New Intercalation Materials

这个项目的目标是发现和表征新的过渡金属氧化物，这些氧化物能够作为主客体反应的宿主——插层化合物。人们对材料的晶体结构与其化学和物理性质之间的关系仍然知之甚少。我们已经开始更好地了解是什么控制着无机材料的反应，以及预测将形成什么化合物的方法。然而，无机/材料化学家仍然远远落后于能够绘制合成序列的合成有机化学家。一个目标是进一步理解合成方法，策略是使用“软”化学条件，在这种条件下，可以控制最终用于构建固体结构的构建块。主要目标是发现具有开放结构的新型过渡金属氧化物，重点是钒氧化物，一些混合锰氧化物和铁氧化物/磷酸盐。这些氧化物形成了有趣的结构，能够嵌入一系列离子，包括锂离子，因此对用于先进的锂电池和传感器很感兴趣。我们的工作表明，它们可以形成一系列的形态，从大的单晶到纳米管和纤维。我们的工作还表明，它们的化学反应性和物理性质取决于尺度（纳米到宏观）和原子水平的键合。这种氧化物材料在原理上也很容易定制，通过在主晶格中取代或通过改变客体插入物来获得所需的行为。正是这些令人兴奋的可能性鼓励学生参与发现过程，并激励这个项目发现和表征新的固体材料。提议的活动的更广泛的影响包括促进发现和理解，同时促进下一代公民的科学教育。该项目将影响到美国和国际上的本科生、研究生和博士后以及同事。研究和教育将继续高度整合，从一开始到毕业对学生产生重大影响。一门适合工程、物理、地质专业学生和化学专业学生的以材料为导向的普通化学新课程正在开发中。两门高级/研究生水平的课程，分别是固体化学和固体研究技术，每年有30多名学生。研究实验室的创新被纳入本科无机/材料实验室，以便本科生使用最新的技术和材料。今年，一个新的材料科学研究生学位课程开始了，来自广泛学科和多样性的学生将受到团队合作解决跨学科挑战的机会的影响。

This project targets the discovery and characterization of new transition metal oxides that are capable of acting as the host for guest-host reactions -- intercalation compounds. Little is still understood about the relationship between the crystalline structure of materials and their chemical and physical properties. We have begun to get a better understanding of what controls the reactions of inorganic materials, and ways to predict what compounds will be formed. However, the inorganic/materials chemist is still far behind the synthetic organic chemist who can map out a synthetic sequence. One goal is to further the understanding of synthetic approaches, and the strategy is to use 'soft' chemistry conditions where it is possible to control the building blocks that eventually are used for building the solid structure. A main goal is to discover new transition metal oxides with open structures, with an emphasis on vanadium oxides, some mixed manganese oxides and iron oxides/phosphates. These oxides form intriguing structures that are able to intercalate a range of ions, including lithium and are therefore of interest for use in advance lithium batteries, and as sensors. Our work has shown that they can form in a range of morphologies from large single crystals to nanotubes and fibers. Our work also shows that their chemical reactivity and physical properties depend on the scale (nano to macro) and on the atomic level bonding. Such oxide materials are also readily tailored in principle to give the desired behavior, either by substitution in the host lattice or by varying the guest intercalating specie. It is these exciting possibilities that encourage the student to participate in the discovery process, and motivate this project to discover and characterize new solid materials. %%%The broader impacts of the proposed activity include advancing discovery and understanding while at the same time promoting the scientific education of the next generation of citizens. This project will impact undergraduate students, graduate students and postdocs as well as colleagues in the US and internationally. Research and education will continue to be heavily integrated, significantly impacting students from their beginning years to graduation. A new materials-oriented general chemistry course adapted for Engineering, Physics and Geology students, as well as for chemistry majors is being developed. Two senior/graduate level courses on the Chemistry of Solids and Techniques for Studying Solids are taught every year to more than 30 students each. Innovations in the research laboratory are being incorporated into an undergraduate Inorganic/Materials Laboratory so that undergraduates are using the latest techniques and materials. This year a new graduate degree program in Material Science was started and students from a wide range of disciplines and diversities will be impacted by the opportunity of working together on teams to solve interdisciplinary challenges.