MADE in SC | SC EPSCoR - Research Focus On Dr. Rachel Getman

GEAR Program Focus On Dr. Rachel Getman

Computationally Driven Design of Substituted Metal Ferrite Materials

Substituted metal ferrite materials have the chemical formula M_xFe_{(3 – x)}O4, where M stands for metal (M = Mn, Co, Ni, or Cu), and crystalize in the inverse spinel structure. These materials have tailorable magnetic properties, which are determined in part by their compositions. We are specifically interested in these materials’ magnetic moments, which describe their magnetic strengths, and their magnetic anisotropies, which describe how their magnetic moments propagate along their different crystallographic directions. We are interested in these properties because they control the energies that can be dissipated by the materials, which is important in many fields, having applications in biomedicine, devices, and other fields. In this work, our goal is to learn how to control the magnetic properties of substituted metal ferrites by varying their compositions. To do this, we are using solid state quantum chemical calculations to compute the magnetic properties of hundreds of substituted metal ferrite materials, and machine learning to identify the link between composition and magnetic properties. In order to develop a predictive model that can be used to quickly screen materials for desired magnetic properties, we are using tabulated properties such as electronegativity, ionization potential, and electron configuration as inputs to the machine learning models. The machine learning models develop correlations between these properties and the magnetic properties of the materials. So far, we have been able to identify a correlation that predicts the magnetic moments of substituted metal ferrites to within a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.6 Bohr magnetons. Our next steps are to improve the correlations so that they exhibit a RMSE of below 0.2 Bohr magnetons, and then to perform the analogous analysis for magnetic anisotropy. Seed funding through the GEAR Program was integral to the immense success that we’ve had in this project so far, providing funding for both a computational graduate student and an experimental students, who are working together to learn how to design substituted metal ferrites with tailored properties.

_{May 9, 2019}

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Rachel B. Getman is an Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Clemson University and the first woman to be tenured and promoted in her department. She presently serves as the co-leader for the Multiscale Modeling and Computational Core Thrust for the Materials Assembly and Design Excellence in South Carolina (MADE in SC) initiative, which is a multimillion-dollar NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 award. Dr. Getman’s research group uses quantum chemical calculations and Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate molecular-level phenomena at fluid/solid interfaces. She is particularly interested in catalytic processes that occur under aqueous conditions, catalysis involving single transition metal cations, and design of solid materials with tailored properties. Dr. Getman holds a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation studying how the structure of liquid water influences the free energies of catalytic surface intermediates at water/metal catalyst interfaces; a Clemson University College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences Dean’s Faculty Fellows Award; and a Clemson University Board of Trustees Award for Excellence. She has additionally been recognized by Clemson University and the South Carolina Affordable Learning Group for her efforts to integrate affordable learning resources into her courses. Dr. Getman is passionate about improving inclusion and equity in education and the academic profession. Prior to joining Clemson University, Dr. Getman studied at Michigan Technological University, where she earned dual BS degrees in Chemical Engineering and Business Administration, the University of Notre Dame, where she earned a PhD under the direction of William Schneider, and Northwestern University, where she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Randall Snurr. Dr. Getman presently lives in Upstate South Carolina with her husband and their two children, who are eight and five and a half years old.