New Compositions, Structures and Phenomena for Porous Materials at High Pressures

This project aims to synthesize new classes of materials with novel compositions, architectures and properties at pressures readily attainable for commercial applications. These new classes of materials will include discovering nanoporous phosphates using hydrothermal techniques, and understanding the atomic structure of the solvents as well as their effect on structures formed using synchrotron X-ray and neutron scattering techniques. Various stages of the synthesis will be studied using time resolved techniques. This project bridges synthetic chemistry and high-pressure research, a burgeoning field in condensed matter research. %%% This new class of materials could find applications as ion exchangers and catalysts, both areas of high interest to industry. The graduate students will explore the atomic structures of novel materials, their properties, and their mechanisms of formation using state of the art synchrotron X-ray and neutron scattering techniques, including time resolved work to follow the stages of synthesis with unprecedented precision. Students trained in these areas will be highly competitive in the job market.