Anatoly Frenkel, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering at Stony Brook University, and his research team have been jointly honored with the Ross Coffin Purdy Award for their work on ceramic materials. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to ceramic technical literature.
“It’s an honor that our collaborative work has been recognized with the Ross Coffin Purdy Award,” said Frenkel.
The awarded projects included “Lead-free Zr-doped ceria ceramics with low permittivity displaying giant electrostriction,” co-led by Frenkel, and “High-entropy rare earth titanates with low thermal conductivity designed by lattice distortion.” In their article, the researchers described a new material—Zr-doped cerium oxide—that shows giant electrostriction. This property means the material strongly resists changes when exposed to an electric field and develops mechanical strain as a result, but does not respond in reverse.
These materials are important for various technologies such as cell phones, sonar devices, and washing machines because they can convert energy into physical motion.
“What makes this project truly fascinating is that we were able to unravel the mystery of the local structure in this material — a puzzle that long eluded explanation,” said Frenkel. “We suspected that the door to understanding its giant electrostriction was hidden in the fine details of the zirconium environment. Working closely with theorists, we not only found that hidden door but also the key to it, revealing how to tune electrostriction on demand.“
The research addresses concerns about commercial ceramics that contain lead, which presents health and practical issues. The newly developed Zr-doped cerium oxide is lead-free, avoiding these problems.
Frenkel collaborated with Igor Lubomirsky from Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and Yue Qi from Brown University. Lubomirsky synthesized and tested the material’s electrical and mechanical properties. Frenkel’s group used high-resolution structural analysis at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s NSLS-II synchrotron to determine how atoms cluster around zirconium—a factor enabling movement when electricity is applied. Qi performed computer simulations showing that applying an electric field causes tiny atomic clusters in the material to rotate slightly, altering its shape or strain response.
“This award highlights the outstanding impact of Professor Frenkel and his collaborators in redefining how we think about electrostrictive materials,” said Dilip Gersappe, chair of Stony Brook’s Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering. “We are proud of this international collaboration and the recognition it brings to Stony Brook University leadership in materials science.”
Frenkel has also secured funding from NSF to continue this line of research.
“I’m deeply grateful to my partners, Professor Igor Lubomirsky and Professor Yue Qi, with whom we combined synthesis, characterization and modeling into a seamless and truly collaborative effort,” said Frenkel.
