Using Light to Probe Temperature in Extreme Environments

Palestrante:  Prof. Dr. Federico A. Rabuffetti – Wayne State University – Estados Unidos

Abstract: Contact thermometry and pyrometry have intrinsic limitations when it comes to probing temperature fields in hard-to-reach and extreme environments such as those encountered in energy systems (hot fluids, combustors, gas turbines, turbomachinery). Refractory
thermosensitive phosphors, which show a well-defined temperature-dependent luminescence response, are functional materials with the potential to overcome these limitations. In this talk I will present an overview of a series of high-temperature thermosensitive phosphors
being studied in my research group. A common feature of these materials is their chemical and structural diversity, which makes them ideal platforms to exercise synthetic control over their temperature-dependent luminescence response. I will show how this response may be utilized to achieve luminescent thermometers capable of temperature sensing up to 1200 °C. Synthesis, high-end structural analysis, and luminescence studies of rare-earth-based oxide phosphors will be described in detail, as well as instrumentation development. Additionally, I will provide an overview of the chemistry Ph.D. program at Wayne State University, including admissions and research opportunities across our department.

Federico Rabuffetti is a native of Uruguay (South America), where he got his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Chemistry in 1998 and 2001, respectively. In 2005 he started his Ph.D. at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) under the supervision of Kenneth Poeppelmeier and Peter Stair. Between 2010 and 2014 he was a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Professor Richard Brutchey at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California). He joined Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan) in 2014 as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and was promoted to Associate in August 2020. His current research interests include synthesis, structure, reactivity, and luminescence of lanthanide-containing hybrid, nanocrystalline, and bulk materials.