By Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden - IFW Dresden
Synthesis and Crystal Growth Research Team head of department: Dr. Sabine Wurmehl research concept The pursuit of novel materials with emergent properties drives fundamental knowledge and technological advancements. Researchers in material science, solid-state chemistry, and physics collaborate to understand the intricate relationships between local composition, crystallographic structure, and microstructure in multifunctional materials. We elucidate the mechanisms governing phase formation in response to external stimuli, such as temperature, atmosphere, pressure, cooling rate, and material composition. By selectively modifying these experimental parameters we are able to tune specific functionalities in our samples. We develop or modify growth methods to synthesize materials with targeted properties in poly- or single-crystalline form and explore the driving forces for a certain phenomenon and/or functionality by probing the structure-property relationships. Our research includes but is not limited to (i) Heusler compounds as representatives for intermetallic materials with a myriad of different functionalities (ii) (Fe- or Cu-based) unconventional superconductors (iii) magnetically frustrated systems where frustration may arise either from geometrical constraints or from competing interactions as found, e.g., in 3d-5d double perovskite and related structures (iv) shandites as candidates for being kagome semimetals (v) mixed anion compounds that may show, e.g., altermagnetic properties. Ultimately, our research aims to synthesize samples with targeted properties. Their study deepens our understanding of specific phenomena and guides the design of novel materials.
