CAREER: Understanding Surface Redox Activity of Atomically-Flat Electroceramics

非技术描述：氧化物电陶瓷在电池和燃料电池等能源和转换技术中至关重要。它们的应用实例包括锂离子电池的电极和固体氧化物燃料电池的电催化剂。越来越多地，这些电陶瓷的性能受到其表面特性的限制。本项目旨在确定表面原子结构与电化学过程之间的关系。这一领域的进步支持能源更加充足的经济。综合教育计划为代表性不足的高中生和本科生提供研究机会，并为7-12年级的学生提供社区外展服务，这是基于魔法校车的概念。具体来说，该项目支持三维幻灯片的开发，以纳米尺度的日常物品图像为特色，突出陶瓷材料和研究的重要性，带领学生进行“材料内部之旅”。技术细节：基于钙钛矿和萤石晶体结构的过渡金属和稀土电陶瓷与氧、二氧化碳和水等分子表现出显著的反应性，在室温和高温下广泛用作电催化剂。该项目解决了氧化还原活性和表面结构之间的复杂关系，使用原子平面电陶瓷表面，主要是控制晶体终止，步长密度和扩展缺陷。通过物理气相沉积沉积的超薄覆盖层进一步实现了精确的成分和结构控制。利用同步加速器表面x射线衍射和表面敏感x射线光谱学在广泛的温度和压力下表征了这些原子控制表面的晶体学和电子结构。社区外展/教育-材料内部之旅-强调陶瓷材料的壮丽和功能，包括策划三维幻灯片，展示纳米级日常物品的图像，并通过SLAC国家加速器实验室Kavli粒子天体物理和宇宙学研究所独特的可视化设施投射它们。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Oxide electroceramics are crucial in energy and conversion technologies such as batteries and fuel cells. Examples of their applications include electrodes for lithium-ion batteries and electrocatalysts for solid-oxide fuel cells. Increasing, the performance of these electroceramics is limited by the characteristics of their surface. This project aims to identify the relationship between the surface atomic structure and the processes involved in the electrochemistry. Advancements in this area support a more energy sufficient economy. An integrated educational plan provides research opportunities to underrepresented high school and undergraduate students, as well as community outreach to Grade 7-12 students that builds on the Magic School Bus concept. Specifically, this project supports the development of three-dimensional slideshows featuring images of everyday objects at the nanoscale, highlighting the importance of ceramic materials and research to take students on "A Journey to the Inside of Materials". TECHNICAL DETAILS: Transition-metal and rare-earth electroceramics based on the perovskite and fluorite crystal structures exhibit significant reactivity with molecules such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and water, and are used extensively as electrocatalysts at both room and elevated temperatures. This project addresses the complex relationships between the redox activity and the surface structure using atomically-flat electroceramic surfaces primarily with controlled crystal termination, step density and extended defects. Ultra-thin overlayers deposited via physical-vapor deposition further enable precise compositional and structure control. The crystallographic and electronic structure of these atomically-controlled surfaces are characterized using synchrotron surface X-ray diffraction and surface-sensitive X-ray spectroscopy under a wide range of temperatures and pressures. Community outreach/education - A Journey to the Inside of Materials - emphasizing the magnificence and functionality of ceramic material involves curating three-dimensional slideshows featuring images of everyday objects at the nanoscale, and projecting them via the unique visualization facility at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.