy
- LCS: Laboratory Catalysis and Spectrochemistry
Our teams in these laboratories specialize in the design and synthesis of innovative, multi-scale, and three-dimensional materials — including ceramics, metal alloys, thin films, oxides, polymers, composites, single crystals, porous materials, and both natural and synthetic organic compounds. This expertise extends to their characterization, shaping, and property evaluation at various scale. Three key strengths distinguish us at the national level in France.:
- a strong expertise in tailor-made design (construction à façon): we can design and synthesize original materials and position very small bricks at different scales. This enables us to design and later on synthesize innovative materials with specific features for a dedicated application (optic, solar cells, thermoelectricity, health care, energy, magnetism, catalysis, gas separation, etc.).
- an exceptional analytical platform offering the opportunity to deeply characterize the structure, microstructure and composition of molecules and materials, from micro to nano scales, using x-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopies, solid and liquid nuclear magnetic resonance, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, etc., at the highest standard.
- Our multidisciplinary skills cover all major groups of materials such as metallic alloys, oxides, zeolites, organic materials, hybrids, etc.,
This gives us a unique opportunity to propose innovative materials for emergent technologies. With their unique properties and superior performance, innovative materials can replace traditional materials and foster environmentally friendly solutions for industries and businesses. The discovery of innovative materials is also revolutionizing manufacturing processes and product performance.
We have a true expertise in:
- Expertise in a wide range of materials, including ceramics, metal alloys, thin films, oxides, polymers, composites, single crystals, and porous materials.
- Tailor-made design of materials
- Synthesize and/or modify (macro)molecular structure / studies of structure-property relationships
- Advanced characterization techniques, including operando spectroscopy and crystallography (classified as a rare discipline in France), as well as investigations of electronic and optical properties.
Building on our expertise, we aim to explore and develop innovative materials that address the pressing challenges of the ecological transition across diverse fields of application. We believe that a deep understanding of material properties and characteristics is key to anticipating their future uses and ensuring their contribution to a more sustainable future. By advancing this knowledge, we continue to explore and develop new innovative materials to meet the challenges in all fields of applications and offer viable and sustainable alternatives.
Our ambition is to maintain and broaden our multidisciplinary expertise by:
- Attract leading researchers by offering supportive and stimulating research conditions
- Attracting and training future talents our Graduate Schools: Materials and Energy Sciences and XL-Chem
- Strengthen and expand our international collaboration networks
Ultimately, in collaboration with our partner institutions, we aim to establish the foundation for a multidisciplinary “Institute for Innovative Materials” at University of Caen Normandy, France.
