Structural and Magnetic Properties of Nanosized Half-Doped Rare-Earth Ho0.5Ca0.5MnO3 Manganite

We investigated the structural and magnetic properties of 20 nm-sized nanoparticles of the half-doped manganite Ho0.5Ca0.5MnO3 prepared by sol-gel approach. Neutron powder diffraction patterns show Pbnm orthorhombic symmetry for 10 K < T < 290 K, with lattice parameters a, b, and c in the relationship c/√2 < a < b, indicating a cooperative Jahn–Teller effect, i.e., orbital ordering OO, from below room temperature. In contrast with the bulk samples, in the interval 250 < T < 300 K, the fingerprint of charge ordering (CO) does not manifest itself in the temperature dependence of lattice parameters. However, there are signs of CO in the temperature dependence of magnetization. Accordingly, below 100 K superlattice magnetic Bragg reflections arise, which are consistent with an antiferromagnetic phase strictly related to the bulk Mn ordering of a charge exchange-type (CE-type), but characterized by an increased fraction of ferromagnetic couplings between manganese species themselves. Our results show that in this narrow band half-doped manganite, size reduction only modifies the balance between the Anderson superexchange and Zener double exchange interactions, without destabilizing an overall very robust antiferromagnetic state.

Conductivity, microstructure and mechanical properties of tape-cast LATP with LiF and SiO2 additives

LATP sheets with LiF and SiO2 addition prepared by tape cast as electrolytes for solid-state batteries were characterized regarding conductivity, microstructure and mechanical properties aiming toward an optimized composition. The use of additives permitted a reduction of the sintering temperature. Rietveld analyses of the samples with additives revealed a phase mixture of NaSICON modifications crystallizing with rhombohedral and orthorhombic symmetry as a superstructure with space group Pbca. It seems that LiF acts as a sintering additive but also as a mineralizer for the superstructure of LATP. As general trend, higher LiF to SiO2 ratios led to lower porosities and higher values of elastic modulus and hardness determined by indentation testing, but the presence of the orthorhombic LATP leads to a decrease in the ionic conductivity. Micro-pillar testing was used to assess the crack growth behavior revealing weak grain boundaries.

Structures and physical properties of v-based kagome metals csv6sb6 and csv8sb12 *

We report two new members of V-based kagome metals CsV6Sb6 and CsV8Sb12. The most striking structural feature of CsV6Sb6 is the V kagome bilayers. For CsV8Sb12, there is an intergrowth of two-dimensional V kagome layers and one-dimensional V chains, and the latter ones lead to the orthorhombic symmetry of this material. Further measurements indicate that these two materials exhibit metallic and Pauli paramagnetic behaviors. More importantly, different from CsV3Sb5, the charge density wave state and superconductivity do not emerge in CsV6Sb6 and CsV8Sb12 when temperature is above 2 K. Small magnetoresistance with saturation behavior and linear field dependence of Hall resistivity at high field and low temperature suggest that the carriers in both materials should be uncompensated with much different concentrations. The discovery of these two new V-based kagome metals sheds light on the exploration of correlated topological materials based on kagome lattice.

Effects of Oxide Additives on the Phase Structures and Electrical Properties of SrBi4Ti4O15 High-Temperature Piezoelectric Ceramics

In this work, SrBi4Ti4O15 (SBT) high-temperature piezoelectric ceramics with the addition of different oxides (Gd2O3, CeO2, MnO2 and Cr2O3) were fabricated by a conventional solid-state reaction route. The effects of oxide additives on the phase structures and electrical properties of the SBT ceramics were investigated. Firstly, X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that all these oxides-modified SBT ceramics prepared presented a single SrBi4Ti4O15 phase with orthorhombic symmetry and space group of Bb21m, the change in cell parameters indicated that these oxide additives had diffused into the crystalline lattice of SBT and formed solid solutions with it. The SBT ceramics with the addition of MnO2 achieved a high relative density of up to 97%. The temperature dependence of dielectric constant showed that the addition of Gd2O3 could increase the TC of SBT. At a low frequency of 100 Hz, those dielectric loss peaks appearing around 500 °C were attributed to the space-charge relaxation as an extrinsic dielectric response. The synergetic doping of CeO2 and Cr2O3 could reduce the space-charge-induced dielectric relaxation of SBT. The piezoelectricity measurement and electro-mechanical resonance analysis found that Cr2O3 can significantly enhance both d33 and kp of SBT, and produce a higher phase-angle maximum at resonance. Such an enhanced piezoelectricity was attributed to the further increased orthorhombic distortion after Ti4+ at B-site was substituted by Cr3+. Among these compositions, Sr0.92Gd0.053Bi4Ti4O15 + 0.2 wt% Cr2O3 (SGBT-Cr) presented the best electrical properties including TC = 555 °C, tan δ = 0.4%, kp = 6.35% and d33 = 28 pC/N, as well as a good thermally-stable piezoelectricity that the value of d33 was decreased by only 3.6% after being annealed at 500 °C for 4 h. Such advantages provided this material with potential applications in the high-stability piezoelectric sensors operated below 500 °C.

Structural, optical and microwave dielectric properties of Ba(Ti1−xSnx)4O9, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.7 ceramics

Sn-doped BaTi4O9 (BT4) dielectric ceramics were prepared by a mixed oxide route. Preliminary X-ray diffraction (XRD) structural study shows that the ceramic samples have orthorhombic symmetry with space group (Pnmm). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that the grain size of the samples decreases with an increase in Sn4+ content. The presence of the metal oxide efficient group was revealed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The photoluminescence spectra of the ceramic samples reported red color ~ 603, 604, 606.5 and 605 nm with excitation energy ~ 2.06, 2.05, 2.04 and 2.05 eV for Sn4+ content with x = 0.0, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7, respectively. The microwave dielectric properties of these ceramic samples were investigated by an impedance analyzer. The excellent microwave dielectric properties i.e. high dielectric constant (εr = 57.29), high-quality factor (Qf = 11,852), or low-dielectric loss (3.007) has been observed.

