My current research involves working with phosphors.
More specifically, I am working on elucidating the
structural details of phosphors through different
techniques. The most basic technique is x-ray diffraction
(XRD) which can give the average crystal structure(s) of
a substance. However, phosphor performance is strongly
dependent on the local electronic environment. One important
method we are utilizing is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR),
which can elucidate fine structural details of a compound
such as the local electronic environment of atoms and the
strength and asymmetry of the eletric field gradient (EFG).
One difficulty that arises in using NMR to study phosphors
is that many nuclei we want to observe in phosphors are
quadrupolar (spin>1/2), which makes any NMR analysis more difficult, but can also have advantages.
Previously, I have done research at NREL on TCOs and at Colorado
School of Mines with adhesion forces of hydrates. More to come soon...