Talk given by

Prof. Alfred Ludwig

Werkstoffe der Mikrotechnik

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Abstract: The design of new materials is a key challenge in materials science: e.g. new nanostructured materials for the sustainable production/storage/conversion of energy carriers are necessary to improve existing and to enable future energy systems. Efficient methods for discovery and optimization of new materials are necessary. The thin-film combinatorial materials science approach contributes to this development by fabrication and processing of thin film materials libraries using combinatorial sputter deposition processes and optional post-deposition treatments (e.g. thermal oxidation, annealing, dealloying), followed by the high-throughput characterization of the different thin film samples contained in these libraries. The importance of defining adequate screening parameters and the according design of different materials libraries suitable for one or more screening parameters will be addressed.

High-throughput material characterization methods are automated, fast, and mostly non-destructive: examples are EDX and RBS for composition, XRD for crystal structure, temperature-dependent resistance for phase transformation, high-throughput test stands for optical properties (color, transmission) and mechanical properties (stress, hardness, elastic modulus), and scanning droplet cells for photoelectrochemical properties screening. The obtained results for up to quinary systems are visualized in the form of composition-processing-structure-function diagrams, interlinking compositional data with structural and functional properties. The talk will cover and discuss examples of the combinatorial development of nanoscale materials: shape memory alloys, multiple principal element alloys, multinary nanoparticle libraries for catalytic applications, and metal oxide thin film materials libraries for solar water splitting.