Breaking open quartz tube to get Sn3P2 crystal
Author: Cory Stephenson | Majors: Physics and Chemistry
In the realm of material science, it is important to distinguish properties of new material to determine what applications the material can have. For instance, I discovered a new two-dimensional (2D) material that has potential applications in sensors used in a research lab. With decreased dimensionality from a bulk crystal, new properties emerge due to the quantum confinement. For this reason, among numerous others, the field in nanomaterials is vastly expanding.
For most of my undergraduate years, I went around to different professors trying to find what sparked my interests in science. I tried four different labs before choosing to join the Quantum Materials group led by my mentor, Dr. Hu. His lab was a perfect blend of both my degrees: physics and chemistry. I was excited to be able to synthesize crystals of all different shapes, sizes, and colors for our research group.
In his group, I was even able to synthesize my own crystals outside of everyone else’s project. Dr. Hu had originally given me a previously discovered material that was only lightly studied for me to characterize. However, it was during the synthesis process that I encountered a problem. I could not get the crystal the paper had reported through the described process. Instead, I ended up with a brand-new material, Sn3P2. This material was exfoliable and therefore a viable candidate to study with the decreased dimensionality to a 2D crystal.
The next challenge came from doping the material to try and induce magnetism into it. I tried to directly synthesize the material with ferromagnetic elements and the composition would barely change and magnetic properties were not observed. So, as any curious person would do, I added a lot of one element one time instead of the 1% recommended amount for doping. After doing Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, the newly synthesized crystal showed a composition of Cu2P3 which made me facepalm and excited because this was also an unreported 2D material. I ended up discovering two new materials by complete accident. I learned that trying new and crazy things is the whole point to experimenting and that it tends to give some interesting results.
Dr. Hu was always providing support on my project, leading me towards what the next step would be. He pointed me to good literature resources and was available for consultation when I had any questions about why things were the way they were. He helped me understand the physics behind what was happening and pushed me to complete each task.
Dr. Hu also invited me to attend the national American Physical Society (APS) March Meeting event in Chicago. It was here that I gave a presentation to my fellow physicists over the material that I had discovered. It was an amazing experience where I attended nonstop presentations about the latest research being done across every field of physics ranging from undergraduate to doctoral speakers. It broadened my perception on what possibilities there are in physics study.
The next step is an internship for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division in Crane, Indiana. Here I will be working on synthesizing materials for a new technique they want to try out in hopes of increasing the efficiency of their existing technology. I have plans to go to graduate school in the future to pursue either electrical engineering or chemical engineering with a concentration in nanotechnology.