{"id":1403,"date":"2021-03-16T16:19:16","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T16:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tickle1stg.wpenginepowered.com\/mse\/?p=1403"},"modified":"2024-02-14T16:21:25","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T16:21:25","slug":"small-changes-big-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/small-changes-big-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Changes; Big Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

Solar power farms, medical laboratory innovations, and streaming multiplayer video games don\u2019t seem connected at first, but they all share a dependence on advancements in the field of optoelectronics.<\/p>\n

By David Goddard. Photography by Shawn Poynter.<\/em><\/p>\n

Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that use light. An important key to unlocking the field\u2019s potential is the use of perovskites\u2014materials that have a wide range of uses, are more cost-effective than the purely silicon-based technology of the past, and can be tailor-made from chemical solutions.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where\u00a0Materials Science and Engineering<\/a>\u00a0Assistant Professor Mahshid Ahmadi comes into play. Ahmadi\u2019s research involves designing what are known as organic inorganic halide perovskites (OIHP)\u2014a general term for a class of materials that can be made from combining several different metallic elements such as lead and tin, organic molecules, and halides to form a perovskite structure.<\/p>\n

OIHPs are cost-effective due to their solution processability and ease of fabrication; however, other problems exist that must be overcome prior to their widespread adaptation.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrent OIHPs lack needed stability when used in normal, standard operations,\u201d Ahmadi said. \u201cWhat I hope to achieve is to study the origin of the instability and how to mitigate it, look at what their chemistry and electrochemistry looks like when they are under operational conditions such as sunlight, and use what we learn from that to better design the next generation of stable OIHPs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmadi has identified areas that seem to be among the biggest stumbling blocks facing the development of new OIHPs and the improvement of their long-term performance.<\/p>\n

The plan is to use a small robot that can synthesize a large number of OIHP materials at once while using machine learning algorithms. This innovation will improve and increase the rate of discovery of new compositions as well as help optimize their properties.<\/p>\n

Gating experiments\u2014processes in which the ionic channels within substances are opened and closed, usually via electrical charge\u2014will then be used to help researchers learn the specific roles ionic chemistry plays in material synthesis.<\/p>\n

Similarly, gating experiments will be used to find the role of different ions in OIHPs, how the ions move in operation condition and react with other transport layers in optoelectronic devices, and how to control them. The feedback from this experiment will be used to determine the next combination of OIHPs to be synthesized, with a goal of more stable chemistry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will use advanced microscopy and imaging to help us study and gain a better understanding of a number of different properties including ionic chemistry and electrochemistry involved in developing more stable OIHPs,\u201d Ahmadi said. \u201cBeing able to automate the synthesis of materials, rapidly characterize them, and use the knowledge to predict behaviors will pay dividends down the road accelerate discovery as we design new materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmadi\u2019s work has been recognized with a National Science Foundation (NSF) Early CAREER Award, which are given to early-career researchers who have shown great promise or ingenuity.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarning a CAREER award from the NSF is quite an honor, and it reflects well upon both my work and that of my research collaborators,\u201d Ahmadi said. \u201cI look forward to the advancements that will be made possible thanks to this award and the support that comes with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like all CAREER awards, Ahmadi\u2019s includes a component aimed at undergraduate or pre-college education. Her goal is to increase participation levels in materials science amongst women and historically underrepresented populations and includes projects, outreach efforts, and career mentoring at both high school and college levels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Assistant Professor Mahshid Ahmadi received a CAREER Award to further research into OIHP materials\u2014important for solar farms, medical innovations, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[423,51,195],"class_list":["post-1403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","tag-career-awards","tag-mahshid-ahmadi","tag-national-science-foundation"],"yoast_head":"\nSmall Changes; Big Results - Materials Science and Engineering<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Assistant Professor Mahshid Ahmadi received a CAREER Award to further research into OIHP materials\u2014important for solar farms, medical innovations, and more.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/small-changes-big-results\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Small Changes; 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