Students ponder question through interdisciplinary Illinois MRSEC research

Fourteen undergraduate students spent their summer learning what all sides of research look like. For 10 weeks, these students worked closely with faculty mentors through the I-MRSEC (Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) where they solved a challenging scientific question through the interdisciplinary Illinois MRSEC research.

In addition to gaining a rich research experience, these students were also provided the opportunity to create connections and build networks starting with their mentors. Through their projects, they were given the opportunity to gain a better idea of what they would like to do in their future careers and build upon the skills learned during the program. This year, the program had a particular emphasis on skills that aid in communicating scientific discoveries to the larger scientific community and make science more accessible.

The REU help various events designed to help students develop academically and professionally beyond the research experience, including a tour of MRL, faculty seminars, professional development, and a visit to Argonne National Laboratory. At the end of the ten-week period, the undergrads were given the opportunity to present their research results.

This year's program included a cohort of students supported through a new partnership between the Illinois MRSEC, Tennessee State University, and Fisk University. The partnership, called the Tennessee State University Fisk and Illinois (TSUFI) Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM), is funded by the NSF. You can read more about the partnership online.

 

Ethiopine Choping, junior in civil engineering, Tennessee State

Ethiopine Choping, under the supervision of Andre Schleife, worked on a project titled, “First-Principles Study of Photoelastic Effect in Zinc-Blende Gallium Phosphide.” Choping focused her research on Zinc Blende Gallium Phosphide (GaP), a wide bandgap semiconductor. Choping’s project simulated the GaP structure using the density functional theory (DFT) to evaluate what would happen to the elastic moduli of the lattice under photoexcitation.

 

 

 

 

 

Antonio Moore, freshman in chemistry and computer science, Fisk University

In Arend van der Zande’s lab, Antonio Moore worked on the “Strain Induced Phase Transition of MoTe2” research project, where the goal was to use strain to incite a phase change on a 2D material (Molybdenum ditelluride) to change it from 1 phase (1T' phase) to another (2H phase). (TMDs have different phases). The research also found and recorded the threshold of strain needed to induce a phase change on 1T' MoTe2.

 

 

 

 

 

Grady Clopton, graduate student in chemistry and mechanical engineering, Tennessee State

Grady Clopton worked on the project, “First-Principles study on Polarization Dependent Optical Properties of Transition Metal Doped β-GaO3,” under UIUC mentors Andre Schleife and Elif Ertekin. In their research, the first principles of modeling and simulation were used based on density functional theory to explore the possibility of pleochroism in transition metal doped β-GaO3. Pleochroism occurs when a material shows different colors when observed from different directions, particularly under polarized light.

 

 

 

 

Rebecca Banner, junior in chemistry, Skidmore College

Daniel Shoemaker mentored Rebecca Banner, who worked on the project, “Single-Crystal Growth Optimization of Metallic Antiferromagnet, Mn2Au,” where she developed a method of using Bi-flux synthesis to grow oriented bulk single crystals, millimeters in scale in order to evaluate the unique material properties of Mn2Au. Metallic antiferromagnet Mn2Au has been found to be an ideal candidate for spintronic applications due to its strong in-plane anisotropy, preserved antiferromagnetism past room temperature, and demonstrated current-induced Néel vector switching.

 

 

 

 

 

Emmanuel Barias, junior in mechanical engineering, Campbell University

Emmanuel Barias worked in Nenad Miljkovic’s lab on “The Characterization of Thin Polymer Films,” which focused on the defects of thin polymer films that are known to exist; however, they have not been characterized because they are hard to image. The nano size of these defects as well as the lack of conductivity makes it difficult to visualize the defects on an electron microscope.

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Baumgartner, junior in chemistry, University of Wisconsin La Crosse

Andrew Baumgartne worked under the supervision of Daniel Shoemaker. The project, “Flux Growth of Anti-ferromagnetic Binary Oxides,” focused on anti-ferromagnetic materials and their potential to create faster and more reliable data storage. However, many properties of anti-ferromagnetic materials can only be measured using a single crystal. The team researched how to reliably grow these crystals.

