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Thesis Defense Louis Caussin – Mardi 17 Novembre 2026

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🎓 [THESIS DEFENSE] – Louis Caussin will defend his PhD thesis:
🔬 “Photoswitchable radicals for the light control of single-molecule magnets”
📅 Monday 23 November 2026 at 14:30 – ISCR – University of Rennes – Amphi Grandjean This thesis is co-funded by EUR LUMOMAT and La Région Bretagne

This thesis is supervised by Prof. Lucie NOREL – ISCR – Université de Rennes and Prof. Kevin Bernot – INSA Rennes – ISCR – Université de Rennes

Examining Committee :
➖ Dr. Jennifer Molloy – CNRS/Université Grenoble Alpes
➖ Dr. Ie-Rang Jeon – CNRS/Université de Bordeaux
➖ Prof. David Canevet – Université d’Angers
➖ Prof. Mauro Perfetti – University of Florence

📄 [Abstract] Single-chain magnets exhibit magnetic bistability at the molecular scale and hold promise for high-density information storage. Controlling them with light would provide an additional level of control. This work combines dithienylethene photochromic units, nitronyl-nitroxide radicals, and lanthanide(III) ions, with photoisomerization intended to modulate both magnetic exchange interactions and the ligand field around the metal.

Four dithienylethene–nitronyl-nitroxide diradicals and three monoradical analogs were synthesized and characterized. The most compact diradical, previously unreported, exhibits an antiferromagnetic exchange interaction multiplied by a factor of 100 upon ring closure—the strongest reported to date for this family—as well as the first ON/OFF photomodulation of the luminescence of a nitronyl-nitroxide radical.

The coordination of these ligands to lanthanide(III) ions led to the first complexes integrating dithienylethene–nitronyl-nitroxide units, in both open and closed forms. Their photochromic and magnetic properties were studied, particularly using torque magnetometry.

These results lay the foundation for the development of photocommutable single-chaine magnets based on radicals.

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Thesis Defense Nicolas Oppé – Mardi 17 Novembre 2026

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🎓 [THESIS DEFENSE] – Nicolas Oppé will defend his PhD thesis:
🔬 “Use of highly reductive and colored photo-activated homoleptic copper(I) complexes in organic photochemistry”
📅 Tuesday 17 November 2026 at 13:30 – CEISAM Salle Marie Curie This thesis is labelled by EUR LUMOMAT

This thesis is supervised by Dr. Yann PELLEGRIN – CNRS /CEISAM – Nantes Université, Dr. Clémence QUEFFÉLEC – CEISAM – Nantes Université and Dr. Errol BLART – CEISAM – Nantes Université

Examining Committee :
➖ Dr. Aline NONAT – Université de Strasbourg – Reviewer
➖ Prof. Sylvain GAILLARD – Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 – Reviewer
➖ Dr. Gilles ULRICH – Université de Strasbourg – Examiner
➖ Prof. Cécile MOUCHERON – Université Libre de Bruxelles – Examiner
➖ Dr. Matthieu JEANTY – Director of Synthetic Chemistry – Novalix – Invited Member

📄 [Abstract] This thesis focuses on the synthesis and study of novel homoleptic copper(I) complexes with enhanced reducing power. These complexes are based on a dipp ligand (dipp = 2,9-diisopropyl-1,10-phenanthroline) substituted at the 3,8- or 4,7-positions with various electron-donating groups, in order to investigate the influence of their nature and position on the physicochemical properties of the complexes. The main objective is to shift their reduction potentials towards more negative values, thereby enabling the reduction of substrates with high reduction potentials, such as organochlorine compounds, through reductive quenching (RQ) of their excited states.

