The first project (Structural relationships and magnetism in compounds of the lanthanide elements) is aimed at studying the fundamental chemistry and physics of new intermetallics that can be dubbed for short “magnetic materials”. They have implications that stretch far beyond magnetism and into superconductivity, and although much research has already been done in this field, still surprisingly little is known about the basic principles, which make magnetic and superconductive materials behave as such. With this motivation in mind, our general long-term goal here is the discovery of classes of new lanthanide-based intermetallic compounds with unusual magnetic and electronic properties. We seek to develop a rationale for finding new magnetic materials and for the effective optimization of existing ones that is not based empirical tenets, but instead, relies on understanding the principles governing the structures and properties.

 

The second project in the Bobev group is motivated by two of the greatest challenges of our time – energy beyond fossil fuels and environment. We recently embarked on this new endeavor, Novel compounds for thermoelectric applications, recognizing that the technologies based on thermoelectricity are environmentally benign and have the potential for widespread applications; however, they are not yet part of the everyday life because of their low efficiency. This limitation, in essence, is a result of the unsatisfactory properties of almost all currently available materials. From the standpoint of synthetic chemists, we see both a societal need and a scientific opportunity to contribute to this area by synthesizing fundamentally new materials with higher thermoelectric efficiency. We believe a breakthrough can be achieved by bringing together (in one material) the desirable heat and charge transport properties of the semiconducting Zintl phase and the magnetism and the correlated electron behavior, which are signatures of the d- or ƒ-elements. Our approach builds upon rationally designed syntheses, coupled with thorough and systematic structural studies and property measurements.