No. 60 clefsSummer 2011 Chemistry is everywhere No. 60 - Summer 2011 clefs Chemistry is everywhere www.cea.fr No. 60 Summer 2011 clefs Chemistry is everywhere Chemistry 2 Foreword, by Valérie Cabuil is everywhere I. NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY Clefs CEA No. 60 – SUMMER 2011 4 Introduction, by Stéphane Sarrade Main cover picture Dyed polymers for photovoltaic cells. 6 Advances in the separation For many years, CEA has been applying chemistry of actinides, all aspects of chemistry, in all its forms. Chemistry is at the very heart of all its by Pascal Baron major programs, whether low-carbon 10 The chemical specificities energies (nuclear energy and new energy technologies), biomedical and of actinides, environmental technologies or the by Philippe Moisy information technologies. 11 Uranium chemistry: significant P. Avavian/CEA – C. Dupont/CEA advances, Inset by Marinella Mazzanti top: Placing corrosion samples in a high-temperature furnace. 12 Chemistry and chemical P. Stroppa/CEA engineering, the COEX process, by Stéphane Grandjean bottom: Gas sensors incorporating “packaged” NEMS. P. Avavian/CEA 13 Supercritical fluids in chemical Pictogram on inside pages processes, © Fotolia by Audrey Hertz and Frédéric Charton Review published by CEA Communication Division 14 The chemistry of corrosion, Bâtiment Siège by Damien Féron, Christophe Gallé 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France) and Stéphane Gin Phone: + 33 (0)1 64 50 10 00 Fax (editor’s office): + 33 (0)1 64 50 17 22 14 17 Focus A Advances in modeling Executive publisher Xavier Clément in chemistry, by Philippe Guilbaud, Editor in chief Jean-Pierre Dognon, Didier Mathieu, 21 Understanding the chemical Marie-José Loverini (until 30/06/2011) Christophe Morell, André Grand mechanisms of radiolysis and Pascale Maldivi by Gérard Baldacchino Deputy editor Martine Trocellier [email protected] Scientific committee Bernard Bonin, Gilles Damamme, Céline Gaiffier, Étienne Klein, II. CHEMISTRY AND ALTERNATIVE François Pupat, Gérard Sanchez Iconography ENERGIES Florence Klotz Production follow-up 24 Introduction, Lucia Le Clech by Hélène Burlet and Gérard Bidan Subscription Subscription (printed French version) 26 Producing conjugated molecular to Clefs CEA is free. Requests for subscriptions should be architectures for organic addressed, preferably via Internet, by photovoltaics, using the form available at the site: by Renaud Demadrille http://www.cea.fr 37 or by fax to: + 33 (0)1 64 50 20 01 29 Bio-inspired chemistry: getting rid Translated into English by of platinum in hydrogen applications, AéroTraduction by Vincent Artero and Marc Fontecave 34 Chemistry in batteries, ISSN 1625-970X by Frédéric Le Cras Clefs CEA (CD–Rom) 37 Battery recycling, Design of electronic media by Richard Laucournet, Calathea – Paris Sophie Mailley and Étienne Bouyer Phone: + 33 (0)1 43 38 16 16 32 With the exception of illustrations, 38 Chemistry is all present all information in this issue of Clefs CEA in the production of energy may be freely reproduced, in whole or in part, subject to agreement from biomass, by the editors and mention of the source. by Capucine Dupont, Karine Froment and Sylvie Valin © 2011 CEA RCS Paris B 775 685 019 41 Chemistry at the heart of the Head office: Bâtiment Le Ponant D, 25, rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris (France) DSM-Low Carbon Energy program, by Hervé Bercegol CLEFS CEA - N o. 60 - SUMMER 2011 III. CHEMISTRY FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT 42 Introduction, by Éric Quéméneur 48 Drug design for optimizing pharmacotherapeutic 44 Chemistry of tracers molecules, for medical imaging, by Pascale Delangle, by Marinella Mazzanti, Peter Reiss, Christelle Gateau, Éric Ansoborlo, Isabelle Texier, Françoise Vinet, Marie-Pierre Heck and Nathalie Herlin-Boime, Thierry Le Gall Bertrand Kuhnast and Frédéric Dollé 52 New sensitive and selective sensors, by Thu-Hoa Tran-Thi, Sylvie Sauvaigo, Didier Gasparutto, 58 Thierry Livache, André Roget and Jean-Pierre Simonato 56 Chemistry for functional micro and nanosystems, by Françoise Vinet 59 Structure and activity 67 of proteins, by Martin Weik and Jacques-Philippe Colletier 67 Chemistry and migration, by Catherine Beaucaire, 62 From toxicology Cécile Ferry and Yves Bigay to ecotoxicology, by Éric Ansoborlo, 71 Focus B Analyses for health Catherine Berthomieu, and the environment: Thierry Douki, stakes and prospects, Jean-Luc Ravanat, by Frédéric Chartier Thu-Hoa Tran-Thi and Claude Vidaud and Jean Aupiais IV. CHEMISTRY FOR THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES 74 Introduction, by Robert Baptist 84 Institutions and organizations: who does what? 76 New performance for organic optoelectronics, 85 Glossary by Benjamin Grévin, Patrice Rannou, Christophe Serbutoviez 79 101 Periodic table