Project Grant 2240282

This $277,517 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) supports research at the University of Illinois to develop new predictive models and thermodynamic phase diagrams to guide solvothermal synthesis of materials in non-aqueous solvents. Professors Wenhao Sun of the University of Michigan and Daniel Shoemaker of the University of Illinois will measure chemical potentials of solvated species and develop computational models to predict solubility and chemical equilibria of complex materials under various non-aqueous solvent conditions. This work establishes rigorous foundations for rationally designing solution-based synthesis recipes for advanced solid-state materials. Undergraduate and graduate students will gain hands-on training in computational materials science and experimental thermochemistry over the four-year award period ending January 2027. The tools and databases developed will be made broadly available to support the continued progress of materials research.