The study also focuses on the optimization of a reductive dehalogenation reaction using the [Cu(dipp)₂]⁺ complex, as well as on elucidating its reaction mechanism. The results obtained support the conclusion that this reaction proceeds through a radical mechanism, although the radical species involved have not yet been identified. Finally, the [Cu(dipp)₂]⁺ complex is employed in a carbon–carbon (C–C) coupling reaction between an aryl halide and N-methylpyrrole. The formation of the radical intermediate R• results from the reduction of the C–Br bond by the highly reducing species PS⁻, generated through the reductive quenching (RQ) process.

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Thesis Defense Hrudya Pariyacheri Padikkal – Mardi 17 Novembre 2026

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🎓 [THESIS DEFENSE] – Hrudya Pariyacheri Padikkal will defend her PhD thesis:
🔬 “Chalcogen bonding interactions in charge-transfer complexes and salts of selenium-rich donors”
📅 Tuesday 17 November 2026 at 9:30 – ISCR – University of Rennes – Amphi Grandjean This thesis is funded by EUR LUMOMAT

This thesis is supervised by Dr. Marc FOURMIGUE – CNRS / Rennes University / ISCR and Dr. Ie-Rang JEON – CNRS/ University of Bordeaux / CRPP

 

Examining Committee :
➖ Prof. Piétrick HUDHOMME – MOLTECH-Anjou – Université d’Angers – Reviewer
➖ Prof. Enrique ESPINOSA – Université de Lorraine – Reviewer
➖ Dr. Flavia POP – CNRS/Université d’Anger – Examiner
➖ Dr. Fabrice POINTILLART – CNRS/Université de Rennes – Examiner
➖ Dr. Olivier JEANNIN, Research Engineer, Université de Rennes/ISCR – Invited Member

 

📄 [Abstract] Redox-active electron-rich molecules have raised a strong interest for their promising applications in organic electronics. In addition to their conducting properties, introducing paramagnetic metal complexes like FeCl4– or FeBr4– can extend their functionalities. In this thesis, we take advantage of an intermolecular interaction called chalcogen bonding (ChB), to induce such magnetic interactions. We focus on selenium-based organic electron donors different from tetraselenafulvalenes, and characterized, in their cation radical state, by a strong spin density in positions readily available for interactions with magnetic anions. Moreover, these molecules in their radical state develop around the Se atoms, electron deficient regions called σ-holes, able to interact through ChB with counter ions. This thesis focuses on the activation of σ-holes in the cation radical salts and charge-transfer omplexes (with TCNQFn, n = 0, 1, 2, 4 as electron acceptors) of selenium-rich electron donors such as 1,2 diselenoles (naphthalene _peri-_diselenides and tetraselenides), and selenanthrenes. It highlights the potential of σ-hole engineering as a bridge between molecular, electronic structure and material properties.

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Thesis Defense Alexia Rocheteau – Mardi 10 Novembre 2026

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🎓 [THESIS DEFENSE] – Alexia Rocheteau will defend her PhD thesis:
🔬 “Copper iodide based materials having luminescent mechanochromic properties for the development of shock/stress sensors”
📅 Tuesday 10 November 2026 at 14:00 – Nantes Université – Amphi IMN Lombarderie This thesis is labelled by EUR LUMOMAT

This thesis is supervised by Dr. Sandrine PERRUCHAS – CNRS/IMN – Nantes Université and Dr. Hélène SERIER-BRAULT – CNRS/IMN – Nantes Université.

Examining Committee :
➖ Dr. Clémence ALLAIN – CNRS/Laboratoire Photophysique et Photochimie Supramoléculaires et Macromoléculaires (PPSM) – ENS Paris-Saclay – Reviewer
➖ Prof. Jérôme LONG – Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier (ICGM) – Université de Montpellier – Reviewer
➖ Prof. Eléna ISHOW – CNRS/CEISAM – Nantes Université – Examiner
➖ Dr. Antoine TISSOT – CNRS/Institut de Chimie Moléculaire & des Matériaux d’Orsay (ICMMO), Université Paris-Saclay – Examiner
➖ Dr.Marie-Christine SAINTE-CATHERINE – Responsable scientifique – Innovation Matériaux & Procédés, Ministère des armées et des anciens combattants – Invited Member

