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Lab activities and organization

Introduction

The Laboratory of Catalysis and Spectrochemistry (LCS) is a research unit whose supervisors are ENSICAEN, the University of Caen – Normandy and the CNRS. It was founded in 1978 by the merging of the Laboratory of Catalysis (initiated by François Gault) with the Spectrochemistry Laboratory. From the beginning, Jean-Claude Lavalley defined the LCS as the French center for infrared spectroscopy in catalysis. The use of infrared spectroscopy for the analysis of catalytic materials has thus been developed over the years. In 1990, at the LCS, J. Saussey in the LCS began using IR in situ spectroscopy to study the surface of the catalyst inside the working reactor, an approach that later became known as name of spectroscopy operando .

NMR and Raman spectroscopy were added in 2000 to spectroscopic techniques in LCS, and the operando method was soon applied to these spectroscopies.

Among the catalytic materials studied in the laboratory, zeolites have always been an important topic for LCS, but for a long time samples were sourced from other laboratories. In 2009, a major change was made to the scientific scope of the LCS when it was joined by a group specialized in the synthesis of zeolites. This change in the size and scope of LCS research has significantly changed our place and our role in the scientific community. LCS was quickly recognized both as one of the main centers of spectroscopy in catalysis and science of zeolites in France and in Europe.

These areas of expertise have enable us to become an important partner of the LABEX EMC3, a structure that organizes joint funding between the main scientific laboratories in Normandy, as well as a member of the I-EPE Research Federation. Since mid-2016, we are also part of the Carnot ESP Institute (Energy and Propulsion Systems) which allow us to expand our collaborations with companies.

Researchers

Technical staffs

PhD’s et postdocs

Scientific and technical strengths

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The main strength of the LCS is its scientific specificity. The LCS has developed a unique expertise and tool at European and international level. Our expertise covers both the spectroscopy of catalytic materials under controlled conditions, and the controlled synthesis of zeolites.

The LCS has always attracted world-class scientists who have joined the lab or have established collaborations with us. We organize several important conferences in our two areas of expertise and are invited by the international community to give lectures and write reviews in major journals.

One of the main scientific objectives of the LCS is the understanding and control of heterogeneous catalysis at the molecular level. One of the molecular limits of heterogeneous catalysis is the ability of the reactants to reach the active site and the products to be released into the external phase. This can be controlled with suitable spectroscopic tools optimized and / or controlled by the control of the morphology and shape of the catalyst, which requires a thorough understanding of the synthesis, in particular for the zeolites. In this way, the two areas of expertise, spectroscopy and the synthesis of zeolites are combined for a unique and efficient research. in situ and operando spectroscopy can be the ultimate tool to characterize and understand the diffusion and kinetics, nature and role of active sites (metals, electronic densities…), deactivation. The chemical engineering of the reactor with nanoparticles and transport modeling in our model reactors (operando cells) is a new cross-link between these different concerns of LCS.

The LCS approach to the study of heterogeneous catalysis and porous materials contributes to a sustainable future for our society in the fields of energy (renewable) (production and rational use), clean chemistry, depollution and environmental control. Our research plays a role at the interface between basic and applied science, with close links to the economy and technology.

For this reason, our research is mainly focused on the following 3 themes:

New concepts, methods and emerging applications
Energy vectors and energies of the future
Environment, waste reduction and depollution.

These themes benefit from state-of-the-art tools distributed within 4 technical platforms:

VISIO: Vibrational spectroscopies
NMR: Nuclear magnetic resonance platform
SYNTHESIS: Preparation of materials and physical characterisation methods (structure/texture)
CATALYST: Catalytic testing platform

We also have technical support in computer science, glass blowing and mechanical workshop, with trained staff (the last two shared with the organic chemistry laboratory – LCMT, UMR 6507). Glass blowing has been over the years one of the main advantages to our laboratory in maintaining and designing new experimental facilities for in situ spectroscopy.

Activity profile

Our research unit is strongly engaged in industry relations. Many of our research projects are in collaboration with industrial partners. The transition from in situ spectroscopy to operando spectroscopy stems from a recurring question from industrial partners: “we understand your description of the surface of the catalyst, But is it the same under the conditions of reaction? ” Still today we keep the same approach to understanding catalysis, and many of our fundamental questions arise from the concerns of industry or society, environmental and sustainable development issues.

In addition to long-term research activities, we have set-up a service for industry ( LCS-Valoris ) sin 2010. LCS-Valoris carries out specific analyses and measurements for local or national private companies. These contracts are not as demanding as a full collaboration agreement and can be less costly for the company than a longer collaborative research. In addition, the work carried out during these services remains the full property of the requesting company. These on-demand scientific services help to establish new links with industry, and can often lead to a more conventional and broader research collaboration. LCS-Valoris also gives our laboratory greater visibility in the industrial world. It is a way for us to ensure that our technical equipment is used optimally at all times. Partnership research can also be carried out within the framework of the Carnot Institute ESP (Energy and Propulsion Systems) to which we belong.

Training through research is of course a big part of our commitment: the temporary staff, hired in the laboratory to conduct research with our permanent staff, currently represent about fifteen PhD or post-doctoral students : half of our temporary research staff are therefore students, and half of our time in research can be considered as training through research. Many of our researchers teach at the university or Ensicaen, but we also play an important part in the organization of education in both institutions.

We are also heavily involved in the life of the scientific community. We have members of the LCS in national, foreign or international scientific panels since 1990 (CNU, CoNRS, FWO in Belgium, president of an EU ERC panel …), several members of the LCS have been or are still active members in scientific bodies such as the French Zeolite Group (GFZ), the IZA (International Zeolite Association) (V.Valtchev), the Division of Catalysis (DIVCAT) of the French Chemical Society. The LCS is also a permanent member of the GECAT committee within DIVCAT.

Highlights

Very important results have been obtained in LCS in recent years. This has allowed us to reach a leading position in our scientific community and to give high visibility to our two new scientific axes.

- Our mastery of the synthesis of nanozeolites without organic structuring agent was recognized by the journal Science as one of the 10 major scientific achievements for the whole of science in the year 2011. This was then a line of Research was very important in LCS and was followed by an article in Nature Material in 2014 for nano zeolites of industrial interest. A very important industrial interest was raised by this achievement, and a major collaboration agreement was established with a large company in the United States. This also led to the award of the first Cronstedt Prize to S. Mintova and V. Valchev, followed by the Breck Prize and the “Research” magazine award.
- Since 1990, we have been designing new and very efficient reactor cells for operando studies. This activity has become increasingly strong over the years. Whatever the experimental conditions, a new cell can be designed and implemented to achieve unprecedented and relevant results by IR spectroscopy. We can even perform operando spectroscopy on a real part of a catalyst monolith. This was recognized by the assignment of CNRS CRISTAL to the Research Engineer in charge of our IR platform, P. Bazin. Our methodological advances cover all our fields of work, and we now have a working facility for hyperpolarized Xenon NMR to study porous systems in solids.

These are just a few examples of the striking facts that have occurred in LCS over the last 5 years. One of the important results of these achievements is our established position in our field of science. Many LCS researchers received the Catalytic Division award from the French Society of Chemistry (DIVCAT), and the last one was awarded to Arnaud Travert in 2012. We have been invited to contribute to several very important work (reviews in ChemSocRev and 1 in Chemical Reviews). In 2015 we organized four major scientific events: the 2nd Euro-Asia Zeolite Conference in Nice in January, the now internationally recognized Zeolite Workshop in Caen in April, the 5th Conference Internationale Operando in May in Deauville and the 5th International Symposium on advanced micro- and mesoporous materials in Bulgaria in September.