The Institute

The Institute of Materials was created in 1988 by the renowned French chemist Jean Rouxel. Drawing together chemists, physicists and materials engineers from the CNRS and the University of Nantes, with over 150 researchers and support staff it now represents one of the largest materials research centers in France. Research projects are diverse, including collaborations with industry, and other national and international research organizations.

Objective Materials

At the IMN we develop a fundamental understanding of the science of materials and their properties from the atomic scale upwards. This allows the design, characterization and optimization of new materials for a diverse range of high technology applications, including next generation solar cells, fuel cells, electric car batteries, nanotechnology, smart materials, materials for microelectronics, photonic and optical materials.

Groups

The Institute consists of six research teams:

• Conversion and storage of solar energy: photovoltaics and photobatteries (CESES)
• Physics of materials and nanostructures (PMN)
• Plasma processes and thin films (PCM)
• Electrochemical storage and conversion of energy (ST2E)
• Innovative materials for optics and storage (MIOPS)
• Material engineering and metallurgy (ID2M) 

Skills

• Synthesis: chimie douce, nanomaterials, plasma and thin films, nano-biomaterials
• Structural characterization 
• Study and optimisation of physical, chemical and electrochemical properties
• Modeling
• Optical and vibrational spectroscopy 
• Local spectroscopy
• Electron spectroscopy 
• Electron and near-field microscopy 
• Metallurgy, Welding metallurgy 
• Thermal response and characterization of materials and soils