EAGER: Product Properties Through Coupling Between Spin Crossover and Ferroic Phases

我们的现代世界越来越依赖于能够随时随地为每个人提供信息访问的移动技术。在信息的产生、传递、检索和存储过程中，人们依赖于能够感知各种刺激作用的材料，这些刺激可以转化为电信号或磁信号。此外，设备的移动性要求增加小型化和多功能性，其中一个设备组件可以执行多个任务。这样的技术进步只有在单个材料特性的新组合下才有可能实现，这样才能对各种各样的刺激做出反应，例如电、磁、热和光子激励，并在传感器、执行器和换能器的设计中提供多种自由度。提出的研究是为了证明一种新型功能复合材料的概念，这种材料可以对热、光、电和磁刺激做出反应。从这个项目中获得的发现将有助于对纳米级物理现象的基本理解，为多功能复合材料提供见解，并将导致新一代的新设备。这个项目的成功将影响纳米技术教育，使研究生，特别是少数民族，接触到用于多功能器件应用的新型复合材料。总的来说，这个研究计划将影响基础和应用纳米科学，有助于培养新的科学家，并促进在代表性不足的群体中的科学教育。包含自旋交叉相和铁相的新型复合材料是一种高度变革性的方法，以前没有任何研究小组考虑过。本研究是一项高风险、高回报的跨学科研究，涉及新材料和器件工程、分子磁学和材料化学。所提出的新型复合材料将提供直接或反向磁电耦合的增强，更重要的是将响应热和光子刺激。因此，考虑到与磁致伸缩或压电材料耦合的自旋交叉中与自旋跃迁相关的大体积变化，可以获得显着的磁电系数。为了实现自旋交叉与铁相之间的最大耦合，核壳将在自旋交叉相的核上出现压电或磁致伸缩相。液态沉积和基于模板的方法相结合将被用于制造铁纳米壳。自旋交叉相将被合成并集成到铁壳层中。这种1-1型几何结构提供了两相之间最大的界面耦合，同时获得了自旋交叉的大铁弹性成分。这为多功能材料开辟了一条新的有效途径，其中磁化、极化和应变可以通过光、温度和外加磁场和电场同时改变。

Our modern world relies more and more on mobile technologies capable of providing information access anywhere, anytime and to everyone. In the process of generation, transfer, retrieval and storage of information, one relies on materials that can sense the action of various stimuli which can then be converted into electric or magnetic signals. Furthermore, the mobility of the devices demands an increased miniaturization and multifunctionality where one device component can do more than one task. Such technological advancements are possible only with novel combinations of individual material properties so that is able to respond to a large variety of stimuli, such as electric, magnetic, thermal and photonic excitation and provides a no of degrees of freedom in the design of sensors, actuators and transducers. The proposed research is to prove the concept of a novel functional composite material that can respond to thermal, optical, electrical and magnetic stimuli. The findings gained from this project will contribute to the basic understanding of nanoscale physical phenomena, providing insights into the multifunctional composite materials, and would lead to a new generation of novel devices. The success of this project will impact nanotechnology education by exposing graduate students, especially minorities, to novel composites for multifunctional device applications. Overall this research plan will impact basic and applied nanoscience, contribute to the training of new scientists, and promote science education among underrepresented groups.New composite material comprising spin crossover and ferroic phases is a highly transformative approach that has not been previously considered by any research group. The proposed research is a high-risk and high payoff involving an interdisciplinary perspective covering novel materials and device engineering, molecular magnetism, and materials chemistry. The proposed novel composite material will provide an enhancement of direct or converse magnetoelectric coupling, and more importantly will respond to thermal and photonic stimuli. Thus, in view of the large volume change associated with the spin transition in a spin crossover coupled with magnetostrictive or piezoelectric materials, one can achieve a significant magnetoelectric coefficient. To achieve a maximum coupling between the spin crossover and ferroic phase, the core-shell will be piezoelectric or magnetostrictive phase on a core of spin crossover phase. A combination of liquid deposition and template based methods will be used to fabricate ferroic nanoshells. The spin crossover phase will then be synthesized and integrated into the ferroic shells. This 1-1 type geometry provides a maximum interfacial coupling between the two phases while having access to the large ferroelastic constituent of spin crossover. This opens a new efficient path for multifunctionality where, magnetization, polarization and strain can be changed simultaneously by light, temperature and applied magnetic and electric fields.