Name: Birgit Gerke
Diploma / M.Sc degree: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany
(September 2012)

PhD Project: Synthesis, structure and properties of intermetallic zinc compounds and ⁶⁷Zn MAS NMR as a possible tool for structural investigations

Abstract of Research Project

My PhD project is based on two main topics – a synthetic and a methodic one. On the one hand new intermetallic zinc compounds mainly in combination with europium are planned to be synthesized and investigated with regard to their special physical properties. On the other hand ⁶⁷Zn MAS NMR will be tested on structurally simple intermetallic compounds (in collaboration with Prof. Eckert).

Due to their two possible valence states europium containing compounds are of a special interest for various applications. Besides the synthesis of new Eu-T-Zn phases (T = transition metal) my focus will lie on the exploration of mixed valent systems through the development of solid solutions. One possible element that could play an important role for this purpose is zinc. The rather low standard electrode potential of this metal can be used for successive reduction of Eu³⁺ by substituting the transition metal in Eu-T compounds. The characterization is based on X-ray powder and single crystal diffraction and will be completed by ¹⁵¹Eu Mössbauer spectroscopic measurements.

The investigation of simple intermetallic zinc compounds by ⁶⁷Zn MAS NMR represents the second topic of my PhD project. The ability of this technique for answering structural questions has to be proofed since there are only less information regarding investigations of this class of substances in literature. If it turns out to be a useful tool it will help by solving crystal structures.