 

 

 

 

 

Amyra Black, junior in mechanical engineering, Tennessee State

Amyra Black spent their summer on the project, “P-Doping WSe2 with Oxygen Plasma,” in Arend van der Zande’s lab. In the nanopore project, oxygen plasma was used to p-dope WSe2. AFM was then used to check the thickness and roughness change due to the formation of top layer WOx. The stability of the p-doping after DI water rinse was also explored as it is a process that degrades the top layer of WOx.

 

 

 

 

 

Colin Fried, sophomore in mechanical engineering, Parkland College

Colin Fried worked in Nenad Miljkovic’s lab. His project, “A Macroscopic Investigation of Wettability Characteristics for Modified Heat Exchanger Surfaces,” focused on combating frost buildup caused by condensation buildup on heat exchanger surfaces in low-temperature situations. The research aimed to investigate a potential method for avoiding the need to schedule periodic defrosting cycles, which results in downtime where the system is not running at all.

 

 

 

 

 

Maya Kesan, junior in engineering, Smith College

Maya Kesan worked on the project, “Fabrication of MoS2 Monolayers and Twisted Bilayers,” in Pinshane Huang’s lab. The project explored the fabrication of molybdenum disulfide, a type of layered transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD). The research fabricated monolayers and stacked them at different orientations to make twisted bilayers.

 

 

 

 

 

Zina Medina, senior in chemical engineering, University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez

Zina Medina worked with Axel Hoffmann this summer. The project, “Thermal-Magnetic Oscillator in FeRh,” focused on analyzing the magnetic properties of FeRh thin films on (100) MgO substrate through its transition from an antiferromagnetic state (AFM) to a ferromagnetic state (FM). Temperature-dependent measurements of the magnetic moment show that FeRh had been in its AFM state at low temperatures and transitioned to its FM state at high temperatures. This thermally driven phase transition is also characterized by a change in resistance. This may open routes for magnetic hybrid materials, which are currently in demand for many spintronics applications due to the controllable magnetic phase.

 

 

 

 

 

Amber Simon, junior in biochemistry and physics, Gustavus Adolphus College

Amber Simon also worked under Hoffmann on a different project, “Measurement of spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance exhibited by noncollinear antiferromagnet Mn3Sn.” The project focused on the ability of Mn3Sn to alter the magnetization of an adjacent ferromagnet. This was done by performing spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) measurements on thin-film bilayers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah Veres, junior in metallurgical engineering, University of Alabama

Sarah Veres worked on “Deformation of Nanographene on Gold Nanoparticle Substrates” in Catherine Murphy's lab. The project used Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) to determine if placing nanographene over a gold nanoparticle film caused stress or strain on the surface of the nano graphene. The project used a monolayer of graphene draped over the different particle sizes to see if there was an increase in strain with smaller particle diameters.

 

 

 

 

 

Caleb Williams, junior in electrical and computer engineering, University of Illinois Chicago

Caleb Williams worked in Nadya Mason’s lab on the project, “Studies on Strained Graphene Via Raman Spectroscopy.” The project focused on studying graphene strained on silicon dioxide nanospheres on a silicon substrate. Strain shows up in the Raman spectra of graphene as redshifts of the G and 2D peaks. Williams investigated the effects of thermal processing on strain via Raman spectroscopy.

 

 

 

 

 

Jackie Zheng, sophomore in engineering physics, Cornell

Jackie Zheng worked on “Ellipsometry for Simultaneous Strain and Stoichiometry Changes in Functional Oxide Thin Films” this summer. This project explored ellipsometry as a potential method for simultaneous strain and stoichiometry measurements. The findings of this project laid down the groundwork for developing the measurement of the coefficient of chemical expansion in functional oxide thin films. Zheng was mentored by MatSE Professor Nicola Perry.