CAREER: Chemistry Perspectives to Design Novel Superconductors

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AbstractPART 1: NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYSuperconductivity, though first discovered more than a century ago, is still plagued by questions and challenges. Superconductors have zero electrical resistance and strongly repel magnetic fields when electricity flows through them and therefore have applications for uses such as grids that can transmit power without energy loss, ultra-fast levitating trains that ride frictionless magnets instead of rails, and quantum computing devices. There is a demand for innovative approaches to the design and synthesis of new superconducting materials. This project, supported by the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program within the Division of Materials Research and the Established Program to Support Competitive Research (EPSCoR), combines experimental investigation and theoretical assessment to reveal fundamental chemical principles to design new superconducting materials. The scientific significance of the research is to open a new chemical perspective towards superconductivity that focuses on the role of pairs of atoms of particular elements to accelerate the search for new superconductors. The proposed outreach activities and educational plan emphasize solid-state materials-related outreach activities including the development of dually communication-intensive certified and service-learning certified undergraduate courses and a vibrant research program for women and underrepresented minority students in the state of Louisiana. These activities will expand the research capability of the state and foster the training of next-generation materials scientists.PART 2: TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis project uses chemical strategies to probe the role of two new critical charge-transfer pairs of elements (Pd-P and Pt-P) in superconductivity. The PI and her group use methods for solid-state materials discovery and physical properties characterization, targeting families of compounds selected in order to be able to probe the role of breaking or forming bonds between these specific pairs of elements. Together with the experimental effort, theoretical determination of electronic structures and electron-phonon coupling provide feedback toward further synthetic efforts. This approach advances knowledge about a comprehensive set of properties: structural influences on electronic and magnetic structures, electron-electron and electron-phonon correlations, magnetism, spin-orbit coupling effects, and their interplay in superconductors. The educational plan will focus on developing and establishing service-learning pedagogies for solid-state materials in the state of Louisiana. This gives university students experiential opportunities to learn in real-world contexts and develop skills of community engagement while providing outreach demonstrations relating to superconductivity and other properties to K-12 schools. This project is supported by the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program within the Division of Materials Research and the Established Program to Support Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.