Description du sujet de thèse

Liquid foams are used in many applications, in particular separation techniques such as surface decontamination, wastewater treatment and the production of lightweight materials. They thus play a crucial role in the ecological and energy transitions. Recent studies show that introducing an adhesive interaction between the bubbles of a foam can give rise to new macroscopic properties. The objective of the PhD is to explore experimentally the emerging research field of adhesive foams on two length scales: At the scale of the soap films separating bubbles, the aim will be to identify the molecular organization that induces adhesion between the interfaces. At the scale of the bubbles and at the macroscopic level, the consequences of the adhesion for the mechanical foam properties will be explored. We will also study how we can steer using adhesion the self-assembly of the bubbles, in the aim to create materials that could become metamaterials, which we will try to solidify. We will use microfluidic devices to create the bubbles, optical microscopy to analyse their self-assembly and the diffusion and diffraction of synchrotron radiation to detect the molecular structure of adhesive soap films. The mechanical properties of the adhesive contacts between bubbles and of the foams will be studied by specific experimental setups developed at our laboratory. For this PhD, a Master in Physics is required.

Contexte de travail

The work will be performed in the framework of the ANR project MOUSTICK, whose partners are researchers at Institut des NanoSciences de Paris and at Laboratoire Navier; they are internationally recognized experts of the structure and physical properties of liquid foams as well as of the molecular structure of fluid interfaces. Links to the websites of these two laboratories:
https://w3.insp.upmc.fr/en/research/research-teams/chemical-physics-and-dynamics-of-surfaces/
https://navier-lab.fr/la-recherche/rheophysique-et-milieux-poreux/

Contraintes et risques

There are no constraints or risks.