Room-temperature ferroelasticity and unusual sequence of phase transitions in the crystal of (N2H5)3[CdCl5]

On the basis of thermal analysis (DSC, DTA, DTG), single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments, dielectric studies and optical observation, it is found that the (N2H5)3[CdCl5] crystal exhibits several structural phase transitions. At room temperature, the studied crystal exhibits ferroelastic properties and undergoes phase transition from the monoclinic to the orthorhombic phase on heating above 327 K. Upon subsequent cooling, two structural phase transitions at about 323 and 319 K are observed, where the crystal adopts orthorhombic symmetry. The presented phase transitions are unique due to the fact the first heating run results in different structural changes compared to those observed during cooling and subsequent heating/cooling runs. In the studied crystal, N2H5 + ions and 1D chains built up from {CdCl5}3− units bridged by Cl atoms occur. The phase transitions observed can be associated with reorientation of cations and partial disorder of cations as well as Cl atoms.

Structural, Optical and Microwave Dielectric Properties of Ba(Ti1-xSnx)4O9, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.7 Ceramics

Sn-doped BaTi4O9 (BT4) microwave ceramics were prepared by a mixed oxide route. Preliminary X-ray diffraction (XRD) structural study shows that the samples have orthorhombic symmetry with space group (Pnmm). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM ) shows that the grain size of the samples decreases with increasing Sn4+ contents. The presence of the metal oxide efficient group was revealed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The Photoluminescence spectra of the samples reported red color ~ 603, 604, 606.5 and 605 nm with excitation energy ~ 2.06, 2.05, 2.04 and 2.05 eV for Sn content at x = 0.0, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7, respectively. The microwave dielectric properties of all the samples were investigated by an impedance analyzer. The excellent microwave dielectric properties i.e. high relative permittivity (εr = 57.29), high-quality factor (Qf = 11,852), and low-dielectric loss (3.007) has been observed.

PURE MODE P AND S WAVE PHASE VELOCITY EQUATIONS IN ELASTIC ORTHORHOMBIC MEDIA

In an elastic model with orthorhombic symmetry, there are nine independent stiffness coefficients that control the propagation of all intrinsically coupled wave modes. For practical applications in P-wave modeling and inversion, it is important to derive the approximate solutions that support propagation of P waves only and depends on fewer independent parameters. Due to the increasing interest in shear-wave propagation in anisotropic media, we also derive an approximate equation that supports propagation of S waves only. However, the reduction in number of independent parameters for the S wave equation is not possible. We derive pure P and S wave equations in an elastic orthorhombic model and show that the accuracy is sufficient for practical applications.

A Study of Crystallographic and DC Electrical Characteristics of PPy/Ag Nanocomposites

ABSTRACT: Polypyrrole and polypyrrole / silver nanocomposites were fabricated by in-situ polymerization employing Ammonium Persulphate as an oxidizing agent. Nanocomposites were synthesized by combining polypyrrole and silver nanoparticles in various weight percentages (0.1%, 0.5%, 3%, 5% and 7% wt.). Crystallographic data were collected using X-ray diffraction. PPy particles were found to have an orthorhombic symmetry. In contrast, PPy/Ag nanocomposites were reported to have monoclinic structure. The crystallite size was determined by XRD using Scherrer equation and considered to be within 49 nm range. DC conductivity of pelletized samples was evaluated in the temperature range of 323.15k to 453.15k. The conductivity displayed an increase when the temperature is increased from 323.15k to 453.15k. Activation energies were determined from plots of Arrhenius for all nanocomposites. The findings indicated that the activation energy decrease with increasing the weight percentage of Ag nanoparticles in the nanocomposites.

Novel synthesis, characterization and TDD-DFT computations for ZrO2-bromothymol blue nanocomposite thin film [ZrO2+BTB]C and its application

A novel [ZrO2 + BTB]C nanocomposite was synthesized and prepared as a thin film using the Sol-Gel spin coating method. Different characterization techniques for [ZrO2 + BTB]C like FTIR, UV-Vis, and optical properties have been used. The resulted XRD and SEM data have been employed to study interface composites. The optimization was performed using DFT by DMol3 and CASTEP program. The chemical structure was confirmed by spectroscopic and structural properties for [ZrO2-BTB]C, XRD results showed the same crystal structure. Combined between experimental and TDD-DFT data, the average crystallite size and composite interface are 12.36 nm and orthorhombic symmetry (a = 7.38(5); b = 18.178(6); c = 26.10(3) Å and a = b = g = 90o) with space group (P61) for [ZrO2 + BTB]C, respectively. Furthermore. While the computed by DFT are 2.897 eV and 2.492 eV for as-isolated crystals of [BTB]TF and [ZrO2 + BTB]C, respectively. Both [BTB]TF and [ZrO2 + BTB]C thin films have direct allowed transitions. In addition, the optoelectrical parameters have been calculated for [BTB]TF and [ZrO2 + BTB]C films such as refractive index, extinction coefficient, dielectric constant, and optical conductivity. The simulated values obtained by CATSTEP for the optical parameters of [ZrO2 + BTB]C are in good agreement with the experimental values. The [ZrO2 + BTB]C presents a good candidate for optoelectronics and solar cell applications.