Dr. James RondinelliAssistant professor James Rondinelli is a co-author, with colleagues from Columbia University and the University of Arkansas, of an invited "Commentary" in the February 2012 issue of Nature Materials (Vol. 11, No. 2) on what lies ahead for the next decade in the field of oxide-based electronics.
The "Commentary," entitled "Whither the oxide interface," appears in an issue focusing on oxide interfaces. Oxide interfaces are important in tailoring the properties of catalysts, which are heavily studied because they are substantially more cost effective than platinum-based materials; however, their current efficiencies are too low at present to be of significant use. The article describes some open issues that remain in the field of oxide interfaces, which has primarily focused on understanding the fundamental behavior of these materials over the last decade, and that must be addressed before real applications of these materials occur. Such devices where oxide interfaces are important would be in the design of new electronic transistors, to make computers process information faster, and in electrochemical energy storage and generation.