Editorial: Sol-Gel Science at the Frontiers of Innovation

Excerpt

The 21st International Sol-Gel Conference, SOLGEL2022, was held in Lyon in July 2022. It was postponed from the initial dates (August 2021) after the world was faced with the terrible COVID-19 pandemic situation. Fortunately, the presence of more than 350 participants from 42 countries and over 60 companies on-site made this event a success. The six plenary lectures gave a fantastic overview of interdisciplinary research at the frontiers of sol-gel science and technology, from polymer chemistry to carbon or ceramic material design and nano-structuring, at the interface with physics or biology, with societal impact especially in the fields of energy, environment and health. In addition, the 22 invited lectures, 170 oral communications, and 260 posters from all over the world which covered all fields of application from environmental remediation to medicine, showed the enthusiasm and the dynamism of our community, in particular from our young researchers. The two associated workshops on “Sol-Gel Materials for Bio-Encapsulation and Bio-Delivery” and the “International workshop on Photonic Glasses by Sol-Gel” (which was organized by the International Commission on Glass celebrating the United Nations International Year of Glass 2022) also clearly illustrated the rich inter-disciplinary character of sol-gel science and technology.

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