This award will enable Dr. Steve W. Martin, Iowa State University, to collaborate with Dr. Detlef Brinkmann, University of Zurich, Switzerland. They will study superionically conducting glass for possible applications to high energy and density solid-state batteries. Specifically, they will examine various silver-ion systems, alkali-ion systems, and high pressure nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of glass. They will probe the dynamics of cation conduction processes on the atomic level to determine the migration mechanisms, the relative contributions of the conduction energetics by electrostatic and strain energy terms, and the fraction of mobile cations. Their research will test the appropriateness of several popular models of ionic conduction in glass. In addition, they will try to determine if alkali migration mechanisms are similar to those in silver materials. Dr. Martin has a good record as a young researcher in glass science and he will benefit from working with Dr. Brinkmann, who is known for his use of NMR to characterize superionic conducting crystals. Because of the experimental capability of the laboratory in Switzerland, they will have an opportunity to examine multinuclear NMR under high pressures.
