[LA-SiGMA] LASiGMA Seminar - Dr. Martha Greenblatt, Wednesday April 10, 3:45 p.m.

[sjlee at cct.lsu.edu]

Dear All,

Dr. Dr. Martha Greenblatt will be giving a seminar, April 10th, at  
3:45.m. at the Marriott Hotel, Baton Rouge, Louisiana for LASiGMA's  
Technical Conference. The title of her talk is "Transition Metal  
Oxides: Superconductors, Multiferroics, and Catalysts for Water  
Splitting".

Abstract:
Combined experimental and DFT theoretical results on low-dimensional  
new Ni+/Ni2+ (d9/d8) homologous series, Lnn+1NinO2n+2 with n =2 and 3  
layered oxides with Ruddlesden-Popper (RP)-related structures and  
isostructural and isoelectronic with the high temperature  
superconducting cuprates are presented. Temperature variation of  
magnetization, transport, specific heat and 139La NMR data in La4Ni3O8  
evidence the presence of a transition near ~105 K. DFT calculations  
suggest similarity of the band structure with that of the cuprate  
superconductors and relate the transition at 105 K to a spin density  
wave nesting instability of the Fermi surface.

CsTlX3 (X = F, Cl) were predicted, by first principle calculations, to  
be superconducting when doped or under pressure. We prepared these  
compounds for the first time, and show that perovskite structures form  
as predicted by theory, and the charge ordering of Tl+/Tl3+ observed  
by XAS has not been broken by high pressure.

Cheaper efficient catalysts made from abundant (not noble metals) and  
environmentally green materials are indispensable for extracting  
hydrogen from water, the essential precursor to all globally  
sustainable fuels. Achieving this goal and the reduction of CO2 to  
liquid fuels are necessary to replace fossil fuels. We have  
synthesized different polymorphs of LiCoO2 and compared their  
catalytic activity in water oxidation. Our results show that LiCoO2 is  
active exclusively in the low-temperature cubic “spinel-like”  
structure, while inactive as the high-temperature layered phase, which  
is thermodynamically more stable. The related spinel LiMn2O4 is  
transformed from an inactive to a highly efficient water oxidation  
catalyst (ë-MnO2) upon the topotactic removal Li+. These spinel phases  
contain cubical metal-oxo (M4O4) subunits (absent in the layered  
LiCoO2 analog) that appear to be the key to catalytic activity. The  
biological basis of the mechanism for the high activity of the  
M4O4-cubical topology of various activated spinels in water oxidation  
will be discussed

Martha Greenblatt is Professor of Chemical Biology at Rutgers State  
University of New Jersey Department of Chemistry. She received her  
B.S. (1962) and Ph.D. (1967) degrees in Chemistry and Inorganic  
Chemistry from Brooklyn College, New York and Polytechnic Institute,  
Brooklyn, New York respectively.  She joined the faculty at Rutgers  
University in 2003. Her current research focuses on solid state  
inorganic chemistry; synthesis and crystal growth of novel transition  
metal compounds with quasi-low-dimensional correlated electronic  
properties including transition metal (V, Mo, W, Nb) oxide bronzes,  
perovskite, double perovskite and Ruddlesden-Popper-based oxide phases  
(with 3d, 4d and 5d metals) with particular focus on magnetically  
ordered, multiferroic, CMR materials, and high temperature  
superconductors. Properties of compounds are characterized by X-ray  
neutron, and electron diffraction, transmission electron microscopy,  
magnetic susceptibility, electronic conductivity, Seebeck effect,  
thermal analysis and X-ray absorption spectroscopy.   
Structural-physicochemical property relationships are emphasized.   
Single crystal and polycrystalline materials are investigated.  More  
recently inorganic transition metal oxide and chalcogenide  
nanomaterials are synthesized and characterized in search of earth  
abundant catalysts for the oxidation and reduction of water. Another  
area of research pursued is fast ionic (H+, Li+ and O2-) motion in  
solids and applications (solid state batteries, fuel cells and sensors).

Please note, this seminar will NOT be broadcasted live, as the seminar
location is offsite.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Shelley Lee
Project Coordinator
225-578-0465



















-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Flyer Martha Greenblatt.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 106616 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : https://mail.loni.org/mailman/private/lasigma/attachments/20130408/5ba01706/attachment-0001.pdf