For many centuries, solid-state chemistry was synonymous with high-temperature chemistry. In the mid-twentiethcentury , this evolved into a less energy-intensive form of chemistry, now known worldwide as " soft chemistry ".
This chemistry, which obeys the precepts of sustainable development and is rich in applications, was the subject of the lecture. We described its richness via the many processes it generates to make objects of varying dimensions, shapes and sizes. The sol-gel process, the template approach and other methods for preparing colloids, sols, gels, nanoarchitectures and even nanomaterials, as well as techniques for elaborating nanowires by electrodeposition or electrospinning, or thin films by physical deposition, were detailed.
The lecture was supplemented by seminars designed to demonstrate the importance of elaboration processes for specific applications. These seminars were presented by experts from industries such as Saint-Gobain, Solvay and EDF, as well as academics specializing in materials for medical imaging, optics and photovoltaic conversion.