University of Connecticut Masthead Logo OpenCommons@UConn Doctoral Dissertations University of Connecticut Graduate School 4-25-2019 Coercing Magnetism into Diamagnetic Ceramics: A Case Study in Alumina Erik Nykwest University of Connecticut - Storrs,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Nykwest, Erik, "Coercing Magnetism into Diamagnetic Ceramics: A Case Study in Alumina" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations. 2136. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/2136 Coercing Magnetism into Diamagnetic Ceramics: A Case Study in Alumina Erik Carl Nykwest, Ph.D. University of Connecticut, 2019 Ceramics are very diverse class of materials whose properties can vary greatly. It is this diversity that make ceramics so useful in advanced technology. The relatively open crystal structure of ceramics makes it pos- sible to impart functionalities via judicious doping. This work focuses on developing a generalized method for introducing magnetism into normally non-magnetic (diamagnetic) ceramics, using the example case of alumina (Al2O3).Here, substitutional doping of Al atoms with 3d transition metal in α- and θ-alumina was studied. Density functional theory was used to predict the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of doped alumina, as well as its stability. The results show that adding small concentrations of transition metals to alumina may increase magnetic activity by generating unpaired electrons whose net magnetic moments may couple with external magnetic fields. The dopant species and dopant coordination environment are the most important factors in determining the spin density distribution (localized or delocalized from the dopant atom) and net magnetic moment, which strongly direct the ability of the doped alumina to couple with an ex- ternal field.