Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Next Generation Materials

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Energy impacts every aspect of life in the 21st-century, from food production and transportation to artificial intelligence and healthcare. In part, it is the diversity provided through materials science that gives rise to the highly diverse applications of materials, ranging from porous catalytic solids for petrochemical processing to semi-conducting photovoltaic solar cells. The challenge arises in understanding how the physical and chemical properties, governing the materials' function, are controlled by the complex arrangement of atoms (a million times smaller than a human hair). Historically, researchers have relied on trial-and-error approaches; however, the ability to "image" materials' microscopic structure in order to understand factors such as structural disorder, dopants, isoelectronic elements or domains, are urgently needed. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a robust analytical spectroscopic technique equipping us with the ability to solve these complex atomic-level puzzles in a non-destructive manner. Our research program is rooted in designing and understanding energy-related material candidates using solid-state NMR spectroscopy and a new high polarization technique called dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) NMR. DNP provides significant gains in NMR sensitivity. For example, a 365-day NMR experiment could be performed in a few hours with a readily achievable DNP enhancement of 30! We seek avenues to further develop solid-state and DNP NMR methods and applications to better understand materials with applications in energy harvesting (solar-cell), energy use reduction (LED-based lighting) and energy storage (batteries). Specifically, we target metal halide perovskite and double perovskite, and chalcogenide-containing materials comprised of high-abundant, inexpensive and non-toxic elements that exhibit highly tailorable chemical and photophysical properties that are driven by structural modifications through ion substitution. The pursuit of new technological advancements using these types of materials requires an intimate knowledge of the atomic arrangements as well as how and why these lead to desirable or undesirable material characteristics. As a physical chemistry group, we provide the chemical foundations essential to assist the materials science and engineering community to bridge the structure-property gap, leading to advances in these semi-conducting and ionic solids. Globally, the alternative renewable energy industry represents the fastest-growing energy market both economically and in job creation. By developing pioneering methods in solid-state and DNP NMR spectroscopy, we aim to equip researchers with the tools to accelerate these advances, while providing a stimulating training environment in both fundamental and innovative chemical principles and further growing Canada's international reputation in NMR spectroscopy.