DMREF:SusChEM:Collaborative Research: Design and Synthesis of Novel Magnetic Materials

DMREF：SusChEM：合作研究：新型磁性材料的设计与合成

• 批准号: 1435219
• 负责人: James Chelikowsky
• 金额: $ 36.35万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-01 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1435219&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DMREF; SusChEM; Collaborative; Research; Design

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis collaborative research project will implement new, transformative strategies for the design of novel magnetic materials, with special focus on sustainable materials containing earth-abundant and inexpensive elements. The project will couple a strong experimental effort with recent theoretical advances in quantum modeling algorithms and software, data-mining techniques, and high-performance hardware to accomplish its objectives. Magnets play a crucial role in contemporary technologies. They are essential components in generators, computer hard drives, mobile devices, and in all electric motors. Because of their role in such devices, our economy depends significantly on the creation of better magnetic materials. This research will focus on the discovery of new phases with anisotropic structures, high magnetization, high Curie temperatures, high spin polarization, and high magnetic anisotropy. Materials with these properties will have important applications in ultra-small spintronics devices, new high-density data-storage schemes, and high-energy-product permanent magnet materials. The broader impact activities of the project will involve graduate education, maintaining contact with the private sector, and outreach to underrepresented groups and middle school students. Specially crafted activities will include the Alice in Wonderland, Nanocamp and STEM after school, and summer intern programs. The algorithms, code, and databases created in this research will be made available to other accelerated materials discovery efforts.TECHNICAL SUMMARYThe technical design and synthesis of magnetic materials is a formidable problem, especially so given the myriad of possible combinations of composition and structure. This research will use computationally driven phase diagram explorations and materials structure prediction coupled with experiment to identify sustainable new rare-earth-free materials with desirable properties for magnetic applications. A new adaptive genetic algorithm coupled to first-principles codes will be used for structure and property searches. The algorithm will possess the speed and efficiency of classical simulations, while maintaining the accuracy of quantum-based simulations. Concurrent experimental research will involve novel synthetic techniques and a comprehensive set of characterization methods. With guidance from theory, nonequilibrium processes will be employed to generate rich (stable and metastable) material phases, including inert gas condensation techniques, sputtering and pulsed laser deposition methods to synthesize nanoscale clusters and particles, and ultra-fast quenching from the melt to produce bulk materials. Comprehensive structural characterization of these material phases will be performed with x-ray and neutron diffraction, and high resolution electron microscopy; magnetic and electronic structure studies will be pursued with magnetization, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and other methods. The characterization of these material phases is key for constructing and understanding experimental phase diagrams that will be used to validate and verify theoretical work and to provide strategies for the synthesis of new materials.

该合作研究项目将为新型磁性材料的设计实施新的变革性策略，特别关注含有地球丰富和廉价元素的可持续材料。 该项目将把强大的实验努力与量子建模算法和软件、数据挖掘技术和高性能硬件的最新理论进展结合起来，以实现其目标。 磁铁在当代技术中发挥着至关重要的作用。 它们是发电机、计算机硬盘、移动的设备和所有电动机中的重要组件。 由于它们在这些设备中的作用，我们的经济在很大程度上取决于更好的磁性材料的创造。 这项研究将集中在发现具有各向异性结构、高磁化强度、高居里温度、高自旋极化和高磁各向异性的新相。 具有这些性质的材料将在超小型自旋电子器件、新的高密度数据存储方案和高能量积永磁材料中具有重要的应用。 该项目影响更广的活动将包括研究生教育、与私营部门保持联系以及向代表性不足的群体和中学生进行宣传。 特别制作的活动将包括爱丽丝梦游仙境，Nanocamp和STEM放学后，和暑期实习生计划。 在这项研究中创建的算法，代码和数据库将提供给其他加速材料发现的努力。技术总结磁性材料的技术设计和合成是一个艰巨的问题，特别是考虑到无数的可能组合的组成和结构。 这项研究将使用计算驱动的相图探索和材料结构预测，再加上实验，以确定可持续的新的无稀土材料具有理想的磁性应用性能。 一种新的自适应遗传算法耦合到第一性原理代码将用于结构和属性搜索。 该算法将拥有经典模拟的速度和效率，同时保持基于量子的模拟的准确性。 同时进行的实验研究将涉及新的合成技术和一套全面的表征方法。 在理论的指导下，将采用非平衡过程来产生丰富的（稳定和亚稳定）材料相，包括惰性气体冷凝技术，溅射和脉冲激光沉积方法来合成纳米级簇和颗粒，以及从熔体中超快速淬火以产生块状材料。 这些材料相的全面结构表征将用X射线和中子衍射以及高分辨率电子显微镜进行;磁性和电子结构研究将用磁化，X射线磁性圆二色性和其他方法进行。 这些材料相的表征是构建和理解实验相图的关键，实验相图将用于验证和验证理论工作，并为新材料的合成提供策略。