SOLEIL II: Science lights up the future

Designing higher-performing catalysts

More than three-quarters of the manufactured objects around us are produced through catalytic processes. These processes enable selective reactions (the desired substance is produced in larger quantities), efficient reactions (less loss of initial components), and operate under conditions (temperature, pressure, etc.) that are less energy-intensive.

One of the challenges in many industrial sectors is to understand these processes in detail and optimize them to significantly reduce energy consumption.

Preserving plants

Our lives depend on plants, for both the air we breathe and the food we eat. Population growth, climate change, and intensive agriculture all make plants more vulnerable to drought and the rapid spread of pathogens.

Optimizing plants’ resistance to drought and their adaptation to the emergence of new plant pathogens are the challenges facing tomorrow's agriculture.

Fighting bacterial resistance to antibiotics

Multidrug-resistant bacteria kill about 700,000 people around the world each year. Understanding the mechanisms of antibiotic uptake and expulsion developed by bacteria are key points in the fight to save lives. 

Developing nanoelectronics

 On the surface of graphene, referred to as a 2D material due to its extreme thinness (a single layer of carbon atoms), electrons move 150 times faster than in silicon. Can we envision electronics 150 times faster, based on graphene?

The main challenge: it is not a semiconductor, a property essential for electronic components. However, modifications of graphene, as well as other 2D materials with similarities to graphene, are being studied to address this challenge.

Preserving and restoring natural and cultural heritage

 Over time, degradation processes threaten the appearance of ancient materials, obscure their interpretation, and can lead to their complete destruction.

To preserve these materials for future generations, it is essential to understand the deterioration mechanisms at work and develop environmentally sound protocols for conservation and restoration.

Understanding interactions between atoms and molecules

 
Knowledge of the electronic structure of isolated atoms and molecules is crucial to experimental validation of models based on quantum mechanics. However, in matter, particularly living matter, atoms and molecules are not isolated: they interact with their environment, which impacts their electronic structure. To understand the effect of these interactions, microjets of atomic or molecular ion solutions are generated in vacuum, enabling their study through X-ray spectroscopy.