The Chemistry Service was created in 2013 to meet the demand of all LPS research groups. It currently consists of an engineer and is spread over two laboratories with a total area of 130m².
On this page you will find a description of the service’s activities, its skills and the available equipment.
Activities
– Realization of projects
Researchers, doctoral students and post-docs of the laboratory can ask the Chemistry Service to carry out projects of different types:
– The reproduction of syntheses described in the literature.
– The synthesis of new nanoparticles or molecules meeting precise specifications (material, structure, size, etc.).
– Carrying out complete studies requiring more in-depth research work, resulting in collaborations outside the laboratory or participation in ANR projects.
– Help and advice
People wishing to occasionally use chemicals or equipment can be accommodated in the Serrvice for safe handling. They can benefit from technical assistance or carry out their experiments independently, according to their needs.
– Chemical waste management
The Chemistry Service manages the collection of chemical waste and its disposal in conjunction with the Health and Safety Department of the Science Department. Sorting instructions are accessible on the laboratory intranet.
Skills
– Inorganic synthesis
The Chemistry Service’s main expertise in inorganic synthesis concerns gold nanoparticles. These can be prepared in an organic or in an aqueous medium. In an organic medium, the obtained nanoparticles are generally spherical, of small diameter (from 2 nm to 5 nm), and protected by thiol ligands. Syntheses in aqueous medium make it possible to obtain a wide variety of shapes (spheres, rods, bipyramids, triangles, etc.) as well as to vary the composition of the nanoparticles. It is for example possible to prepare bimetallic gold / silver particles. These metal particles offer very interesting optical properties thanks to their surface plasmon resonance. Precise control of the size of the nanoparticles during the synthesis makes it possible to finely tune these properties.
Gold nanoparticles in the form of spheres, rods and bipyramids..
Au@Ag bimetallic nanoparticles
The service also carries out syntheses of semiconductor nanoparticles, mainly in the form of nanoplatelets or nanosheets, especially CdSe but also CdS and CdTe. The fluorescence properties of these nanoparticles are particularly original because of their anisotropy and their controllable thickness down to the atomic monolayer.
Finally, other types of nanoparticles can be prepared, such as manganese oxide nanosheets or nanowires, or silica rods. It is also possible to shape the nanoparticles in polymer or hydrogel matrices to obtain functional materials.
– Organic synthesis
Multi-step syntheses of organic molecules can be carried out at the Chemistry Service. The molecules synthesized to date are essentially thiol ligands, used to functionalize metal nanoparticles, and fluorescent surfactants.
– Characterization
The chemistry laboratories are provided with all the classic equipment allowing organic or inorganic syntheses to be carried out: glassware, stirring plates, heating plates, vortices, ultrasonic tanks, etc. Syntheses or preparations of air-sensitive samples can be carried out using a vacuum ramp or in a glove box.
Equipment
The chemistry laboratories are provided with all the classic equipment allowing organic or inorganic syntheses to be carried out: glassware, stirring plates, heating plates, vortices, ultrasonic tanks, etc. Syntheses or preparations of air-sensitive samples can be carried out using a vacuum ramp or in a glove box.
The following equipment can be used independently after user training:
- Mbraun glove box
- Infrared spectrometer: Nicolet IS50
- Fluorimeter: Fluoromax-4
- UV / Visible / near IR spectrometer: Cary 5000
- pH / conductivity meter SevenCompact pH / Cond S213, equipped with several electrodes:
- pH-metry:
- pH 0-14, T ° 0-100 ° C
- pH 1-11, T ° 0-80 ° C (micro-electrode for low volumes)
- Conductimetry:
- 0.01-1000 mS / cm, T ° 0-100 ° C
- 0.001-500 µS / cm, T ° 0-100 ° C
- pH-metry:
- Ika rotary evaporator
- Véolia water purifier (pure water 5MΩ and ultra-pure water 18.2MΩ)
