Abstract:

In this keynote, cellular carbons and related materials will be considered. This kind of functional solids mainly consists in (more or less ordered) carbon foams, and in 3D periodic structures or dense packing of hollow carbon spheres, respectively. The synthesis of such materials will be first described. How the structure can be tuned will be explained, depending on the foreseen applications. Then, some examples of properties and applications will be given. A special focus will be given on energy and electromagnetic applications: thermal energy storage, electrochemical energy conversion, and manipulation of electromagnetic waves. Finally, perspectives for the near future will be suggested.

Alain Celzard graduated in chemical physics in 1992 and received his PhD in materials science in 1995 in Nancy (France). Since 2005 he is full professor at ENSTIB engineering school (Epinal). In 2010 he was appointed Junior member of the Institut Universitaire de France. At present he is heading one of the 4 scientific departments of Institut Jean Lamour (Université de Lorraine – CNRS), the largest lab dedicated to materials science in France. His scientific interests deal with disordered, porous and related materials, ranging from composites and nanoporous adsorbents to macroporous solid foams, with applications in catalysis, depollution, energy, electromagnetism, and gas storage. He co-authored around 270 publications, 20 book chapters and 7 patents.