Ben Tragheim

I started my PhD in the Senn group at the University of Warwick, based in the Department of Chemistry, in October 2021 after graduating with an MChem degree from the University of St Andrews. My research projects broadly investigate orbital-ordering and Jahn-Teller distortions in ubiquitous perovskites to help understand fundamental crystal structure-physical properties relationships. Key properties of these materials include colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) and high capacitance. Future specific interests include using high-pressure synthesis methods to investigate “1,3,4” quadruple perovskites which will be conducted at external collaborators’ institutes. Various crystallographic techniques, including synchrotron/neutron diffraction and pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, will be used to investigate both the average and local structure of each type of material. As part of my undergraduate degree, I undertook a placement year at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source under the supervision of Dr Alexandra Gibbs, investigating the structure-properties relationships of the high TC ferroelectric La2Ti2O7 using high resolution neutron powder diffraction on the HRPD beamline.