Olivier conducts his research in the P3R team at the Softmat laboratory.
On the 18th of April, he defended his habilitation to supervise PhD students, marking a milestone in his career.
After his studies in organic chemistry, he defended his thesis in 2005 at the Catalysis Laboratory in Lille, working on the metathesis of terminal alkynes.
He then moved to Japan for a two and half year post-doctorate at Nagoya University, in the laboratory of Professor Noyori, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2001. He continued this international experience by joining the Mitsui Chemicals research centre in Sodegaura, where he worked for 18 months as a researcher.
In 2009, he was recruited as a lecturer at the University of Toulouse, in the LHFA laboratory. In 2014, he joined the Softmat laboratory (ex-IMRCP), where his research focuses on RAFT polymerisation and the synthesis of functional polymers using thiolactone chemistry.
His research is at the interface of organic chemistry and polymer science, with a particular interest in the development of functional materials.
In particular, he is specialised in RAFT radical polymerisation, a technique that enables the structure of polymers to be controlled using a wide range of monomers. This approach makes it possible to design original, functional copolymers capable of self-assembling in solution to form objects of controlled size and functionality. These objects can be envisaged for a variety of applications, particularly in the field of medical imaging.
It is also developing work on thiolactone chemistry, with the aim of developing simple routes to functional thiolactones. These serve as modular platforms for post-polymerisation functionalisation, paving the way for the design of customised functional polymers.
Congratulations to Olivier!
A key aspect of this research is the chemistry of thiolactones, with the development of a simple method for accessing functional thiolactones. These molecules can then be used to custom-functionalise polymers, enabling the creation of materials with specific properties, suitable for a variety of applications.