Preparing phase pure materials can be a tedious and time consuming process, but important for obtaining intrinsic properties. We reported a facile synthetic method recently developed for the preparation of nanocomposites of Mg2Si and have extended this to inorganic clathrate phases and iron arsenide superconductors. In the case of Mg2Si nanocomposites, we are able to prepare alloyed and nanoparticle containing phases using metal hydrides as one of the starting reagents and is removed via heat treatment. Mg2Si is an n-type semiconductor and the electrical resistivity can be tuned by changing the carrier concentration with dopants making it an important material for this application. Thermal conductivity can be reduced by scattering of mid- and long-wavelength phonons by the presence of nanoparticles in the matrix. We have employed hydrides to prepare clathrate phases such as K8AlxSi46-x and K8-xBaxAlySi46-y. Employing metal hydrides such as KH allows for better control of the stoichiometry compared with the reaction of elements and therefore the properties. Inorganic clathrate structured phases are of interest as possible wide band gap semiconductors and thermoelectrics. We have also utilized hydrides to form phase pure superconductors from the iron arsenide family. The utility of the hydrides will be presented along with characterization of these phases.

Application of metal hydrides for the synthesis of composites and new materials

246th National Meeting (2013)

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