Institut Charles Sadron Présentation

The Institut Charles Sadron (ICS) was created in 1947 to develop the fundamental science of polymers at the interface between chemistry and physics, and to guide the explosive birth of the polymer industry. Since then, the ICS has been able to establish itself as a global player in various fields related to the science polymers and self-assembled systems.

Located in Cronenbourg, the ICS is a “Unity propre” (UPR 22) of the CNRS, associated with the Institute of Chemistry (INC) of the CNRS, in close interaction with the Institute of Physics (INP) and the Institute of Sciences of engineering and systems (INSIS). It is also associated with the University of Strasbourg and INSA Strasbourg, with strong links to the Physics and Engineering UFR, the ECPM and the Faculty of Chemistry. The ICS is a key player in the Carnot Mica Institute and in the Federation of the Materials and Nanosciences Research of the Grand Est, and is involved in numerous national and international networks.

Structured in seven research teams and four platforms, the ICS brings together 53 researchers and teacher-researchers, 38 engineers, technicians and administrative staff and around 100 doctoral students, post-docs, associate researchers and internship students.

Following a multidisciplinary approach, the scientific mission of the Institute covers the science of polymers and self-assembled systems, from the mechanisms of formation of macromolecules to the fundamental understanding of their properties, both in dilute and condensed phases.

Our current research efforts may be grouped into four main topics, which are treated in a collaborative manner by different teams at the interface between chemistry, physico-chemistry, experimental and theoretical physics:

The study of "functional" polymers and materials strengthens the institute’s role in the scientific community by providing major industrial perspectives in the future field of health and energy.

Thanks to the support by the CNRS, by the Strasbourg Idex, the International Center for Research at the Frontiers of Chemistry, the “Contrat Plan Etat Régions”, the European Union and the National funding agency ANR, the ICS has the ability to invest nearly 1 million Euro per year in advanced scientific equipment.

The scientific expertise of the ICS and the wide range of analysis methods allows the institute to resolve many R&D issues in the academic and industrial sector. The research teams and the three plateforms (polymer characterisation, electron microscopy and micromechanics) thus collaborate with numerous academic and industrial teams around the world. The first two platforms are ISO 9001 certified. The fourth platform, MICASOL, is located at the synchrotron Soleil to enables in-situ characterisation of macromolecular systems at all scales.

With a consolidated annual budget of more than 11 million euros, the ICS has between 65 and 90 contracts in progress per year and around fifty partners, and has the means to continue to innovate, adapt and renew to imagine now the polymeric materials of the future.