INSTABILITY
From liquid phases to materials through metastable phenomena
24-26 September 2025
The IX ISGS Summer School focuses on the intriguing topic of instability in chemical and physical phenomena related to the sol-gel process. This versatile method for creating advanced materials involves kinetics that can lead to metastable chemical physical equilibria. These instabilities significantly affect material properties and performance, impacting processes such as gelation, phase separation, cracking, and phase transitions.
During this summer school, we will examine the physics and chemistry that drive the mechanisms behind these instabilities and their implications for synthesizing various sol-gel materials. Through a combination of lectures and interactive roundtables, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how instability influences the structure and functionality of materials derived from the sol-gel process. The ultimate goal of the school is to bridge theoretical concepts with practical applications, equipping attendees with the tools they need to navigate and control instability in materials obtained through a liquid phase.
Pre-registration and inquiries:
send email to:
Registration fee:
- Students (ISGS member): 400 €; (no ISGS member): 450 €
- Academic and industrial (ISGS member): 450 €; (no ISGS member): 500 €
The registration fee includes lunches, coffee breaks, welcome party and gala dinner.
List of topics and speakers:
- Cracking instability by Marco Faustini
- From a sol to a gel, a kinetically driven transition by Plinio Innocenzi
- Instability of stress, surface morphology and wettability of sol-gel-derived simple oxide thin films by Hiromitsu Kozuka
- Understanding the stain effect for self-assembly by Luca Malfatti
- Wrinkling in hybrid films by Masahide Takahashi
- Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly by Galo J. A. A. Soler-illia
- Spinoidal decomposition in sol-gel materials by Kazuki Nakanishi
