This award will support collaborative research between Dr. Hugo Steinfink, University of Texas at Austin and Professor Jean-Pierre Wignacourt, Laboratoire de Cristallochimie et Physicochimie du Solide, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Lille, France. The objective of the project is the synthesis and characterization of high temperature superconducting materials. In addition to ceramic preparative techniques, molten oxide chemistry will be used to prepare compounds with unusual oxidation states. Dr. Wignacourt's expertise in molten oxide systems will be a unique contribution to the synthesis and single crystal growth of new phases. The highly oxidizing conditions achievable in such a medium should yield new compounds of potentially great fundamental interest. When the compounds are synthesized, their crystal structures and physical properties will be evaluated. This project will utilize the expertise of both investigators in the areas of solid state chemistry, crystal structure determination and physical property evaluation.
