Chemistry and Electrochemistry of Materials group

BiSbTe nanowire – on an electrical measurement platform

Cross section of a ZnMn electrodeposited film – EBSD analysis

Optical image of cell phone scraps

Last publications

Easy to scale up synthesis of a high-purity piperidinium based ionic liquid combining both sustainability and cost-effectiveness
Manuel Lejeune, Micheline Draye, Sophie Legeai, S. Michel, Guilhem Arrachart, S Pellet-Rostaing
Journal of Ionic Liquids, 2024, 4 (1), pp.100076. ⟨10.1016/j.jil.2023.100076⟩
Wet chemical synthesis of self-standing single-crystalline copper telluride Cu7Te4 nanorods: Characterizations and mechanism
K Al Hokayem, L M Adam, J Ghanbaja, Abdelkrim Redjaïmia, E Haye, S Michel, S Legeai, N Stein
Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2024, 318, pp.129239. ⟨10.1016/j.matchemphys.2024.129239⟩
Electroleaching and electrodeposition of silver in ethaline 1 : 2 and propeline 1 : 3: transport properties and electrode phenomena
Calogera Bertoloni, Sophie Legeai, Stéphanie Michel, Eric Meux, François Lapicque
Environmental Science: Advances, 2024, 3 (6), pp.875-884. ⟨10.1039/d4va00042k⟩

Presentation

The activity of the Chemistry and Electrochemistry of materials group is focused on the study and exploitation of the chemical and electrochemical reactivity of mineral materials. The approach which is used combines analytical studies of the behaviour of solutions or solids with characterization techniques.

The research topics are part of an approach linked to renewable energies and waste recovery. They are based on recognized skills (electroplating, electrochemical intercalation, electrolixiviation and hydrometallurgical treatments), whether in aqueous electrolyte or ionic liquid medium.

They can be divided into two main areas:

Electrochemical elaboration of films and one-dimensional nanostructures, and the study of microstructure relationships, low dimensionality and functional properties.
Research into electrochemical and chemical protocols for the material recovery of metalliferous by-products and end-of-life materials, in particular for the recovery of critical metals.

These activities are the subject of academic, institutional and industrial collaboration projects. They are also carried out in interaction with other groups in the laboratory, especially Functional Thin Films for Energy Applications, Materials for Civil Engineering, Surface and Interface, Chemical Reactivity of Materials.

Keywords

Electrodeposition

Electrolixiviation

Electrochemical intercalation

Nanostructures

Electrochemistry

Hydrometallurgical treatment

Ionometallurgy

Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

Research topics

Electrodeposition of materials

The research developed aims to elaborate protocols for the electrochemical synthesis of materials, either in the form of films or nanostructures.
The main field of application concerns energy conversion materials, especially those with thermoelectric (TE) properties. Zinc-based metal alloy coatings are also being studied in the automobile industry for their anti-corrosion properties.
To study the mechanisms of film growth, the group has developed an in situ measurement setup combining electrochemical, gravimetric and ellipsometric measurements (collaboration with the LCP-A2MC).

Project:

ANR PRCI 3D ThermoNano (collaboration EMPA, Thun, Suisse)

Thesis:

Ministry / Région 2019-2022, Karen Al Hokayem (collaboration Institut Charles Sadron)
CIFRE 2021-2024, Charles Petit, collaboration with VALLOUREC

Articles:

Development of microdevices for the in-plane thermoelectric characterization of deposited films, Journal of Materials Research and Technology 15 (2021) 1190-1200
Morphological and chemical dynamics upon electrochemical cyclic sodiation of electrochromic tungsten oxide coatings extracted by in situ ellipsometry, Applied Optics 59 (2020) 3766-3772
Electrodeposition of Tin Selenide from Oxalate-Based Aqueous Solution, Journal of The Electrochemical Society 167 (2020) 162502
Influence of the electrolyte composition on the electrochemical dissolution behavior of forged Inconel 718, Journal of Applied Electrochemistry 50, 197-206 (2020)

Hydrometallurgical treatments of secondary raw materials (SRMs)

The research focuses on the development of innovative hydrometallurgical protocols, in particular to reduce the number of elementary steps.

Thus, it was proposed to couple two unitary operations within the same cell: Electrolixiviation and electroplating. This concept was developed in an aqueous medium, in particular for zinc-bearing waste (Waelz oxide and Zn/MnO2 battery shredding). Then it was applied to an ionic liquid medium (fuel cell platinum electrodes). This topic was developed in close collaboration with the electrochemical engineering team of the ENSIC Reactions and Process Engineering Laboratory. (LRGP, http://lrgp.univ-lorraine.fr/).

Electrochemical intercalation by redox reaction at room temperature with electronic and ionic transfer on semiconductor host arrays, has been one of the team's proven skills for many years. In particular, the aims of this mode of action make it possible to define electrochemical protocols for the extraction/transfer of lithium ions contained in acid leachates from the treatment of crushed lithium batteries and lithium-ion accumulators.

Project:

ANR EE4Precious (2021-2024), collaboration LRP, CEA, Terra Nova Développement
Carnot – THYMO (2021-2023)

Thesis:

ANR 2021-2024, Calogera Bertoloni

Articles:

Greening effect of slag cement-based concrete: Environmental and ecotoxicological impact, Environmental Technology & Innovation 22 (2021) 101467
Use of Phytic Acid for the Removal of Iron in Hot Acidic Leachate from Zinc Hydrometallurgy, JOM (2021)
Use of phytic acid for selective precipitation of undesirable metals (Al, Fe, Pb) contained in the leachates from hydrometallurgical processes, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2021, 9 (4)
Ionic Liquids as Extraction Media in a Two-Step Eco-Friendly Process for Selective Tantalum Recovery, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 8, 1954-1963 (2020)

Know-how

Elaboration

Development by electroplating of films with functional properties (thermoelectric, anticorrosive) in aqueous and ionic liquid media
Elaboration of one-dimensional nanostructures from mesoporous matrices or by self-assembly

Characterization

Measurement of thermoelectric power factor (Seebeck, electrical resistivity) at room temperature for films or nanowire assemblies. Localized Seebeck coefficient determination (at room temperature) (Potential-Seebeck Microprobe, PSM)
Physicochemical characterization of industrial waste (XRD, XRFS, ICP-AES, CHNS analysis, TGA)
Analysis of solutions by Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry (ICP)
Semi-quantitative or quantitative elemental chemical analysis by X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRFS): powders, solid samples, thin films and liquids.
Characterization of electrochemical interfaces and thin films by ellipsometry

Technological transfer

Development of electrolytes for electrochemical machining.
Patents: FR1873039, FR 1873037
Anticorrosive electrodeposition coatings
United States, 20180179642, DE102014004656 A1, DE102014004657 A1, WO2015149918 A1, DE102014004649 A1, DE102014004650 A1, DE102014004651 A1, DE102014004652 A1
Process for the electrochemical recovery of platinum.
FR 16 56293
Electrolyte separation membrane for the selective transfer of cations.
United States, 2016/0082395
Process for the selective recovery of gold from gold and platonoid containing compounds.
FR 2109750
Process for the treatment of industrial mineral waste leading to a vitrifiat with hydrolic properties.
FR 2102207

Hydrometallurgical treatments

Recovery of metals by chemical leaching, selective precipitation and electrodeposition
Coupling electrolixiviation - electrodeposition in aqueous media and ionic solvents (ionic liquid and Deep Eutectic Solvents)
Methodology of experimental design