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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