Domaines
Condensed matter
Statistical physics
Soft matter
Physics of liquids
Hydrodynamics/Turbulence/Fluid mechanics
Nanophysics, nanophotonics, 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures,, surface physicss, new electronic states of matter
Type de stage
Expérimental et théorique Description
We are interested in fundamental physics problems that are relevant in various important societal and engineering contexts. In particular, we study how evaporation and condensation of salty water happens in complex systems, triggered by variations in external humidity. These phenomena are crucial for e.g. water harvesting in dry climates, cloud formation in the atmosphere, new strategies for energy production/conversion, smart optical/mechanical metamaterials, sustainable architecture and heritage conservation, etc. but raise basic, unexplored question with rich physics. Recently, we have successfully characterized and described how the interaction between condensation/evaporation and capillary/osmotic phenomena dictate the equilibrium states of salt solutions confined in single nanopores. Now we are investigating larger scale phenomena in extended systems formed of many interacting pores (formation of arrays of microdroplets, stochastic nucleation patterns) and are trying to understand how they emerge from the behavior in single nanopores.
Contact
Olivier Vincent