By Charlotte Brookins
An article co-authored by chemistry professor Claudio J. Margulis and third-year PhD candidate Hung Nguyen in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was recently select for an Editor’s Choice Award by the Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. The article has been recognized and quoted by at least 23 different news organizations.
This recognition from the ACS is a significant honor since only one article is selected among the many papers published by the ACS each day.
“It is so nice to see the work getting noticed,” says Margulis.
Margulis’s winning paper examines the effects of radiation on salt, paying special attention to how the results could impact the production of clean energy.
The paper investigates the historical belief that molten salts are unreactive with excess electrons generated by radiation. According to his research—conducted alongside Nguyen and Vyacheslav Bryantsev at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory—this hypothesis may need revisiting.
“Our study shows that if we introduce an electron in molten zinc chloride, the electron can in some instances form what looks like molecular structures within the salt,” elaborates Margulis.
But what makes this so important? Margulis explains that the next generation of nuclear reactors created for cleaner electricity production may be based on molten salts. Thus, it is important for scientists to understand how salts react under harsh conditions, especially those that occur due to radiation.
Margulis and his team aren’t the only ones researching this phenomenon, though.
“We are part of an Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) called ‘Molten Salts in Extreme Environments,’ led by James Wishart at Brookhaven National Laboratory,” says Margulis. “This group seeks to understand many different aspects of the behavior of molten salts in the bulk phase and at interfaces including under harsh conditions such as those produced by radiation.”
Margulis says he is especially appreciative of not only the work of his team but also the support he has received from the University of Iowa and the college.
“The university has supported us in so many ways,” he says, going on to explain that part of the research was conducted using the Argon Cluster, a high-performance computing system offered by ITS Research Services. "A perhaps less well-known perk is that the library sometimes pays for open access to our publications. This is so important, and I thank our librarian Leo Clougherty for that.”
Margulis also wishes to emphasize his gratitude for the opportunities offered to both him and his students over his past 20 years at the university. He says he is looking forward to the future of his work with the EFRC and is grateful to be a part of it.
“It is fun to work with a large group of people that have the common goal of understanding a complex problem; that is, I believe, what these EFRCs were created for,” he concludes. “I am also happy that my students can take advantage of this opportunity.”
For more information on the work being done by Margulis and the rest of the EFRC, see this short, informative video entitled “Salt for the Earth.” Additionally, you can read the award-winning paper on the ACS website.