Design of Advanced Materials
The Stacy group is involved in
the development of new synthetic routes that lead to the discovery of materials
for emerging technologies. New materials are being made by a variety of
low temperature methods involving deposition into porous membranes, plasma
reactions, pulsed laser deposition, and reactions in molten salts. These
are all conditions that yield materials in which it is possible to control
the composition on the nanoscale. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy
are used to examine the structure and composition of new materials that
are obtained. With electron microscopy, detailed information on the nanoscale
is gathered. A range of bulk and surface properties are measured, including
electrical and thermal transport, magnetism, and surface activity. These
properties are key for various electronic applications. On the basis of insights
gained as to the relationship between structure and properties, the synthetic
conditions are adjusted in order to tailor materials for specific applications.
With new abilities to control
materials on the nanoscale and to create composites that are ordered arrays
of two types of materials, there is much room for discovery. As new understanding
about how properties vary with nanoscale dimensions are garnered, this knowledge
can be put to use in enhancing properties for specific applications. The
growth of understanding in nanoscience provides exciting new possibilities
for the development of thermoelectric materials with enhanced efficiencies,
superconductors with higher transition temperatures, and materials with
strong surface acidity. We are working on the synthesis and characterization
of materials with these qualities.
Images from top to bottom:
- Alumina template filled with nanowires (bright spots
are nucleated wire growth)
- Filled skutterudite structure
- NF3 plasma
- BaKFeO3 structure
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