The Chemistry Graduate School’s : Research

A comprehensive research environment

The Chemistry Graduate School’s research programme is made up of 36 contributing research facilities from 12 operators in the Université Paris-Saclay community. The GS Chemistry provides a comprehensive research environment covering numerous areas in chemical science and its applications. The training subjects leading to and via research are carried out in conjunction with the education and professional integration programme, thus ensuring an education/research continuum and personalised education/research/innovation programmes. The development of projects within the GS Chemistry on emerging subjects or those to be consolidated require the use of both disciplinary AND transdisciplinary skills.

As a result, this approach covers not only the core activities of Chemistry, but also the upstream and downstream sectors of the development of chemical transformations.

The overall approach focuses on Chemistry from the fundamental to sustainable, guided by the key concepts of atom, step and energy economy. This approach is underpinned by internationally recognised research excellence in fundamental and applied chemistry. The activities of the GS Chemistry cover the entire value chain from raw materials, analysis and processing tools to the production of consumer goods or technological advances.

A wide range of applications for innovation in chemical science, from human and animal health, wellbeing (perfumes, cosmetics), energy, the environment, heritage science and consumer goods, reflects the activities and skills and expertise employed by the GS Chemistry teams to meet major societal challenges. 

The activities of the GS research and education teams are based on two strategic components: a disciplinary programme without pre-defined themes based on a competency-based approach, and cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas of focus.

Programme without pre-defined themes

The ‘blank’ disciplinary programme consists of three thematic areas of focus. For each of them, training elements from the Chemistry Master's degree, as well as a component from the DS, make up their educational base leading to and through research, allowing the development of a genuine education/research continuum

Component 1: Physical and Analytical Chemistry: elementary reactions, experimental and theoretical approaches

Component 1 is structured around the key objectives of i) the control of multiscale phenomena, ii) the development of final methods and processes, iii) the understanding of formation mechanisms and the effect on the surrounding environment, in particular via the interaction of light/radiation with chemical/biological entities.

Component 2: Inorganic, coordination and materials chemistry: Interfaces and nanoscience

Component 2 is defined by the following thematic fields: i) Inorganic, bioinorganic, coordination, solid state, hybrid materials and systems chemistry, ii) Nano-Chemistry iii) Flexible materials, polymers, solgels and soft matter, iv) Metallurgy v) Thin film, surface and sensor chemistry, vi) Heterogeneous catalysis, vii) Reactivity at interfaces and electrochemistry

Component 3: Organic chemistry: design and synthesis of multifunctional molecular structures.

Component 3 focuses on the following key terms: (i) design/engineering/synthesis of molecules, (ii) CC C-X bonding, (iii) green and sustainable chemistry, renewable resources, (iv) synthesis of molecular tools for biochemistry, (v) electrosynthesis, (vi) catalysis and (vii) supra- and macromolecular
chemistry. Component 3 also covers aspects of synthesis methods from small molecules to complex molecular structures.

Areas of focus and cross-disciplinary programmes

Several areas of focus and cross-disciplinary programmes and interdisciplinary programmes are available. Each is based on the expertise and profile of the key actors, large-scale projects, existing training programmes or those under construction in relation to identified needs and in connection with issues in Chemistry and challenges at the interfaces. Each is consistent with the economic development priorities of Université Paris-Saclay.

• Health, well-being and living
• Materials for the future
• Energy: processes, production, transfer, storage
• Resources, environment, catalysis

Chemistry is of course at the heart of major societal challenges relating to energy, the environment and health, and is completely in line with the strategy at Université Paris-Saclay and is delivered in partnership with the other Graduate schools within the community. 

The GS Chemistry also benefits from an instrument park and first-rate facilities to support any research being carried out by participating teams and laboratories. The innovations and technological breakthroughs developed represent a strong potential for development which reflects the enthusiasm and creativity of the researchers and teams involved in the GS Chemistry

The research teams

The research potential of the GS Chemistry is based on 73 teams comprised of about 950 permanent staff including researchers, academic staff, engineers and technicians.

There are 36 participating laboratories grouped by supervisory authority within the GS Chemistry community:

Several Interdisciplinary, Cross-disciplinary Subjects and Institutes are also capable of contributing to the thematic scope of GS Chemistry in various fields including: 

• Health technologies (InanoTherad, Bioprobe, Healthi, PASREL)
• Health / biology / food (Microbes, Metabiodivex,LivingMachines@work)
• Environment/climate/energy (REUNIS)
• Materials/physics/chemistry/nano (PSINano, IES, 2IM)
• Heritage science (Palabre)
• Aeronautics and aerospace (I2A)