of elements and Flore Sonier 79 Chemistry for molecular electronics and carbon electronics, by Vincent Derycke CEA, a major player in the field of research, 76 development and innovation French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is active in four main fields: energy, defense and global security, information technologies and biomedical technologies, associated with first-rate fundamental research and the design and operation of very large research infrastructures. CEA is a unique public organization and occupies pride of place in the French research landscape, where it is now the major operator in scientific and technological research in low-carbon energies, in addition to its existing, traditional roles. CEA operates 10 centers around France and thanks to its internationally recognized expertise it is consulted by the public authorities for its opinions and its ideas on a variety of topics. It stands at the crossroads between the industrial, scientific and academic worlds and has forged strong ties with industry, while developing close collaboration with universities. In this respect, CEA is a stakeholder in national alliances coordinating French research in the fields of energy (ANCRE), life sciences and health (AVIESAN), numerical sciences and technologies (ALLISTENE) and the environmental sciences (AllEnvi). Particular emphasis is also placed on education and public 82 Focus C The growing complexity information, in order to promote the transfer of knowledge and foster the science-society debate. of chemistry for the information technologies, by Jean-Christophe P. Gabriel CLEFS CEA - N o. 60 - SUMMER 2011 1 Chemistry is everywhere Foreword 2011 celebrates while remaining stable under irradiation, but also the International Year in understanding the transfer mechanisms at the interfaces. CEA is also developing a huge knowledge of Chemistry, database around actinides chemistry and chemistry under irradiation – topics that are studied very a distinction awarded by the 63rd General Assembly of little by the academic world because they are highly the United Nations. For this scientific discipline that specific to the nuclear field, but which have given is omnipresent, be it in domestic or industrial appli- the scientific community experimental techniques cations, this distinction is a well-earned one, because and models that are advanced and creative. Actinides chemistry is the key to the development of most of the chemistry remains a complex field owing to the technological solutions of tomorrow, in particular in scarcity of experimental data, the acquisition of the field of energy: energy storage, exploitation of new which demands large facilities, but also to the fact energy sources, materials strength, and so on. that it is hard to describe these elements with the CEA recognized this very early on and for many usual model ing techniques. Yet the commitment years has been applying chemistry in all its forms to a sustainable and safe nuclear industry makes it (from fundamental research to process engineering) essential to acquire and master these data. Hence and in all its aspects (modeling, physico-chemistry the development of model ing techniques covering of solutions and interfaces, soft matter, analytical all scales: from model ing by quantum chemistry chemistry, chemistry of materials and nanomate- of actinide ions in solid state or in solution, to the rials, corrosion, electrochemistry, organic synthesis, simulation of industrial liquid/liquid extraction life sciences chemistry, chemistry under ionizing operations used in the facilities at the La Hague plants. radiation, radiochemistry, etc.). In the nuclear field, Similarly, chemistry under ionizing radiation, which chemistry is involved at all steps in the cycle, from the is highly specific to CEA activities, created a network mine to the fabrication of fuel and the containment of for coordinating the experimental and theoretical waste. Nonetheless, even if current processes can boast work on this subject. The challenge is not so much remarkable performance, the scientific bases which to study the phenomenon of the creation of radicals underpin them are still raising many fundamental as to understand the chemistry arising from this crea- questions. tion. This is an extremely complex road, in particular The separation sciences are thus a major issue in when the media considered are close to actual media: the design of the nuclear systems of the future, in mixtures in solution, alloys, polymer coverings, etc. particular with regard to the search for new extract- In the same way as the space and transport indus- ants, capable of offering the necessary selectivity tries, the nuclear industry, both civil and defense, is L. Godart/CEA 2 CLEFS CEA - N o. 60 - SUMMER 2011 the source of many major technological and