Project 1: Mechanical testing of dynamic epoxy composites for high-rate impact resistance (Broderick Lewis)

  Thermoset polymers, like epoxies, are highly desirable materials in structural applications for their robust mechanical properties and chemical resistance, but their inability to be reprocessed causes limitations in some applications. One method of creating reprocessable thermosets is through the addition of dynamic covalent bonds in the form of disulfide linkages. Improvements to mechanical and functional properties can also be achieved by adding a filler to these dynamic epoxy resins and making a composite. As a part of this project, a NURPH student will establish processing conditions for creating homogenous composite resins with the dynamic epoxy resins. With the optimized processing conditions, mechanical and functional properties will be measured for several different specimen geometries. The NURPH student will also learn how to establish connections between filler choice and loading parameters can result in changes in various properties, building intuition for structure, processing, and property relationships in crosslinked polymeric materials.

Project 2: Solubility of CsH₂PO₄ in water/methanol solutions for solid-acid fuel cell applications (Dylan Bardgett)

Electrospraying is a promising method to prepare composite platinum (Pt) and cesium dihydrogen phosphate (CDP) electrodes for solid-acid fuel cells. Before seeing real-world application, the Pt/CDP electrospray process needs optimized. Properties of the CDP/methanol/water solution used to electrospray CDP, such as solution conductivity, surface tension, and CDP solubility, must be known in order to improve the quality of the Pt/CDP electrodes. 

A NURPH student on this project will measure the solubility of CDP in several methanol/water mixtures using optical light scattering measurements. As the solubility limit of CDP is reached, the solution will begin to scatter the laser light due to the Tyndall effect. Conductivity and surface tension of the CDP/methanol/water solutions will be measured as a function of CDP concentration using a digital conductivity meter and tensiometer. The NURPH student will also learn some basic principles of fuel cell operation and solid-state electrochemistry to help contextualize the significance of their work.

Project 3: Surface science of niobium films for superconducting, quantum computing applications (David Garcia)

One of the challenges to realizing quantum computers is to overcome material defects that result in qubit decoherence, which is the loss of information stored by the qubits to the environment. A source of these defects for niobium, the material of interest, is believed to be surface oxides that form on the niobium thin films. This project will include experiments to control oxidation of clean, deposited niobium surface using an ultra-high vacuum environment and/or include experiments with the use of capping layers such as platinum for the controlling of niobium oxidation.

A NURPH student on this project will grow niobium films utilizing molecular beam epitaxy and analyze the surface with auger electron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction. The goal is to fabricate samples with controlled oxidation and characterize their structure and chemical states. Controlling synthesis of these samples will help identify the surface defects at the core of the problem. Low temperature measurements from a collaborating physics group will further support identification of the surface defects.