Xavier Mercier
Research topics
My work deals with the measurement of the chemical species involved in the formation of carbonaceous particles in combustion media. It relies on the convergence of independent diagnostics applied to the same reference media, since no single technique can identify these minor and short-lived species.
Aromatic fluorophores and nucleation :
Identification of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and of their radical derivatives involved in the formation of the first soot particles, using excitation-emission matrices combined with quantum chemistry, pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance and VUV photoelectron spectroscopy at the SOLEIL synchrotron.
High resolution mass spectrometry :
Use of the timsTOF fleX mass spectrometer of CERLA. Ion mobility separates isomers of the same mass through their collision cross section. The aim is to build the reference databases that are missing for aromatic compounds, their radical derivatives and their clusters.
From flames to the interstellar medium :
Low pressure laboratory flames used as sources of analogues of the large interstellar carbon molecules, within the ANR INTERSTELLAR project. The set-up developed at PC2A stabilises flames between 20 and 100 mbar, in order to characterise the structure and the emission properties of fullerene type compounds.
Fluorescence of carbonaceous aerosols :
Transfer of spectrally resolved fluorescence measurements to atmospheric aerosols, in order to produce the reference spectra that are missing for the interpretation of LIDAR signals. Collaboration with the Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique within the Cross-Disciplinary Project AREA.