The research program of the Soft Matter team encompasses a broad variety of systems such as liquid crystals, surfactants, polymers, colloids and biomimetic systems. In each area of research, we design model systems from commercial or newly synthesized molecules for a better understanding of the phenomena. Various experimental techniques are used in order to get information on broad length and time scales: light, X-rays and neutron scattering; optical microscopy, rheology, microfluidics and micromanipulations. We aim to relate macroscopic properties to microscopic structure. Our research themes are:
Physics of Biological and Biomimetics Systems
We use conceptual tools from soft matter physics in order to explain and interpret some specific biological mechanisms occurring at the cellular scale or in order to develop biomimetic models to answer specific questions in biology or on the specific functioning of some proteins.
Complex Interfaces
Physics of interfaces have enjoyed a renewed interest thanks to the introduction of new experimental tools and theoretical concepts able to design and rationalize interfaces with large degree of complexity (surfaces with controlled gaussian curvatures, liquid crystal shells), in which colloidal systems show original dynamics. In this context, we study the structure and equilibrium/non-equilibrium dynamics of interfaces between fluids with different degrees of complexity, as well as their coupling with colloidal particles trapped on them.
Jamming, plasticity and material failure
The constituents of jammed and glassy soft materials such as concentrated colloidal suspensions or emulsions are so densely packed and/or so tightly bound that their microscopic dynamics are orders of magnitude slower than in dilute systems. We focus on the spontaneous (e.g. due to thermal energy) dynamics of these materials, as well as on their behavior in response to an external drive, e.g. a mechanical or thermal forcing.
Soft matter for agronomy and environment
Agronomical and environmental sciences are regularly facing physical phenomena relevant to soft matter. To reach a deeper understanding on these various physical phenomena, our scientific approach relies on identifying key-parameters in natural complex systems and designing relevant experimental models in the laboratory. The main objective is to derive general physical and physico-chemical mechanisms that are often hidden in the intrinsic complexity of agronomical, biological and environmental systems.
Soft composites
The main contributions of our group are detailed characterizations and a deep understanding of the complex structure of soft composite, including experimental studies of particle and chain structure in polymer nanocomposite, of their dynamics on the nanoscale, of liquid crystalline matrices and their effect on particles, or theoretical studies of gel formation and disruption due to enzymatic reactions.