Thermal Decomposition of 3-Nitro-1,2,4-Triazole-5-One (NTO) and Nanosize NTO Catalyzed by NiFe2O4

Nanosize Nickel ferrite (NiF) was synthesized by the co-precipitation methods and its effect as a 5 % by mass additive was studied on the thermal decomposition of micrometer and nanometer size NTO. In the presence of 5 % NiF additive, the thermal decomposition peak temperature of NTO was decreased from 276.36 to 260.18 oC and that of nano NTO was decreased from 261.38 to 258.89 oC (β=10 oC min-1). The kinetics parameters confirms the catalytic activity of NiF for the thermal decomposition of NTO, and nNTO as the parameters such as activation energy (NTO=~25.45 % and nNTO=~45.94 % decrement), and pre-exponential factor (NTO=~21.94 % and nNTO=~43.12 % decrement) were decreased when 5 % NiF additive was added to NTO, and nNTO. The rate of the decomposition process was increased in the presence of 5 % NiF catalyst, indicating the faster thermal decomposition of both NTO, and nNTO in the presence of nickel catalyst.

Enhancement of the Magnetoelectric Effect in PZT-Ni Ferrite Composites Using Post Sintering Thermal Treatment

In this chapter, the piezoelectric and magnetoelectric properties of Pb (Zr0.52T0.48)O3–X NiFe1.9Mn0.1O4 (PZT-NFM, where X ranges from 3 to 10%) were investigated along with SEM and TEM analysis. Post sintering thermal treatment (annealing and aging) was introduced to enhance the piezoelectric and magnetoelectric property of the composites. The density was found around 7.6–7.8 gm/cc. The piezoelectric constant d33 and the voltage constant were found to be decreased with increasing magnetic particle from 3–10%. Experimental results indicated that the magnetoelectric voltage coefficient (dE/dH) increases with increasing percentage of Nickel Ferrite (~35 for 3% NF to 140 mV/Oe. cm for 10% NF at 1125°C). The samples, which were annealed and aged after sintering show as high as 50% (140 to 220 mV/cm Oe) increase in dE/dH coefficient. This is due to the increase in resistivity due to better homogeneity. The H-M curve of the composite powders show that the PZT-NFM is a ferromagnetic material as well. The SEM investigation shows very compact structure with average grain size around 150 nm and some areas of the NF rich phase. The X-ray mapping shows that the NF is distributed in the big grains of the matrix and after annealing it homogenizes.