Paul Sotta

SOTTA_PaulResearch Director
PHYS
Membership: CNRS
Location: INSA Lyon

structure-property relationships / elastomers / semicrystalline thermoplastics

Research themes/centers of interest

My research axes cover polymer physics and structure-property relationships in polymers, namely: the local structure and dynamics in elastomers, reinforced elastomers, aqueous and organic gels; glass transition in polymers; reinforcement mechanisms in elastomer-based nanocomposites and in hybrid hydorgels; tear and wear resistance of reinforced rubbers; polymer blends; deformation mechanisms in semicrystalline polymers; Strain-induced crystallization in natural rubber and in other elastomers
My fields of expertise cover both theory/numerical simulation of polymers and experimental techniques such as broadband dielectric spectroscopy, solid state NMR, X and neutron scattering, , mechanical spectroscopy, tribology and contact mechanics, linear and non-linear rheology.

Major publications

  • P. Sotta, P.-A. Albouy, Strain-induced crystallization in natural rubber: Flory’s theory revisited, Macromolecules 2020, 53, 3097-3109. DOI10.1021/acs.macromol.0c00515
  • T. C. Merlette, J. Hem, C. Crauste-Thibierge, S. Ciliberto, F. Clément, P. Sotta, D. R. Long, Plasticity and strain-hardening of glassy polymers: a microscopic theory, Macromolecules 2023, 56, 16, 6510-6526. DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.3c00526
  • P. Sotta, P.-A. Albouy, M. Abou Taha, B. Moreaux, C. Fayolle, Crosslinked Elastomers: Structure–Property Relationships and Stress-Optical Law, Polymers 2022, 14, 9. doi.org/10.3390/\-polym14010009
  • J. Link, M. Tauban, R. Pieri, O. Sanséau, P. Sotta, Strain-hardening and breakdown in poly(vinylidene fluoride) gels in methyl-ethyl-ketone and heptanone, Journal of Polymer Science 2022, 1-14. DOI: 10.1002/pol.20220156
  • J. Laurens, J. Jolly, G. Ovarlez, H. Fay, T. Chaussée, P. Sotta, Competitive adsorption between a polymer and solvents onto silica, Langmuir 2020, 36, 7669-7680. DOI10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c01312