[📄 ABSTRACT] Luminescent stimuli-responsive materials are receiving increasing attention because of their switchable optical properties in response to external stimuli, which lead to multiple potential applications like stress detection, optical recording or information storage. Among these materials, luminescent mechanochromic materials are characterised by a change of their luminescence properties in response to external mechanical forces such as grinding. Materials based on transition metals, in particular those based on copper(I) halide, are interesting for their wide structural diversity, their large range of photophysical properties, as well as their economic and environmental advantages due to the low cost and the limited toxicity of the copper element.

In this context, this thesis focuses on the study of new luminescent mechanochromic materials based on copper(I) iodide. New materials have been synthesized and their structure and optical properties characterized. Particular attention has been paid to the understanding of the relationships between the structure and the optical properties of these compounds. The materials have also been shaped by incorporating them into polymer matrices, for example, for the development of potentials applications.

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Thesis Defense Sara Helis – Vendredi 6 Novembre 2026

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🎓 [THESIS DEFENSE] – Sara Helis will defend her PhD thesis:
🔬 “Tailoring Functional Molecular Interfaces through Controlled Aryldiazonium Electrografting for Enhanced Reactivity”
📅 Friday 6 November 2026 at 09:15 – Faculté des Sciences d’Angers / Amphi L004 This thesis is labelled by EUR LUMOMAT

This thesis is supervised by Prof. Tony Breton – MOLTECH-Anjou – Université d’Angers

Examining Committee :
➖ Dr. Christophe Bucher – CNRS/ENS Lyon – Reviewer
➖ Dr. Jalal Ghilane – CNRS/Université Paris-Cité – Reviewer
➖ Dr. Sheena Louisia – CNRS/Sorbonne Université – Examiner
➖ Dr. Anne de Poulpiquet – Aix-Marseille Université – Examiner
➖ Dr. Jon Ustarroz – Université Libre de Bruxelles – Examiner
➖ Dr. Jean-Marc Noël – CNRS/Université Paris-Cité – Invited member

[📄 ABSTRACT]

The immobilization of functional molecules on electrodes provides a route toward molecular interfaces with tunable properties and reactivity. This thesis investigates aryldiazonium electrografting to understand and control film formation and its influence on the properties of immobilized species.

Using 4-nitrobenzenediazonium as a model system, the competitive contributions of aryl and diazenyl radicals to film formation were identified, with the latter leading to the incorporation of azo bridges. Their relative contributions could be tuned through the electrografting conditions, enabling control over film growth and composition.

These principles were then extended to a ruthenium bis-terpyridine complex. The resulting Ru(tpy)₂ multilayers remained electrochemically active over a broad range of thicknesses, while their electronic properties were influenced by immobilization. Remarkably, the initially coordinatively saturated Ru(tpy)₂ complex displayed catalytic activity toward water oxidation after electrografting. These results highlight the role of film formation and molecular confinement in determining the properties and reactivity of functional molecular interfaces.

Thesis Defense Sara Helis – Vendredi 6 Novembre 2026 Read More »

Thesis Defense Antoine Vautier – Mardi 3 Novembre 2026

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🎓 [THESIS DEFENSE] – Antoine Vautier will defend his PhD thesis: 🔬 “Coupling microbial fuel cells with aqueous organic redox flow batteries” 📅 Tuesday 3 November 2026 at 14:30 – ISCR/Université de Rennes – Amphi Grandjean This thesis is labelled by EUR LUMOMAT

This thesis is supervised by Prof. Frédéric BARRIERE – ISCR – Université de Rennes, Dr. Florence GENESTE – CNRS/ISCR – Université de Rennes and Dr. James BEHAN – CNRS/ISCR – Université de Rennes

 

