Anna Lunderberg – 2016

LunderbergExploring the Effects of Copper on Composition and Charge Storage of Prussian Blue Analogue Pseudocapacitors

Research Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Hampton

As energy usage has increased in recent years, there has been great demand for efficient, cost-effective, and earth-abundant materials to be used for energy storage. The ability to produce hexacyanoferrate (HCF) modified nickel film for use as a pseudocapacitor has already been demonstrated. This project focuses on the effects on the modification procedure and the resulting material of adding copper to the nickel metal film. A NiCu film was deposited onto a gold substrate with a controlled potential electrolysis experiment, then was modified and characterized with a cyclic voltammetry experiment. The composition was determined with a scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy before and after the modification process. Copper was selectively removed in some cases as a result of the modification. With increased levels of copper, the material can become structurally unsound and result in unintentional stripping of the material. Preliminary data suggests that as the pre-modification level of copper is increased, the resulting charge storage of the HCF film increases as well.

This material is based upon work supported by the Hope College Dean for Natural and Applied Sciences Office, the Hope College Physics Department, and the National Science Foundation under NSF-MRI Grant No. CHE-0959282.

Richard Huizen – 2016

Huizen_2Evidence for Distinct Sources of Superconducting Nonlinearity

Research Advisor: Dr. Stephen Remillard

The nonlinear response of cuprate superconducting devices present technological hurdles and scientific opportunities.  Intermodulation Distortion (IMD) generated by the nonlinear response is usually undesirable in superconducting devices, however, some devices leverage IMD to their advantage.  By analyzing the magnetic relaxation of IMD in a YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) superconducting thin film, the effect of magnetic fluxon dynamics on nonlinear response reveals information about the origins of nonlinearity.  A carrier wave, resonant with the YBCO superconducting circuit, and two off-resonance probe signals were injected into the resonator.  The combination of these three signals locally excited synchronous second and third order IMD (IMD2 and IMD3).  Upon removal of an applied static magnetic field, IMD3 relaxed with a single decay mode while IMD2 relaxed with slow and fast decay modes that are temperature dependent.  The slow process in the IMD2 decay transitioned from concave down to concave up as the superconductor warmed through an inflection temperature.  This temperature dependent transition of decay modality in IMD2 is due to crossing over either the irreversibility line or the surface barrier activation line.  IMD2 and IMD3 exhibited unique dependencies on temperature and magnetic field, therefore, even and odd order nonlinearities must result from different physical mechanisms.

This work was supported by grant No. DMR-1505617 from the National Science Foundation.

Grant to Nuclear Group Continues Three Decades of NSF Support

A new major research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the Nuclear Group at Hope College continues three decades of support from the agency, a long-time run which if not unique is at the very least rare, reflecting the quality of the work being conducted.

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Breaks Away: Jenny Hampton

“Scientists have been searching for alternative energy sources for years, ones that are more environmentally plentiful and safe. While we tend to think first of wind and solar energy as those natural and prudent ways to power our world, Dr. Jennifer Hampton’s sabbatical research reminds us that other Earth-abundant materials – such as sodium or potassium – have the potential to help with energy usage and storage, too.”

Read more about Jenny Hampton’s work with the Energy Materials Center (EMC2) at Cornell University on the Breaks Away blog.

Congratulations Jake Verschueren

Jake Verschueren

Jacob Verschueren was recognized as one of this year’s Teachers of Promise. The Teachers of Promise award is sponsored by the Network of Michigan Educators and two students from each participating college receive the award.  The Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers (ECET2) Michigan conference, where the award was presented, is co-sponsored by the Gates Foundation, the State Superintendent’s Office, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Jake is a physics major who will be graduating in May 2016.