PRESSURE TUNING IN THE SEARCH FOR NEW AND IMPROVED SOLID-STATE MATERIALS

Pressure tuning is a potentially useful tool to increase the rate of d iscovery of solid-state materials with improved properties. The intera ction parameters that determine the properties of a given material def ine a phase space, which can have one or more dimensions. A single sol id-state compound can be represented by a single point in this phase s pace. The traditional approach to the search for new materials involve s an exploration of phase space by sequential synthesis and characteri zation of new solid-state compounds. Because materials interaction par ameters (e.g., orbital overlap, orbital energy, magnetic coupling, etc .) can be tuned with pressure, phase space can also be traversed with pressure, potentially allowing a property of interest to be optimized. The advantages of pressure tuning include the ability to tune rapidly and cleanly, typically without introducing disorder, phase separation , or other complicating factors. Demonstration of the existence of mat erials that exhibit improved properties at high pressure can provide i nsight into the structural and electronic parameters necessary for suc h improved properties to guide the search for such behavior at atmosph eric pressure.