The PREM partnership engaged University of Hawaiʻi (UH) and University of Washington (UW) faculty and students to perform collaborative interdisciplinary research, education and outreach activities beneficial to both institutions, while encouraging the participation of URMs, women and veterans in the activities.

The PREM research on advancing nano-to-macroscale defect-bearing and doped materials was organized into four thrusts. The research activities capitalized on the synergistic expertise of select UH and UW Molecular Engineering Materials Center (UW MEM-C) faculty, and the two institutions’ complementary synthesis and characterization resources.

The first thrust, focused on nanosizing metal borides using solvent-mediated and ultra-sonication approaches. Metal borides have numerous technological potentials including as absorbents for storing hydrogen for energy storage applications. We successfully demonstrated ultrasonication synthesis of high surface area exfoliated nanosized borides containing various additives, including with the use of open-source laboratory automation robots. The significance of this finding lies in the correlation of high surface area to improved gas interaction properties, wherein efficient exfoliation is a crucial prerequisite.

The second thrust advanced knowledge of novel solar energy materials and the impact of their electronic defects on optical and electronic properties. Initially, our efforts were directed toward replacing, expensive conventional vacuum-based deposition processes utilized in photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing with a liquid-based technique, specifically printable PV. In our process, liquid molecular inks containing the essential chemical elements required for the synthesis of the solar absorber are printed onto a substrate. The ink is subsequently annealed at a high temperature to form the solar absorber. Some impurities, such as oxygen, may persist after this step and create electronic defects which reduce PV efficiency. We demonstrated that these defects can be passivated using metal oxides.

The third thrust focused on developing understanding of hydrogen incorporation into materials via proton irradiation, relevant to materials processing in environments from the technological to the astrophysical. Low dose irradiation can dope materials for engineered sensors, but at high doses, radiolytic water/hydroxyl are detected in silicates by electron energy loss spectroscopy. To elucidate the processes underlying proton incorporation, we explored low energy and high dose irradiation of oxides. Deuterium ions behave chemically like protons, allowing differentiation of radiogenic species from ambient water, and helium ions were used as a control. An important finding was that ion irradiation generates vesicles of gas in oxide surfaces, as observed in silicates, but a dose that produced detectable water/hydroxyl in silicates resulted in large vesicles in oxides and gas escape during sample preparation. This work has relevance to development of shielding materials for space exploration and reactor environments and interpretation of space weathering effects.

The fourth thrust aimed to understand how strain can control the structure and properties of materials, with the goal of advancing technologies for spin or magnetic switching. We used diamond anvil cells, to apply extreme pressure to synthetic organometallic solids to induce structural transformations and explore their potential for use in next-generation digital storage technologies. One key finding was the discovery of spin crossover (SCO) behavior in the newly synthesized complexes, which could potentially be used for storing digital information, such as in memory chips or hard drives. We combined in situ high-pressure studies with advanced computational techniques, such as density functional theory, to better understand how these materials behave under pressure. This work contributes to the development of new materials with enhanced properties for technological applications, including improved memory storage, superconductivity, and energy conversion.

The PREM’s Education and Outreach efforts emphasized curriculum and course development, particularly through the creation of a new course, Research and Experiment Design. This course, launched at UH in Fall 2022 and was further developed in Fall 2023. The course integrates hands-on materials research, data acquisition, and experimentation using open-source hardware. The course successfully engaged undergraduates and graduate students, with at least six undergraduates continuing to graduate studies in materials science related fields. Diverse student demographics participated, including Native Hawaiians, veteran and ROTC students, and women. The course format was designed to foster collaborative discussions and problem-solving in open-ended projects, discussion of research ethics, and oral and written communication of project plans and results. The project also created and hosted the Hawaii Materials Symposium in 2023, which connected more than 100 members of the community, students, and professionals in materials science and showcased UH research. Collaborative efforts between UH and UW strengthened research and education pathways for students at both institutions. The PREM outreach to Hawaiʻi public schools culminated in offering a joint UH/UW 3-day hands-on mini-Nanocamp, which directly introduced middle school and high school students and teachers to relatable materials science concepts.

Last Modified: 12/16/2024
Modified by: Godwin Severa