Examining Committee :
➖ Dr. Christelle GAUTIER – CNRS/MOLTECH-Anjou – Université d’Angers – Examiner
➖ Dr. Mathieu ETIENNE – CNRS/LCPME – Université de Lorraine – Reviewer
➖ Dr. Estelle LEBEGUE – CEISAM – Nantes Université – Reviewer
➖ Dr. Charlotte BODIN – ISCR – Université de Rennes – Invited Member

 

[📄 ABSTRACT] Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) convert the energy contained in organic matter into electricity, while offering potential for effluent treatment. However, their low power density limits their direct use as an energy source. Coupling MFCs with redox flow batteries (RFBs) is a strategy that allows the biological production of electricity to be separated from its storage. This thesis explores the challenges associated with this coupling and various strategies for overcoming them. The development of new electron acceptors at the MFC cathode has expanded the library of molecules that could potentially be used as negolytes in RFBs.

A sulphonated phenazine (PABS) has, in particular, shown promise for direct MFC/RFB coupling, owing to its redox potential and solubility in aqueous media. An indirect coupling approach based on the biosynthesis of redox mediators, notably phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA), has been investigated. This research highlights the challenges associated with the compatibility of the electrochemical and physicochemical properties of the mediators, as well as the differences in power and scale between MFCs and RFBs. It thus opens up prospects for the development of hybrid systems combining energy production, storage and effluent treatment properties.

Thesis Defense Antoine Vautier – Mardi 3 Novembre 2026 Read More »

Thesis Defense Jakub Širůček – Lundi 26 Octobre 2026

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🎓 [THESIS DEFENSE] – Jakub Širůček will defend his PhD thesis:
🔬 “Ab initio modeling of excited-state absorption”
📅 Wednesday 28 October 2026 at 14:00 – ISCR/Université de Rennes – Amphi Grandjean This thesis is co-funded by EUR LUMOMAT, Nantes Université, SFRi Triton and Université de Rennes

This thesis is supervised by Prof. Denis JACQUEMIN – CEISAM – Nantes Université and Dr. Boris LE GUENNIC – CNRS/ISCR – Université de Rennes

Examining Committee :
➖ Prof. Benoît CHAMPAGNE – Laboratoire de Chimie Théorique – Université de Namur – Reviewer
➖ Dr. Ilaria CIOFINI – CNRS/Chimie ParisTech – Reviewer
➖ Dr. Miquel HUIX-ROTLLANT – CNRS/Institut de Chimie Radicalaire de Marseille – Examiner
➖ Dr. Alexandra VIEL – CNRS/IPR – Université de Rennes – Examiner

[📄 ABSTRACT] Optical limiting materials have emerged as an efficient means of protecting human eyes against intense radiation, e.g., pilots’ vision against malicious laser dazzling. Ideally, such materials retain transparency at low fluence while absorbing part of the incoming radiation at high fluence. Efficient design of optical limiting molecules typically requires intense excited-state absorption (ESA). To theoretically describe ESA using computational chemistry, one is interested in its intensity, described by ESA oscillator strengths ($f_{ESA}$), and the positions of ESA peaks, corresponding to ESA energy gaps ($E_{ESA}$). Both can be obtained efficiently using quadratic and linear response theory, notably within TD-DFT. In this thesis, I developed a cost-effective methodology for ab initio calculations of $f_{ESA}$ and $E_{ESA}$. I established accurate $f_{ESA}$ values using QR-CC3 to assess less expensive methods, notably QR-TD-DFT. Following this benchmark, I implemented and analyzed an additional unrelaxed LR-TD-DFT approximation, allowing solvent effects to be introduced via LR-PCM and $cLR^{2}$. These results allowed me to validate ESA energy gaps and oscillator strengths against transient spectroscopy and ultimately derive design rules for intense ESA in azulene derivatives for optical limiting.

