Functional materials - Bio-based materials

The latest publications in this offer are:

• February 10, 2026

  N1500

  Thermoelectric materials

  Refrigerators and thermoelectric generators are among the new methods of refrigeration or “green” electricity production. In the current context of environmental crisis, these devices are therefore being considered for air conditioning or electricity production from waste heat. However, the materials used to make them contain rare chemical elements or perform poorly, preventing the development of all the intended applications. Research is therefore focused on discovering new materials, and this article presents the state of the art in thermoelectric materials.

• May 10, 2025

  E2000

  Piezoelectric thin-film technology for RF filters

  The ever-increasing needs for faster data transmission, higher resolution of movie streaming, and growing real time applications are forcing mobile communication to innovate steadily. The move to higher frequencies is an obvious measure to achieve higher bandwidths and thus data rates. It is, however, a big challenge for the acoustic filter technology, which is based on piezoelectric materials. This article reviews some fundamental notions of piezoelectric resonators based on thin films or single crystal slices. It presents various materials solutions such as AlN, AlN-ScN, and LiNbO3 and their limitations with respect to electro-mechanical coupling and intrinsic quality factors.

• November 10, 2024

  RE410

  Hydrogen, materials and education

  International geopolitical tensions are creating intense constraints on the mineral resources needed for the energy transition. The implementation of hydrogen technologies must imperatively take this into account, and must also anticipate the resulting training needs. After taking stock of these tensions in materials, the article analyses and compares the way hydrogen is taught in the best Western and Chinese universities, and presents exemplary cooperation initiatives that, beyond geopolitical differences, make it possible to envisage synergies that take advantage of the best of different cultures to meet the environmental challenge.

• November 10, 2024

  N2000

  Direct bonding

  This article deals with the direct bonding method, also known as molecular adhesion, by revealing the phenomena and mechanisms that enable adhesion without glue. It focuses on the cases of silica and silicon, as these are the materials that have been most extensively studied and physically best understood to date. The fundamental issues that allow spontaneous adhesion in terms of surface quality (roughness), coverage and cleanliness are detailed in the first part. Methods for characterising adhesion forces during assembly and adhesion during disassembly are then reviewed. Finally, the physico-chemical mechanisms of adhesion and the treatments that can be used to improve the durability of assemblies are described.

• September 10, 2024

  N4004

  Luminescent heterolanthanide coordination polymers

  Luminescent hetero-lanthanides coordination polymers are one-, two- or three-dimensional crystalline structures in which several different lanthanide ions coexist and are linked together by organic ligands. This class of compounds, in the near future, could be used to mark plastics to improve their recyclability. This article details the structural and optical characteristics of hetero-lanthanide coordination polymers. It presents the current state of knowledge and the efforts that still need to be made before these compounds can be used to optimize the sorting of plastic waste.

• July 10, 2024

  N502

  Industrial silicate ceramics

  The manufacture of industrial silicate ceramics in Europe emits annually 19 Mt of CO2 into the atmosphere. The article describes solutions to mitigate the climate effects of the industrial production of silicate ceramics. To reduce emissions by 2050, it is necessary to identify the sources of carbon emissions, to propose technologies with lower carbon emissions, and to accelerate the creation of innovative industrial processes. The article also shows that the environmental and energy issues are not limited to the manufacturing stages but are also determined by the EU, to create sufficient quantities of carbon-free energy and distributed by a European network.

• April 10, 2024

  RE409

  Protein eco-applications

  Proteins represent an attractive raw material for the formation of new materials. Although there are good opportunities to develop protein-based products like adhesives, foams and coatings, the industrial application of proteins has been limited so far. Several works since the 2000s have focused on the valorization of proteins, this will be presented in this article.

• March 10, 2024

  E1995

  GaN-based HEMT devices

  In the field of microwave power electronics, the wide bandgap material GaN offers an interesting alternative by its physical properties. It makes it possible to manufacture devicessuch as GaN diodes and High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) that operate at high frequency, thanks to their good electronic transport properties and high breakdown voltage. This article describes the specific features of the semiconductor and associated heterostructures, in particular spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations and the different developed structures and the growth methods used, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition or molecular beam epitaxy, as well as problems related to the host substrate (mainly SiC or Si).

• January 24, 2024

  E6436 Review

  Organic materials for lasers

  Devices based on organic materials can be found in many fields of photonics, from sensors to incoherent light emitters (OLEDs). However, lasers have not yet reached their technological maturity and many fundamental physics aspects are still to be clarified. This article is an introduction to the field of organic lasers: the basics of the physics of the so-called "Π-conjugated" materials will be described and their properties and their use in lasers will be reviewed.

• August 10, 2023

  RE408

  Development of biobased isocyanate-free polyurethanes (NIPUs) for wood adhesives

  Conventionally, polyurethanes are synthesized by step growth polymerization of diols (or polyols) and diisocyanates (or polyisocyanates). The variety of isocyanates and polyols makes it possible to generate a wide range of materials with different properties. Despite the many advantages of polyurethanes, their synthesis can raise issues due to the toxicity of isocyanates. In order to limit the risks for producers and users, non-isocyanate polyurethanes have been developed. The synthesis of such non-isocyanate polyurethanes, as well as properties and applications, mainly as adhesives for wood, are described in detail in this article.

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