This project will directly address the critical factors that cause some transition metal based compounds to be magnetic, while others, quite similar, are not. Of particular interest will be oxides based on transition metals in the 4d and 5d family, where magnetism is not as commonly encountered as in the more frequently studied 3d compounds. The research will concentrate on the discovery and characterization of complex ruthenium, niobium, and rhenium-based oxides that are expected to straddle the border between magnetism and non-magnetism. These particular materials allow for addressing the issue of balance between magnetism and non-magnetism from different perspectives: ruthenates are often metallic conductors, and are found to be approximately equally magnetic or non-magnetic, niobates are usually neither magnetic nor metallic, but sometimes unexpectedly display one or the other of these characteristics, rhenates form complex structures that have shown in previous work the potential to be both magnetic (in spite of the fact that 5d electrons are involved in the magnetism) and metallic. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained through this project to become future researchers in the critical area of materials for technological applications. A course in freshman chemistry, designed by the PI to develop future engineers' sense of importance of the chemical compounds used in technology, will be given. The PI will make presentations at local primary and secondary schools to address the science "pipeline", and will actively encourage the participation of women and minorities in the project.
This project will use the tools of synthetic solid state chemistry along with the understanding of the physics of materials to directly address one of the central gaps in our knowledge: What are the critical factors that cause some transition metal-based materials to be magnetic while others are not? This will be accomplished through the synthesis and property study of several classes of transition metal compounds that straddle the border between magnetism and non-magnetism. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained to become future researchers in the critical area of materials for technological applications in the course of this program. A course in freshman chemistry, designed by the PI to develop future engineers' sense of importance of the complex materials used in current technology, will be given. The PI will make presentations at the primary and secondary school level to address the science "pipeline", and will actively encourage the participation of women and minorities in the project.
