The goal of this collaborative project is to establish a comprehensive research and education program between University of California San Diego and the University of Nevada, Reno, exploring the physical and chemical mechanisms controlling the storage and separation of gases in hexaboride (i.e., MB 6 ) materials, with the aim of extending the basic and practical knowledge of the synthesis as well as the chemical behavior (i.e., bonding states, electronic and defect structure, phase stability, and diffusion behavior) of these types of materials.
This project constitutes a completely new concept in hexaboride materials design and can open the door to unprecedented and tunable gas storage and separation behaviors, which have never been studied in hexaborides, and are not found in other materials. With the expertise developed at our respective laboratories in the processing and modeling of materials, this project will lead the way on how hexaboride compounds are prepared and characterized, as well as providing an understanding of their chemical properties and gas storage and separation capabilities.
This project is in collaboration with Olivia Graeve from University of California, San Diego and Scott Misture from Alfred University.