Thesis Defense Jakub Širůček – Lundi 26 Octobre 2026 Read More »

Thesis Defense Célia Clementz – Lundi 26 Octobre 2026

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🎓 [THESIS DEFENSE] – Célia Clementz will defend her PhD thesis:
🔬 “Grafting on porous material”
📅 Monday 26 October 2026 at 14:00 – ISCR/Université de Rennes – Amphi Grandjean
This thesis is labelled by EUR LUMOMAT

This thesis is supervised by Dr. Yann LEROUX – CNRS/ISCR – Université de Rennes and Dr. Corinne LAGROST – CNRS/ISCR – Université de Rennes

Examining Committee :
➖ Prof. Nathalie JOB – Département d’Ingénierie Chimique – Université de Liège – Reviewer
➖ Dr. Jean-Marc NOEL – CNRS/ITODYS – Université Paris Cité – Reviewer
➖ Dr. Conchi ANIA – CNRS/CEMHTI – UPR CNRS Orléans – Examiner
➖ Dr. Fannie ALLOIN – CNRS/LEPMI – Université de Grenoble-Alpes – Examiner
➖ Dr. Charles COUGNON – CNRS/MOLTECH-Anjou – Université d’Angers – Examiner

[📄 ABSTRACT] This PhD thesis focuses on the development of electrodes to achieve higher-performance supercapacitors. Supercapacitors are energy storage devicesused to rapidly store large amounts of energy. Generally, supercapacitor electrodes are made of porous materials, as a larger surface area leads to a higher storage capacity. However, these devices cannot store large amounts of energy compared to batteries. To improve their performance, we chose to modify the surface of porous carbons. To ensure a robust modification, we used aryl diazonium salt chemistry. These compounds spontaneously reduce on carbon surfaces to form a covalent bond. The molecule selected as a graft throughout this manuscript is nthraquinone, an electrochemically active molecule capable of transferring two electrons, hereby maximizing the energy density of the resulting materials. To characterize the modified materials, several surface analysis techniques were used, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nitrogen adsorption, and cyclic voltammetry.

Thesis Defense Célia Clementz – Lundi 26 Octobre 2026 Read More »

Journée Scientifique Lumomat 8 Octobre 2026 à Rennes – 5e édition

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5e édition de la Journée Scientifique Lumomat

La 5ᵉ édition de la Journée scientifique LUMOMAT organisée à la Faculté des sciences de Rennes a rassemblé 120 personnes du réseau. Organisée par l’EUR LUMOMAT, cette journée a été l’occasion de réunir les quatre laboratoires de notre École Universitaire de Recherche : CEISAM (Nantes), l’Institut des Matériaux de Nantes Jean Rouxel (IMN), l’ISCR – Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes et MOLTECH-Anjou (Angers). 

Une journée placée sous le signe d’échanges scientifiques stimulants et du partage des savoirs au sein de la communauté LUMOMAT : chercheurs et chercheuses, doctorants et doctorantes, étudiantes et étudiants du Master 2.

Un grand merci à tous les participants qui ont contribué à la réussite de cet événement et en particulier aux cinq speakers qui ont partagé leurs recherches avec enthousiasme (Renaud Demadrille, Philippe Leclere, Guillaume Wantz, Araceli Gonzalez Campaña, Oliver Dumele) ainsi qu’aux doctorantes et doctorants dont les speakers et les jurys ont souligné la qualité des présentations et des posters.

📆 Programme de la journée

Speakers

Beyond Idealized Models: Revealing the True Structure of Semiconducting Donor-Acceptor Block Copolymers for Organic Solar Cells

Antoine Curé, Pierre-Alain Bayle, Lucie Rivet, Yann Kervella, Cyril Aumaître and Renaud Demadrille. CEA Grenoble, 17 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000, Grenoble, France

Single-component (SC) polymers represent an emerging class of materials for organic photovoltaics, offering the potential of combining high power conversion efficiencies with significantly enhanced operational stability compared to conventional heterojunction systems based on non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs).[1–2] Despite their promise, the detailed structural characterization of SC polymers remains limited, and current descriptions are often insufficient to establish robust structure-property relationships. Such understanding is essential for rational material design and for advancing the development of next-generation organic photovoltaic systems.

