Our project analyzes a new technique for the growth of organic superconductors such as Bechaard
salts through modeling the fluid convection seen in a spinning electrode. Bechaard salts are organic conductors which at certain low temperatures (critical temperatures) become superconductors. We have chosen to analyze Bechaard salts because these organic compounds exhibit many of the characteristics of organic superconductor that could have future wide-scale commercial use.

        The growth process of Bechaard salts is the primary factor hindering their commercial development. Bechaard salts are grown in electrochemical cells which generally consist of two electrodes, a supporting electrolyte, and the chemical constituents required for compound growth. The electrode on which the materials are grown is know as the working electrode. Due to charge at the working electrode, the primary process by which these materials are grown is diffusion (the random movement of molecules). Diffusion has proven to be very inefficient in the growth of Bechaard salts. In our convective model, Bechaard salts are grown more efficiently by rotating the working electrode. The rotation results in convection, or the organized flow of molecules. The convective currents caused by the rotation of the electrode draw chemical constituents into the  electrode where the constituents can react to produce the desired chemical compound. In the model, this convection arose from a unique kind of turbulence called a Taylor Vortex. This turbulence increases the limiting current in the growth solution and, in doing so, increases the amount of material produced.

        We developed a mathematical model and computer algorithm through which we were able to determine the theoretical results of the rotation of the electrode in the chemical solution used to make organic superconductors. The results showed that the rotation would increase the chemical product; but surprisingly, the rotation was efficient only up to a certain optimum omega, or angular spinning velocity. The theoretical results we obtained from the equation we developed (SNOW's equation) have led us to believe that the rotation of the electrode in the growth process of organic superconductors will make the process more efficient and more controllable.

        This project has enormous significance to the technological industry since it suggests possible means for changing the experimental setup to produce an increased chemical yield from the rotation of the electrode. Organic superconductors have an excellent chance of being the base material of future technologies. We have proposed a theory by which the difficult growth process of these superconductors may be made feasible.
 

for more information or the full report email Robert Willhelm.
 

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