Biomimetism and Bioinspiration: Sources of Knowledge to Create New Materials by Prof Clément Sanchez
Join us in the IAS Distinguished Speaker Seminar by Prof Clément Sanchez from Collège de France and University of Strasbourg Institut of Advanced Study (USIAS)
About the talk
The search for inspiration for the creation of new materials and systems requires a better understanding of the construction mechanisms and structures of materials in nature. Preparation methods of inorganic or hybrid nanomaterials based on “soft chemistry” involve “mineral polymerisation” reactions in general that take place at room temperature. Therefore, it is possible to use this type of strategy to simultaneously generate organic or biological components and mineral components in order to achieve the formation of true organic-mineral hybrid nanomaterials. Combining in a single material the properties of organic or biological molecules and the properties of inorganic compounds has become a reality. These cross-cutting approaches in which chemical engineering and molecular chemistry processes are synergistically coupled cover biomimetic synthesis or bio-inspired strategies that allow the development of complex systems with different shapes and with perfect control of different size scales, composition, functionality and morphology. The realisation of hybrid hierarchical architectures involves transverse modes of synthesis and illustrates the central role of “chemistry” in the field of advanced materials development. It is in this context that at the intersection of “chemistry in all its states”, physics, biology and materials science, a new field of research, that of bio-inspired inorganic or hybrid inorganic materials, is developing. Three academic examples showing analogies between materials from nature and synthetic materials will be developed in this lecture. In terms of applications, some organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposites are already at the level of prototype development and others are already commercialised.
Our Distinguished Speaker
Clément Sanchez is Emeritus Professor at the Collège de France and Professor at the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study (USIAS). He previously led the Laboratory of Condensed Matter Chemistry in Paris (UMR 7574) and was Director of Research at CNRS and Professor at École Polytechnique. A specialist in chimie douce and hybrid materials, he holds an engineering degree from Chimie ParisTech, a PhD from the University of Paris VI, and completed postdoctoral work at UC Berkeley. Prof Sanchez currently conducts research at Paris Sorbonne University, University of Strasbourg, and the University of Bordeaux. Specialising in nanochemistry and hybrid materials, he has received numerous prestigious national and international awards, and is a member of several Academies of Sciences.