International Postdoctoral Fellows Program: The Study of Metal-Ceramic Interfaces by Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy

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This award is under the International Postdoctoral Fellows Program, which enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twelve months of research abroad at research centers of proven excellence. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will support a twelve-month postdoctoral research visit by Dr. Judith C. Yang to work with Dr. Manfred Ruhle at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart, Germany. Dr. Yang proposes to do two experiments for the fundamental study of the atomic structure, chemistry and electronic structure of two similar model metal-ceramic systems, Pt-NiO and Ni-NiO, by electron microscopy techniques. For the NiO-Pt system, an intermetallic interlayer, NiPt, is expected to form at the interface by heat treatment at suitable temperature, time and oxygen activity as suggested by phase diagrams and previous work. The chemistry and the electronic structure due to formation of the intermetallic compound will be studied using electron energy loss spectroscopy. For a more fundamental study of fine changes in the electronic structure due to the presence of an interface, a simpler system, Ni-NiO, will be studied with energy loss near edge spectroscopy. The award recommendation provides funds to cover international travel and a stipend for twelve months.