Homer L. Dodge Department
of Physics and Astronomy
The University of Oklahoma

My main research effort is in lithium ion conducting polymers in collaboration with Professor Frech in Chemistry. We are particularly interested in the interactions between the polymer and the ion conducting salt that can provide insight as to the mechanisms of Li ion diffusion. We are studying these properties by combining two newly available technologies, a state-of-the-art tunable pulsed laser system including an optical parametric oscillator (OPO), and a step-scan FTIR.

We are also studying ionic association and polymer configurations and coordinations as a function of salt concentration and temperature in order to understand the basic interactions in these systems. We have ongoing collaborations for novel polymer preparations with Dan Glatzhoffer in Chemistry, for modeling with Ralph Wheeler in Chemistry, and with researchers at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and Uppsala University, Sweden where I was on sabbatical in 1997-1998.

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