Collaborative Research: Structure-Property Relationships of Novel Rare Earth-Ultraphosphate Glasses

该项目是密苏里大学罗拉分校（UMR）的材料研究人员与北达科他州大学（UND）的物理学家之间的多学科合作，旨在加工和表征具有有趣光学和磁性质的新型稀土（RE）超磷酸盐玻璃。这些玻璃的性质不同寻常地依赖于组成，包括修饰磷酸盐玻璃网络的RE3+离子的配位环境。隶属于UMR陶瓷工程系和材料研究研究生中心的研究团队将使用最小化水和过渡金属污染的技术制备光学活性玻璃（包括Nd-和er -磷酸组合物）和具有潜在大磁化率的玻璃（例如，镝-磷酸组合物）。光学特性将在UMR通过几种技术确定，包括吸收和发射光谱以及荧光寿命测量，磁性特性将由隶属于UND物理系的研究小组确定。利用x射线吸收光谱、x射线和中子衍射技术收集有关稀土离子配位环境的详细信息。这些实验将由联合国开发计划署小组的成员与联合国开发计划署的学生和研究人员合作进行。这些结构研究的目的是为这些玻璃的宏观特性的成分依赖提供详细的解释，然后利用这些信息来设计其他技术上重要的玻璃成分。这个多学科项目将详细了解含稀土玻璃的分子水平结构如何影响宏观光学和磁性。这些信息将指导科学家和工程师将这种眼镜用于新的传感器、放大器和其他民用和国防应用的设备。两所大学的学生和研究人员之间的合作将促进这样一个概念，即材料研究的进步可以由不同的、多学科的团队来完成。

This project is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between materials researchers at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) and physicists at the University of North Dakota (UND) to process and characterize novel rare earth (RE) containing ultraphosphate glasses that possess interesting optical and magnetic properties. The properties of these glasses have an unusual dependence on composition that involves the coordination environment of the RE3+ ions that modify the phosphate glass network. The research team affiliated with the Ceramic Engineering Department and Graduate Center for Materials Research at UMR will prepare optically active glasses (including Nd- and Er-phosphate compositions) and glasses with potentially large magnetic susceptibilities (e.g., Dy-phosphate compositions) using techniques to minimize contamination by water and transition metals. Optical characteristics will be determined at UMR by several techniques, including absorption and emission spectroscopies and fluorescence lifetime measurements, and magnetic properties will be characterized by the research team affiliated with the Physics Department at the UND. Detailed information about the coordination environments of the RE ions will be collected using x-ray absorption spectroscopy and x-ray and neutron diffraction techniques. These experiments will be performed by members of the UND team in collaboration with students and researchers from UMR. The goal of these structural studies is to provide a detailed explanation for the compositional-dependence of the macroscopic properties of these glasses, and then to use this information to design other technologically significant glass compositions.This multi-disciplinary project will provide a detailed understanding of how the molecular-level structure of rare earth-containing glasses affect macroscopic optical and magnetic properties. This information will guide scientists and engineers who use such glasses for new sensors, amplifiers and other devices that have both civilian and defense applications. The collaboration among students and researchers at both institutions will promote the concept that progress in materials research can be best accomplished by diverse, multi-disciplinary teams.