Faculty Awards for Women Scientists and Engineers

NSF女科学家和女工程师学院奖表彰了获奖者在教学和学术方面的高质量记录，以及继续为科学研究、学术职业和未来科学家和工程师的教育做出重大贡献的潜力。斯泰西博士的研究重点是开发合成新型超导氧化物的创新方法。在77K以上的铜氧化物中发现的超导电性激发了我们的想象力，具有变革技术的潜力；科学家们预计，有了这些材料，就有可能提供更便宜的功率、用于医疗应用的高场磁铁、更高速度的计算机和超灵敏探测器。不幸的是，所有已知的高温超导体都很难加工成适合这些应用的形式。由于加工与适用性密切相关，因此必须同时开发材料和合成方法，希望找到更容易加工的新类型超导体。本研究的目的是通过开发合成季系金属氧化物的方法来寻找新的高温超导体。我们发现，在350摄氏度以下的温度下，熔融氢氧化物是制备铜酸盐超导体的理想材料。这种新路线的许多优点包括在相对较低的温度下选择性地沉淀产品，以及在形成固体氧化物材料方面简单。此外，通过改变溶液条件，如反应物浓度、酸度和温度，以及改变熔体上方的气氛，十几种新的铜酸盐和铋盐已经结晶。这些新化合物的表征使人们有可能更好地了解氧化物的电子性质。计划继续对利用氢氧化物熔体合成新氧化物进行系统研究，将铜酸盐和铋盐的工作扩展到早期过渡金属氧化物，并寻找含Nb的新氧化物。将探索广泛的氢氧化物和条件。人们相信，随着这种合成方法的化学原理的阐明，有可能选择有利于结晶固体中特定结构特征的条件。所有新化合物的结构都将通过X射线衍射法确定。将测量磁性和电性，以测试超导电性，并更彻底地了解结构-性质关系。

The NSF Faculty Awards for Women Scientists and Engineers recognizes the high quality of the awardee's record in teaching and scholarship, as well as potential for continued significant contributions to scientific research, the academic profession, and the education of future scientists and engineers. Dr. Stacy's research focuses on developing innovative methods for the synthesis of new classes of superconducting oxides. The discovery of superconductivity in copper oxides above 77 K has captured our imagination with the potential to revolutionize technology; scientists anticipate that with these materials it will be possible to provide cheaper power, high field magnets for medical applications, computers with higher speeds, and ultra-sensitive detectors. Unfortunately, all of the known high temperature superconductors are difficult to process into forms suitable for these applications. Because processing is intimately related to applicability, it is essential that materials and synthetic methods be developed simultaneously with the hope of finding new classes of superconductors which are easier to process. The goal of this research is to search for new high temperature superconductors by developing methods for the synthesis of quaternary metal oxides. We have discovered that fused hydroxides are ideal for the preparation of cuprate superconductors at temperatures as low as 350 degrees Centigrade. Among the many advantages of this new route are selective precipitation of the products at relatively low temperatures, and simplicity in the formation of solid oxide materials. Moreover, over a dozen new cuprates and bismuthates have been crystallized by varying the solution conditions, such as concentrations of reactants, acidity, and temperature, and by varying the atmosphere over the melt. The characterization of these new compounds has made it possible to gain a better understanding of the electronic properties of oxides. It is planned to continue a systematic investigation of the use of hydroxide melts for the synthesis of new oxides, extend the work on cuprates and bismuthates to early transition metal oxides, and search for new oxides containing niobium. A wide range of hydroxides and conditions will be explored. It is believed that as the chemistry of this synthetic method is elucidated, it will be possible to select conditions that favor particular structural features in the solids that are crystallized. The structures of all new compounds will be determined by X-ray diffractions methods. The magnetic and electronic properties will be measured to test for superconductivity, and to gain a more thorough understanding of structure-property relationships.