Materials World Network: An International Collaborative Educational and Research Program in the Study of Mixed Glass Former Phenomena in Materials

这项材料世界网络(MWN)项目考察了普遍观察到的混合玻璃前效应(MGFE)，其中，混合玻璃前效应(MGFE)与移动阳离子无关，与所使用的两种玻璃成形剂无关，与体系是全氧化物、全硫化物甚至混合氧硫化物无关，也与整体移动阳离子浓度无关，在相同的移动阳离子浓度水平下，混合玻璃前驱体(MGF)玻璃的离子电导率总是高于两种母体二元玻璃。随着最近在数以百万计的锂电池中出现的液体聚合物电解液的问题，人们对锂电池的固体电解液重新产生了兴趣。这类MGF玻璃是理想的候选者，因为它们具有异常高的离子电导率和由玻璃成型剂混合带来的其他有利性质。然而，在广泛应用这些电解液之前，必须首先对MGFE有一个详细的了解。出于这个原因，这个项目的学术价值在于，一个国际研究团队已经聚集在美国的三所大学和欧洲的三所大学之间，形成了一个材料世界研究能力网络。美国的研究人员正在准备玻璃，测量电导率与组成的关系，并通过振动光谱检查短程结构(马丁-爱荷华州立大学)。正在使用高分辨率X射线衍射(Petkov-Central Michigan University)检查玻璃的短程和中程结构，并测量示踪剂扩散系数(Dieckmann-Cornell)。欧洲合作者正在提供免费的中子衍射数据(瑞典Brjesson-Chalmers理工学院)和核磁共振数据(德国Eckert-WestFalische Wilhems-Mnster大学)，以扩展结构研究的细节。欧洲合作者还提供了玻璃离子导电性和结构的理论建模和模拟(德国伊尔梅瑙Maass技术大学)，并对MGFE玻璃中明显放大的离子动力学过程进行了理论建模(Funke-Mnster U，德国)。该项目协同结合氧化物、硫化物和硫氧化物玻璃中MGFE的结构和动力学研究，以确定MGFE玻璃的有利结构特征的性质、范围和作用。该项目的更广泛影响是利用新的国际合作方式为青年研究人员提供新的教育经验，以拓宽和深化他们的研究能力，并扩大和发展他们的专业和国际意识，以提高他们的全球公民地位。这是通过在欧洲合作者的实验室为学生提供独特的扩展合作研究和教育体验，并让他们在美国接待欧洲学生在整个项目中建立专业联系和体验来实现的。在类似国家的其他多国网络项目之间开展深入合作，以利用多个多国网络之间的学习，并加快制定此类国际合作的最佳做法。还与当地两年制和四年制大学建立了合作关系，以吸引本科生，特别是女性和少数族裔，参加该计划，以培养新的四年制毕业生和新的研究生。MWN的框架还用于通过通用操作系统和高速互联网连接开发远程利用研究设备的新模式，并在该计划的合作伙伴之间发展可持续的合作，以促进研究的长期进展。该奖项由国际科学与工程办公室共同资助。

This Materials World Network (MWN) project examines the universally observed Mixed Glass Former Effect (MGFE) where independent of the mobile cation, independent of the two glass formers used, independent of whether the system is all-oxide, all-sulfide, or even mixed oxy-sulfide, and independent of the over-all mobile cation concentration, the ionic conductivities of Mixed Glass Former (MGF) glasses are always higher than that of the two parent binary glasses at the same level of mobile cation concentration. With the recent and well known problems of liquid polymer electrolytes in millions of lithium batteries, there is a renewed interest in solid electrolytes for lithium batteries. Such MGF glasses make ideal candidates due to their anomalously high ionic conductivities and other advantageous properties brought about by the mixing of the glass formers. However, before wide spread application of these electrolytes can be implemented, a detailed understanding of the MGFE must be developed first. For this reason, the intellectual merit of this project is that an international research team has been assembled to form a Materials World Network of research capability from among three universities in the US and three universities in Europe. Researchers in the US are preparing the glasses and measuring the composition dependence of the conductivity and examining short range structures through vibrational spectroscopy (Martin-Iowa State University). Both short and intermediate range structures of the glasses are being examined using high resolution x-ray diffraction (Petkov-Central Michigan University) and tracer diffusion coefficients are being measured (Dieckmann-Cornell). The European collaborators are providing complimentary neutron diffraction (Brjesson-Chalmers Institute of Technology, Sweden) and nuclear magnetic resonance (Eckert- Westfalische Wilhems-Mnster University, Germany) data to extend the detail of structural studies. European collaborators are also providing theoretical modeling and simulation of both the ionic conductivity and structure of the glasses (Maass- Technical University Ilmenau, Germany) and for theoretical modeling of the ion dynamic processes that are apparently greatly magnified in MGFE glasses (Funke-Mnster U., Germany). The project synergistically combines both structural and dynamical studies of the MGFE in oxide, sulfide, and oxy-sulfide glasses to determine the nature, extent, and role of the favorable structural features of MGFE glasses. The broader impacts of this project are to use new modalities of international collaboration to provide young researchers new education experiences to broaden and deepen their research abilities, and to expand and develop their professional and international awareness to enhance their global citizenry. This is achieved by providing students with unique extended collaborative research and education experiences in the European collaborators' laboratories, and by having them host European students in the US to create professional linkages and experiences throughout this program. Deep collaborations among other MWN projects in similar countries are developed to leverage learning among the MWNs and speed up the development of best practices for such international collaborations. Collaboration is also established with local 2- and 4- year colleges to draw undergraduates, especially women and minorities, to the program to foster new 4 year graduates and new graduate students. The framework of the MWN is also used to develop new modalities of distance utilization of research equipment through common operating systems and high-speed internet connections, and to develop sustainable collaborations among the partners of the program that foster long term progress on research.This award is co-funded with the Office of International Science and Engineering.