Here, we propose a rigorous and comprehensive strategy for elucidating the structure of SC polymers, enabling a deeper understanding of their molecular architecture and associated structure–property relationships. We recently established a detailed characterization protocol using a model SC polymer based on the donor polymer PTQ10 and an NFA-based polymer, PIDTe.[3] By employing a model small-molecule approach, we identified characteristic proton NMR signals associated with heterojunctions and confirmed their presence in the polymeric materials using a range of advanced two-dimensional NMR techniques. For the first time, we were able to quantify the average number of heterojunctions (NoH) in this class of copolymers.

Furthermore, by synthesizing additional PTQ10-based SC polymers, we demonstrated the general applicability of our methodology to related systems, with clear potential for extension to other SC polymer architectures.[4] Overall, this work establishes a reliable and broadly applicable strategy for the accurate structural characterization of SC polymers intended for use in organic electronics and organic photovoltaic applications.

References: [1] Y. Zheng, Y. Wu, Z. Chen, X. Xia, Y. Li, Q. Wu, Y. Lin, X. Lu, X. Hao, J. Min, J. Mater. Chem. A 2023, 11, 8961.[2] Y. Cheng, Q. Mao, C. Zhou, X. Huang, J. Liu, J. Deng, Z. Sun, S. Jeong, Y. Cho, Y. Zhang, B. Huang, F. Wu, C. Yang, L. Chen, Angew Chem Int Ed 2023, e202308267.[3] L. Rivet, A. Curé, C. Jutard, S. Fauvel, R. Demadrille, A. J. Riquelme, C. Aumaître, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, 13, 21357.[4] A. Curé, P-A. Bayle, L. Rivet, Y. Kervella, R. Demadrille, C. Aumaître, Adv. Science 2026, 13:e2226.

Funding: The authors are grateful to Agence National de la Recherche (ANR) for the grant ANR-22-CE06-0018, acronym: MONOPOLY. R.D. gratefully acknowledges the financial support received from the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the French-American Fulbright Commission, and Université Grenoble Alpes.

Correlative Analysis of the Nanomechanical, Electrical, Photovoltaic and Chemical Property Heterogeneities in Non-Fullerene Acceptor / Donor Polymer Blends for Photovoltaic Applications

Organic photovoltaic systems based on non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have complex nanoscopic morphologies. These systems can form nano-sized domains as well as mixed phases. In this context, the use of a single experimental technique can lead to ambiguous interpretations of the local morphology. In this work, we implement a correlative approach combining several scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy techniques performed on the same area of the photovoltaic polymer blend sample : infrared nano-spectroscopy (AFM-IR), nanomechanical mapping in Peak Force Tapping mode and Kelvin microscopy (KPFM). Each technique provides additional chemical, mechanical or electronic information but can also lead to partial interpretations when used alone. A correlative approach thus makes it possible to cross-reference these different pieces of information to obtain a more reliable description of the local morphology. To validate the chemical analysis approach by AFM-IR, a first PBDB-T:Y6 (1:1) reference system prepared from a chlorobenzene/chloroform mixture is studied. Chemical distribution maps of the two components are obtained from operations on chemical maps recorded at different wavenumbers characteristic of the studied materials. This methodology is then applied to a PBDB-T:Y6 mixture (1:0.75) prepared from chloroform, allowing to localize donor-acceptor interfaces and correlate chemical, mechanical and electronic contrasts at the nanoscale. These results show that a correlative approach in local probe microscopy, performed on the same sample area, allows us to obtain a more robust interpretation of the morphology of NFA mixtures than the use of a single technique. This will aim to better understand the structural and electronic organization of the materials used in organic photovoltaic cells as well as their degradation mechanism.

