High-pressure materials genome - taking materials discovery to the next level
Many known materials are not thermodynamically stable, but exist as metastable states which are kinetically protected. This behavior is analogous…
Higher pressure ⇒ denser packing ⇒ better superconductivity!
Recently, we had reported the discovery of novel Cu-Bi phases at elevated pressures. Both the Cu11Bi7 and CuBi compounds have unexpected low densities, with…
How to force elements to bond
Most non-elemental materials that we know have been synthesized using chemical processes that occur at conditions close to what we call "ambient", meaning with temperatures within a few hundred…
Discovery of ultralow thermal conductivity in new Heusler compounds
Semiconducting half and, to a lesser extent, full Heusler compounds are promising thermoelectric materials due to their compelling electronic properties…
LASSP Special Seminar - Cornell
In silico materials design: porous high-pressure intermetallics and rattling Heusler compounds.
I will give a talk on my recent reserach results at the Cornell University. The talk will…
Kickoff
I am delighted to announce the launch of Materials X, my personal platform reporting on discoveries in the area of materials exploration.
How to force elements to bond
Most non-elemental materials that we know have been synthesized using chemical processes that occur at conditions close to what we call "ambient", meaning with temperatures within a few hundred…

Welcome to Materials X!

My name is Maximilian Amsler and I am a researcher in the field of materials exploration. Using computational methods, I discover, design and study the properties of various materials. My research takes place in an interdisciplinary environment, where physics, chemistry and materials science meet to investigate exciting phenomena in condensed matter.

Higher pressure ⇒ denser packing ⇒ better superconductivity!

Recently, we had reported the discovery of novel Cu-Bi phases at elevated pressures. Both the Cu11Bi7 and CuBi compounds have unexpected low densities, with one and two dimensional channels running through the materials. We showed that these voids are not completely empty, but provide room for the stereochemically active bismuth lone electron pairs. Such low density Read More ...

Teaching machines how to find new materials

Machine learning is a technique that was developed in the field of computer science, but is meanwhile rapidly spreading for applications in many other disciplines. Originally intended as a tool for pattern recognition, machine learning algorithms can be taught to extract trends in large data-sets, which can then be used to make accurate predictions beyond the Read More ...

How to force elements to bond

Most non-elemental materials that we know have been synthesized using chemical processes that occur at conditions close to what we call “ambient”, meaning with temperatures within a few hundred °C and at atmospheric pressures. At these conditions, many elements react with each other and form compounds. However, there are some exceptional elements that simply will Read More ...
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