Exploiting the anion Chemistry of solids for Future Advanced Functional Materials: Core-to-Core Project on Mixed Anion Research for Energy Conversion

固态化合物是许多关键技术的基础。其中许多是结晶氧化物，在概念上与地球上的主要矿物相似，但其组成由化学家和物理学家选择，以决定其晶体结构和电子或磁性的特征，从而产生技术重要性。例如，具有移动的Li离子的氧化还原活性氧化物是用于移动的通信的现代电池技术的关键，氧化物离子导体在燃料电池技术中是重要的，并且正在探索高温超导氧化铜用于MRI磁体系统。氧化物在富氧环境中容易形成，但含有其他阴离子的整个范围的其他固态化合物，如硫化物、氮化物、氯化物、氟化物、磷化物和氢化物，具有有希望的化学和物理性质，用于从重要化学过程的催化材料到具有与氧化物互补的电子和磁性的化合物的应用。这项拟议的研究和财团建设项目旨在发现新的多阴离子固体：含有周期表中一种或多种金属元素与两种或多种阴离子形成元素的化合物。例如氧化物硫化物，氧化物氟化物和氧化物硫化物，牛津化学的小组在这些固体的合成方面处于世界领先地位，并提供计算分析来支持这些研究;牛津物理的小组是使用一系列技术对这些化合物进行物理表征的专家，特别是在英国的旗舰ISIS和钻石设施进行中子，μ子和X射线研究。由京都领导的日本研究人员和法国研究小组擅长使用补充技术进行这些化合物的化学合成，包括高压合成。该研究将利用团队之间的协同作用，发现新的物质组成，并分析其晶体结构和物理化学性质，以评估它们作为各种能量转换应用的可能技术材料。这些新化合物的结构复杂性，在其作为现实世界的功能材料的开发中通常具有决定性的重要性，需要广泛的表征工具，安特卫普集团在使用电子显微镜方面无与伦比的专业知识以及钻石，ESRF，ILL和ISIS的访问将是研究的关键组成部分，为牛津的合成化学提供支持，日本和法国。这项工作也将得到计算专业知识的支持。该项目的一个关键部分是建立网络和联盟，以促进和加强实验室研究。日本、英国、法国、比利时和中国的大量研究人员正在参与该项目，并将参加实验室之间的互访，以获得新技术的经验，并分享和转让知识和专业知识。此外，每年亦会举办研讨会，让成员讨论研究的进展，策划新的研究方向，并使成员能充分利用新的研究机会。作为这项活动的一部分，各级研究人员将主办和参加暑期学校，小组的高级成员将参加巡回演讲图尔斯，以便利用与世界各地其他团体以及联合体内部的协同作用。这项活动的一个关键部分将是在主要的国际期刊上发表成果，并在主要的国际会议上介绍这项工作。这项活动将进一步促进该联盟在全球舞台上的工作，并将导致进一步的研究活动，包括新的研究合作，以在本提案期间和之后创建新的研究方向。

Solid state compounds form the basis of many key technologies. Many of these are crystalline oxides, similar in concept to the major minerals of the earth, but with compositions chosen by chemists and physicists to dictate features of their crystal structures and electronic or magnetic properties which result in technological importance. E.g. redox-active oxides with mobile Li ions are key to modern battery technologies for mobile communications, oxide ion conductors are important in fuel cell technologies, and high-temperature superconducting copper oxides are being explored for use in MRI magnet systems. Oxides form readily in an oxygen-rich environment, but a whole range of other solid state compounds containing other anions such as sulfide, nitride, chloride, fluoride, phosphide and hydride have promising chemical and physical properties for applications ranging from catalytic materials for important chemical processes to compounds with electronic and magnetic properties complementary to those of oxides. This proposed research and consortium-building project is geared towards the discovery of new multi-anion solids: compounds containing one or more of the metallic elements of the periodic table in combination with two or more anion-forming elements. Examples are oxide sulfides, oxide fluorides and oxide hydrides, and the groups in Oxford Chemistry are world-leading in the synthesis of these solids, and in providing computational analysis to underpin these investigations; the groups in Oxford Physics are expert in the physical characterisation of these compounds using a range of techniques, particularly at the UK's flagship ISIS and Diamond facilities for neutron, muon and X-ray research. The Japanese researchers, led by Kyoto, and the French groups are expert in using complementary techniques for the chemical synthesis of these compounds, including high pressure synthesis. The research will exploit the synergies between groups to discover new compositions of matter and characterise their crystal structures and physical and chemical properties to assess them as possible technological materials for diverse energy conversion applications. The structural complexity of these new compounds, which is often of decisive importance in their exploitation as real-world functional materials requires a wide range of tools for characterisation, and the unrivalled expertise of the Antwerp group in the use of electron microscopy together with the access to Diamond, ESRF, ILL and ISIS will be a key component of the research, feeding in to the synthetic chemistry in Oxford, Japan and France. The work will also be underpinned by computational expertise.A key part of this project, enabling and strengthening the laboratory research, is networking and consortium building. A large number of Japan-, UK-, France-, Belgium-, and China-based researchers are participating in this project and will participate in exchange visits between laboratories to gain experience in new techniques and to share and transfer knowledge and expertise. There will also be annual all-hands workshops for the consortium members to discuss progress of the research and to plan new research directions and to enable the critical mass of the consortium to best exploit new research opportunities. As part of this activity the researchers at all levels will host and participate in summer schools and the senior members of the team will take part in lecture tours with a view to exploiting synergies with other groups worldwide as well as within the consortium. A key part of the activity will be publication of the results in leading international journals and presenting the work at major international conferences. This activity will further promote the work of the consortium on the global stage and will lead to further research activities, including new research collaborations to create new research directions during and beyond the course of this proposal.