This experimental project addresses discovery of new materials through synthesis, and development of the materials for innovative uses through characterization of their structural and physical properties. The class of materials investigated is zeolite-like mixed electrical conductors, a largely unexplored yet transformative subject. Zeolites and zeolite-like materials are characterized by nanoscale pores that give rise to their well-known technologically important properties: separation, ion-exchange, and catalysis. Mixed electrical conductors, supporting both ionic and electronic conduction, have impacted technological advances in many electrochemical systems - electrode materials, sensors, energy conversion and storage. The combination of the functionalities of zeolites with mixed electrical conduction yields multifunctional materials and presents new directions in electrical energy storage, separation sciences, and in energy conversion sciences, a timely scientific and technological activity.
TECHNICAL DETAILS: The project advances the fundamental understanding of charge transport and charge transfer in nanoporous zeolite-like mixed ionic-electronic conductors. In particular, the interrelated roles of ionic mobility, pore size, framework electronic conductivity, and chemical composition are studied. Thus, this research impacts the understanding of the solid-state chemistry and physics of materials, of solid-state electrochemical processes, and of the solid-state physics of conduction mechanisms in novel materials. Yet, as these multifunctional zeolite-like mixed electrical conductors are enabling materials, they impact other areas, e.g. catalysis and separation. The materials synthesis approach of this project lends itself to scale-up capabilities, and would allow the research results to be translated to industrial efforts. The project combines synthesis, structural characterization and electrical characterization, resulting in a cohesive cycle that allows for the focused synthesis of materials guided by their relevant properties, resonating with the goals of the Materials Genome Initiative - accelerating the pace of materials discovery and their applications. The students involved in the project obtain interdisciplinary training in a timely topic, with scientific, societal and economic ramifications.
