Ames Laboratory Materials Chemistry Program

Our program has a single overarching goal: to synthesize and to understand the basic principles governing properties and behavior of novel materials and structures. Our program is committed to world-class research currently focusing on two classes of solid-state materials1) Metal-rich inorganic solid-state phases including quasicrystalline materials; and (2) Macromolecular systems. In both classes, development of heretofore-unknown materials is emphasized. A synergistic combination of experiment and theory involving multi-disciplinary approaches is a hallmark of the program. Within the first class, metal-rich solid-state phases, topics of investigation are electronic stabilization; atomic structure; surface structure and properties; solute effects; and macroscopic growth. a particular strength is our work on quasicrystalline materials, which constitute a subset of metal-rich solid-state phases. Within the second class, macromolecular systems, the emphasis is on the development of novel polymeric and polymer-inorganic bioinspired materials that exhibit self-assembly at multiple length scales. An important aspect is the development of nuclear magnetic resonance techniques for characterization of these bioinspired materials.