Project description
New chemical species under extreme pressure
Extreme pressure can fundamentally change the way atoms bond, enabling the formation of entirely new chemical species that cannot exist under normal conditions. Exploring these exotic compounds can deepen our understanding of chemical bonding and reveal new possibilities for materials discovery. The EU-funded CATion project will use high-pressure and high-temperature techniques to discover new positively charged (cationic) compounds of p-block elements and investigate how they form and behave under extreme conditions. By combining diamond anvil cell experiments with advanced synchrotron X-ray, Raman spectroscopy and computational methods, the research will uncover previously unknown bonding arrangements, oxidation states and crystal structures, providing new insights into inorganic chemistry and expanding our understanding of chemical behaviour at high pressures.
Objective
In this project, I will search for novel cations of the p-block elements and explore the structural landscape and behavior of p-block-cation-containing compounds under extreme conditions. Diamond-anvil cells (DAC) will be used to generate high pressures, and laser heating (LH) will be used to locally superheat the system to promote the chemical reactions and crystallization of novel phases. Recent advances in in situ multigrain synchrotron X-ray microdiffraction in combination with Raman mapping now allow detailed structural characterization of products formed during LH-DAC experiments.
Such extreme conditions enable the formation of novel cations, as the usual rules of chemical bonding and molecular geometry change at high pressures. At the gigapascal range of interest, the PV contribution to Gibbs energy becomes comparable to covalent bond energies, allowing chemical reactions that are unfavorable at ambient pressure to occur. My research will focus on the emergence of different cationic species in distinct phases during the structural evolution of a heterogeneous system with fixed composition. The successful realization of the proposed research would enrich fundamental inorganic chemistry by novel textbook examples of p-block cations and novel oxidation states of p-block elements and provide valuable insights into the hitherto unknown high-pressure behavior of cationic species containing homonuclear bonds.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.4.1 - Widening participation and spreading excellence
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-TALENTS-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.