Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (I-MRSEC)

Nontechnical Abstract: The Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (I-MRSEC) has a mission to perform fundamental, innovative research that supports technological applications in areas of societal need, while promoting interdisciplinary materials-focused education and training of students. The work of the Center is carried out by two interdisciplinary groups, and is broadly centered on controlling how charged particles, specifically electrons and ions, flow in materials, which is essential for developing next generation advancements in information storage and processing and energy technologies. The research in the first group helps to advance microelectronics. The work focuses on using deformation fields -- so-called strainscapes -- in two-dimensional (2D) and thin film materials, to control the motion of electrons. The research in the second group contributes to the design of new battery materials. The focus of the work is to use light to control the flow of ions in materials, a phenomenon called photo-ionics. The Center also supports an educational program, focusing on K-12 outreach, which promotes materials knowledge for all Americans. There is a special focus on mentoring Center participants at all levels, from undergraduate students to faculty, in order to foster retention in STEM courses and fields. The activities in the Center are designed to promote an expanded and more successful STEM workforce. Technical Abstract: The research activity of the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center is broadly centered on designing and controlling transport of electrons and ions in materials. Directing Spin, Charge, and Energy with 2D Strainscapes focuses on creating strain distributions in 2D materials and quasi-2D thin film materials to access new materials systems whose symmetry, topology, and band structure can be designed and patterned at the nanoscale. The goal is to achieve multi-dimensional control over strainscapes, to include spatially heterogeneous strain, strain gradient tensors, and heterostrain. This behavior couples to superconductivity, topological phases, protected edge states, and spin textures, and enables possible devices that direct energy and process information. Photo-Ionics: Controlling Ion Transport and Defects with Light investigates mechanisms by which light-excited electronic carriers interact with dynamic ion configurations. By determining materials design principles for illumination-induced changes in kinetic and thermodynamic parameters governing ion flux, the work enables efficient, nanoscale control over ions with orders-of-magnitude changes under illumination, and possible new electrochemical manufacturing, and energy and information technologies. The Center emphasizes K-12 outreach and programs that support mentoring of all center participants, from undergraduate students to faculty. As part of the research programs in the Center, the work has broader technical impact by supporting significant new shared facilities for materials science. 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.