Three years after the creation of the Institute, we are pleased to announce the first ever defense of a PhD thesis funded by TTI.5:
“PECTIN-BASED AEROGELS FOR THERMAL SUPERINSULATION”
by Eleni Effraimopoulou
directed by Arnaud Rigacci (PERSEE – Mines Paris – PSL) and Tatiana Budtova (CEMEF Mines Paris – PSL)
📆 Wednesday, September 24, 2025, at 9:30 a.m.
📍 Mozart Amphitheater (Pierre Laffitte Campus, Mines Paris – PSL, Sophia Antipolis, France)
or online via this link
💡About:
This thesis addresses the pressing need for high-performance, sustainable, and economically viable thermal insulation materials across many sectors, in light of the growing environmental and energy challenges posed by climate change. In this context, thermal insulation plays a key role in reducing energy consumption, particularly in the building sector, but also in other sectors such as transportation and industrial systems. Conventional insulation materials, although widely used, often fail to simultaneously meet performance requirements and minimize environmental impact, particularly in space-constrained environments, such as the interior renovation of existing buildings.
Among the solutions studied, aerogels are the only materials capable of offering intrinsic superinsulation (i.e., thermal conductivity lower than that of air) under ambient conditions, thanks to their unique nanostructure and mesoporosity. Pectin aerogels combine non-toxicity with ultra-low thermal conductivity and waste recovery, in line with the principles of the circular economy.
This theis is part of Axis 3 of our scientific program, “The Inclusive Planet.”
🔑Keywords: nanostructured materials, aerogels, pectin, thermal insulation, thermo-hydric aging, hydrophobic modification