Simplified Polymer Photovoltaic Solar Cells For Real World Applications

Printable organic photovoltaic solar cells (OPV), i.e. polymer solar cells, have now reached impressive power conversion efficiencies at lab scale over 20%. It is one crucial milestone towards the deployment of OPV products in real life. OPV holds many promisses including potential low cost, large scale, low temperature processing, low energy payback time, low carbon footprint  for the production of photovoltaic modules exempt of critical raw materials. However, today, not all are yet scientifically achieved. For example, commercially available OPV modules suffer from low PCE, from 3 to 5 % (30-50 Wp/m2) and are made with still costly raw materials mostly processed from toxic organic solvents. It is a matter of time for the industrial players to catch up with recent academic research to push industrial OPV performances further. This presentation will focuss on our recent attempts to simplify the OPV device structure in particular by removing interlayers processing steps thanks to the use of doping strategies or self-assembled monolayers. The presentation will end showing unpublished results obtained while monitoring OPV-powered fabrics in various outdoor real world conditions.

Curved Nanographenes: synthesis and properties

The bottom-up synthesis of well-defined polycyclic conjugated hydrocarbons (PCHs) is still a scientific challenge, being key for the development of material science. The enormous research effort dedicated to carbon-based materials has leaded to a huge bloom of novel architectures such as nanobelts or hoops, chiral nanostructures, bowl- and saddle-shapes, doped or open-shell analogues. Their unique curved structures open novel avenues for applications due to the optical and electronical properties that might arise.1a Within this context, we have been focused on the synthesis and evaluation of properties of saddle-helical hybrid nanographenes.1b 

Herein, our recent advances in the synthesis of distorted graphene related molecules will be discussed. Both, the in-solution2 and on-surface3 strategies will be presented. The saddle curvature can be also introduced in nanohoops offering interesting supramolecular behaviour.4 In this sense, polystyrene microbeads loaded with curved nanographenes generate functional light emitting microcomposite acting as optical microresonators.5

Figure 1. Heptagon-containing nanographenes embedded into a superhelicene (left)2, a cycloparaphenylene (center)3 or loaded on polystyrene microbeads (right)4.

References

  1. a) W.-S. Wong, and M. Stepien, Trends in Chemistry. 2022, 4, 573; (b); I. R. Márquez, et al. Chem. Sci. 2017, 8, 1068.
  2. S. Míguez-Lago, I. F. A. Mariz, M. A. Medel, J. M. Cuerva, E. Maçôas, C. M. Cruz, and A. G. Campaña, Chem. Sci., 2022, 13, 10267.
  3. F. Villalobos, J. Berger, A. Matěj, R. Nieman, A. Sánchez-Grande, D. Soler, A. Pinar Solé, H. Lischka, M. Matoušek, J. Brabec, L. Veis, A. Millan, C. Sánchez-Sánchez, A. G. Campaña, J. M. Cuerva, P. Jelínek, Chem, 2024, DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2024.09.015
  4. J. P. Mora-Fuentes, M. D. Codesal, M. Reale, C. M. Cruz, V. G. Jiménez, A. Sciortino, M. Cannas, F. Messina, V. Blanco, and A. G. Campaña, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, e202301356.
  5. M. Reale, E. Marino, E. Maçôas, F. Ciccarello, M. Cannas, C. M. Cruz, A. G. Campaña, A. Sciortino, F. Messina, Adv. Funct. Mater., 2024, 34, 2402079.

