
University:
Jackson State University
Major:
Chemistry
Mentor(s):
Brent Melot
Faculty Sponsor(s):
Ram Seshadri
Faculty Sponsor's Department(s):
Materials
Project Title:
SYNTHESIS OF METAL OXIDE SPINELS USING HYDROTHERMAL TECHNIQUES
Project Description:
Little is known about the fundamental science behind magnetic interactions in
crystallogrpahically-disordered materials. In order to further understand these interactions, we
performed various methods of synthesis in an attempt to control the crystallographic ordering
of oxides. The traditional route for preparing transition metal oxides requires the use of high
temperature reactions. These high temperatures are detrimental to the synthesis of transition
metal oxide spinels because the atoms in the crystal have a tendency to randomly distribute to
the wrong crystallographic sites, resulting in a disordered structure with properties that are
hard to control. In an attempt to control this atomic ordering, we have prepared nanocrystals
of CoGa2O4 using a hydrothermal method. Hydrothermal techniques are conducted at milder
conditions, therefore it is expected that the prepared nanocrystals will order appropriately. We
will present structural and magnetic data demonstrating the difference between our
nanocrystals prepared with hydrothermal techniques and samples prepared at high
temperatures.