Equipment: MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of Electrochemical Impedance Spectrometer for Research in Glass with Undergraduates

Coe College, Cedar Rapids IA

Investigators

Abstract

Non-Technical Summary This major research instrumentation project, jointly funded by Division of Materials Research and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), funds the acquisition of a electrochemical impedance spectrometer (EIS). This acquisition allows the undergraduate students and faculty of the Physics Department at Coe College and their collaborators to drastically expand their research by allowing electrical characterization of solid and liquid samples at temperatures of up to 2200 oF (or 1200 oC), under controlled atmosphere. To do so, the equipment measures the phase differences between the input voltage and the output current being applied at the sample, at different frequencies. The results are then statistically compared to electrical circuits who present a similar behavior, and that data is used to calculate the electrical properties of the sample. The work will also allow for the training of twelve undergraduate students, as they will have regular access to it every summer. Additionally, students will also be exposed to the instruments in certain advanced classes, such as Materials Science and Advanced Laboratory. The equipment will also be used in collaboration with organizations from Coe College that represent underrepresented groups in STEM fields to promote this career perspective and attract more future scientists to the field. Technical Summary The new electrochemical impedance spectrometer system at Coe College will be composed of a high-performance modular measurement system (responsible for the dielectric, conductivity, electrochemical, impedance and gain phase measurements in the frequency domain), with a frequency range of 3 micro-Hz to 20 mega-Hz thanks to its wide impedance test interface. Two furnaces accompany the system – a Novotherm temperature control system for sample cells with a temperature range of +25°C to 400°C and a turnkey high-temperature system, with a temperature range of +25°C to 1200°C but designed to operate ideally at temperatures above 300 oC. The turnkey furnace can also operate under a controlled atmosphere. More specific to the proposed project, the EIS equipment will be used to characterize glasses and glass-ceramics with unusually high alkali content, measure the electrical properties of glasses that are usually hard-to-prepare, help with the development of possible commercial compositions with the advance of predictive artificial intelligence, and used to help develop a new methodology for obtaining crystal growth in glass ceramics. The EIS system will expand drastically the characterization capabilities of the materials research groups at Coe College; and continue the growth of the institution as a national undergraduate materials characterization hub. Additionally, the characterization work on the system will impact other local and national academic institutions, local companies, domestic and international collaborators, as well as REU students, and RET high-school teachers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.