The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas: defence and security, low carbon energies (nuclear and renewable energies), technological research for industry, fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.
Dr. R. Demadrille, FRSC, leads STEP Team at CEA. STEP is an interdisciplinary team of chemists, physical chemists, electrochemists and physicists. The goals of these researchers are the control of molecular architectures and complex functionalities, the design of novel performance materials, and the description and understanding of their physical phenomena at all relevant length scales. Our work is based on the chemical synthesis of (macro)-molecules (π-conjugated or ionic oligomers and polymers) and nanomaterials (semiconductor nanocrystals and nanowires). The structure, and properties of the organic, inorganic, and hybrid materials resulting from these building blocks are determined by self-assembly or multi-scale order. These materials are used as active layers or contacts/electrodes in optoelectronic devices, electrolytes for energy conversion and storage, and electrodes for next-generation batteries and sensors. The team also develops a multi-technique methodology (experiments, modelling and simulation) and multiscale measurements (spatial and temporal) for establishing structure-property relationships in real materials and model systems. Indeed, generating and controlling functionality such as performance, durability or processing requires the understanding of the link between a given chemical structure, the organisation of the material (auto-assembly, nano-structuration, morphology), and the macroscopic properties of interest (electronic or ionic conductivity, thermomecanic stability, optical or electrochemical properties).

Renaud Demadrille is a Director of Research at the Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives – Interdisciplinary Research Institute of Grenoble (CEAIRIG). With over 20-years of expertise in the development of organic and hybrid materials for photovoltaics, Dr Demadrille is well placed to mentor this fellowship aimed at developing the next generation of photovoltaics. He has supervised and mentored 14 PhD students, 12 post-doctoral researchers and over 20 MSc students. Amongst several national and EU funded project, Dr Demadrille was awarded a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant in 2019 and in 2023 a Prize from the French Academy of Sciences