Organic Covalent Frameworks as Inspiration for Functional Molecular Materials

Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Cologne, Greinstrasse 4, 50939 Cologne, Germany

Constructing Organic Covalent Frameworks (COFs) from advanced molecular building blocks can achieve novel functional materials.[1,2] Inspired by the porous structure of COFs, we developed a research line towards tubular frameworks based on cyclic monomers.[3] Exploring these highly strained macrocycles in the context of supramolecular chemistry has led to a new host family with confined inner space for the complexation of cationic crown ethers.[4-5] Further macrocycles followed these developments having pure hydrocarbon scaffolds, such as cycloazulenylene.[6]

Finally, a photochemical spin state switch has derived from attempts of synthesizing chiral COFs based on helicenes.[7] The helicene-based photoswitch shows bistable spin states upon irradiation with light at cryogenic temperatures, which forms a paramagnetic diradical state. The process is fully reversible under thermal conditions and heating to room temperature recovers the diamagnetic closed-shell form. These research fields establish a convergent strategy towards functional bulk and molecular materials.

References
1)      J. Sprachmann, T. Wachsmuth, M. Bhosale, D. Burmeister, G. J. Smales, M. Schmidt, Z. Kochovski, N. Grabicki, R. Wessling, E. List-Kratochvil, B. Esser, O. Dumele, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 2840–2851.
2)      S. Pallasch, M. Bhosale, G. J. Smales, C. Schmidt, S. Riedel, Z. Zhao-Karger, B. Esser, O. Dumele, ChemRxiv 2023, 64ca9b41dfabaf06ff982e2b.
3)      N. Grabicki, O. Dumele, Synlett 2022, 33, 1719853.
4)      N. Grabicki, K. T. D. Nguyen, S. Weidner, O. Dumele, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 14909–14914.
5)      N. Grabicki, S. Fisher, O. Dumele, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202217917.
6)      C. Douglas, J. Sprachmann, D. Dunlop, J. Schlecht, J. Neudörfl, T. Wachsmuth, J. Frost, T. Slanina, O. Dumele, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, e2204400.
7)      K. Günther, N. Grabicki, B. Battistella, L. Grubert, O. Dumele, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 8707–8716.

Journée Scientifique Lumomat 8 Octobre 2026 à Rennes – 5e édition Read More »

Congrès Chirality@TheNanoscale 2026 : Elias Djanffar et Justin Cado en Italie

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🎓 Elias Djanffar, doctorant à l’Institute of Chemical Sciences of Rennes and Justin Cado, doctorant à MOLTECH-Anjou, tous deux financés par LUMOMAT ont bénéficié d’un soutien financier de mobilité internationale pour participer à Chirality@TheNanoscale 2026 à Lipari en Italie du 20 au 24 Septembre 2026. 

👉 L’École Universitaire de recherche LUMOMAT apporte son soutien aux doctorants et doctorantes pour leur permettre de participer à des congrès internationaux précieux pour leurs recherches et les rencontres scientifiques qu’ils permettent.

Justin Cado - Doctorant à MOLTECH-Anjou (Université d'Angers)

"I attended the Chirality at the Nanoscale 2026 conference in Lipari, Italy, where I presented my PhD research on 'Inducing Spin-Selective Oxygen Evolution via Chiral Modification of NiOx'. It was an amazing experience, as I had the opportunity to exchange ideas with other researchers in the field of chirality, gain new perspectives, and find new ideas for my own work. On top of that, the island's landscapes were absolutely stunning!"

Justin Cado - Doctorant à MOLTECH-Anjou (Université d'Angers)

Elias Djanffar - Doctorant à l'ISCR (Université de Rennes)

"What an inspiring experience, and what a pleasure to share our results with the chirality community! Few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to present the work from our recent publication, along with new results, at the Chirality@TheNanoscale conference in Lipari, Italy. It was a week rich in scientific exchange within a particularly dynamic chirality community, thanks to an outstanding organization. I sincerely thank EUR LUMOMAT for the mobility grant that enabled me to attend this conference. I also thank my PhD supervisors Julien Boixel and Rémi Dessapt for their trust, as well as our collaborators for their contributions to this work. Arrivederci!"

Elias Djanffar - Doctorant à l'ISCR (Université de Rennes)

Congrès Chirality@TheNanoscale 2026 : Elias Djanffar et Justin Cado en Italie Read More »

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