Innovative Materials for Optics, Photovoltaics and Storage

Innovative Materials for Optics, Photovoltaics and Storage (MIOPS)

The MIOPS team (Innovative Materials for Optics, Photovoltaics and Storage) designs, synthesizes and studies functional materials and innovative devices to meet major societal challenges. The compounds studied are oxides, chalcogenides and organic-inorganic hybrid materials. The properties concerned are optical, electrical, magnetic or thermal, or they can be coupled (optoelectronic, thermoelectric, magnetoelectric, etc.).

We develop a wide range of compounds with optical properties for applications in various fields, such as intelligent pigments, UV absorbers, transparent conductors, IR reflectors and luminescent detectors. In the field of energy conversion, we design photovoltaic and photoelectro-catalytic devices based on oxides and chalcogenides.

Our core business is the exploratory synthesis of controlled microstructure materials (nano or micrometric powders, crystals, thin films) and their advanced characterization (laboratory and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, PDF analysis, PEDT, neutron diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, optical spectroscopy, time-resolved photoluminescence, Raman, magnetism), with the aim of understanding and predicting structure-electronic property relationships. Artificial intelligence is integrated to accelerate the exploration of new materials. These studies are enriched/rationalized by ab initio modeling, defect and electronic structure studies.

Team news

Discover all MIOPS publications on the HAL national archive.

I consult

Main themes

1. Optical materials

2. Magnetic or magnetoelectronic materials

3. Materials for energy conversion

4. Modeling, simulation and artificial intelligence

5. Advanced characterization of materials and devices

Cross-team themes

– Modelling

– Hybrid materials

– Chalcogen materials

Areas of expertise and tools

Synthesis techniques
Optical spectroscopies
Crystallography
Theoretical modelling

Fields of application

Species and counterfeit detection
Optical conversion
Photochemical conversion
Photovoltaic conversion

Ongoing research projects (ANR, PEPR, Europe…)

Projects

Teaching

Teaching in bachelor’s, master’s and Polytech engineering courses, chemistry, physics and materials science

Training

Academic and industrial collaborations

The team collaborates with numerous academic partners on a national and international scale, within the framework of projects (ANR, ADEME, PEPR, EUR, Europe) and networks (GDR, Research Federations).

It should be noted that MIOPS has strong interactions with Japan (Kyoto University): Japanese Core-To-Core, ASPIRE programs; IRP CNRS, shared Nantes-Kyoto laboratory created, bilateral NU-Kyoto University cooperation agreement being finalized, future IRL CNRS.

It also has close links with industrial partners.