iMAT/iNANO Seminar: Role of surface heterogeneities on reactivity
Prof. Wiame (IRCP, ChimieParisTech – PSL, Paris) will discuss how atomic-scale chemical and structural variations influence oxidation mechanisms and corrosion resistance in stainless steels 304 and 316.
Abstract
After a brief presentation of the surface physical chemistry group, Prof. Wiame will illustrate the importance of surface chemical and structural heterogeneities on the reactivity of two model samples of austenitic stainless steel (304 and 316). The corrosion resistance of these widely used alloys is largely conditioned by their surface composition and structure. By characterizing local heterogeneities at the atomic level, at each step of the initial oxidation process, their role in the reaction mechanisms and in the nature and structure of the resulting oxide films will be evidenced. The self-organization of vacancy lines and of oxide islands observed on the initial and oxidized surfaces will be explained in the framework of elastic theory.
About the speaker
IRCP, ChimieParisTech, PSL University, Paris, France
Frédéric Wiame has been Associate Professor in the surface physical chemistry group at the Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris (PSL University) since 2004. After obtaining his PhD in physics at the University of Namur (Belgium) in 2001, he carried out research on synchrotron beamlines at LURE and SOLEIL, as a recipient of a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship. In 2003, he joined the Physical Chemistry of Surfaces group, as a post-doc before being appointed Associate Professor in 2004.
He is in charge of two ultra-high vacuum facilities dedicated to the characterization of surfaces by Auger and in situ photoemission spectroscopies, low energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy. His research activities focus on the characterization of the physical and chemical properties of surfaces at the atomic and nanometric scales and on the influence of local heterogeneities (structural and chemical) on reaction mechanisms.
He teaches mathematics, quantum mechanics, electronic properties of solids and surface science at Chimie ParisTech, as well as physics and chemistry of surfaces at Polytech Sorbonne, the University of Cadiz (Spain) and the French-Chinese Institute of Nuclear Energy at Sun Yat-Sen University (China).