PMN-PSMNT ceramics fabricated using the twin-crystal mixed co-firing method

(1-w)[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.67Ti0.33O3]-w[Pb1 − 1.5xSmx(Mg1/3Nb2/3)yTi1−yO3] ((1-w)PMN-wPSMN-PT) piezoelectric ceramics were prepared using the newly proposed twin-crystal mixed co-firing method in which two pre-sintered precursor powders were mixed and co-fired with designated ratios (w = 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6). X-ray diffraction results show that all the samples presented a pure perovskite structure. The grains were closely packed and the average size was ~ 5.18 µm from the observations of scanning electron microscopy images, giving the high density of ceramics to be 97.8% of the theoretical one. The piezoelectric, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties of the ceramic samples have been investigated systematically. It was found that the performance of ceramics was significantly enhanced when compared to the ceramics fabricated using the conventional one-step approach. Outstanding piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 1103 pC/N and relative dielectric permittivity εr of 9154 could be achieved for the ceramics with w = 0.5.

Anisotropic bending and twisting behavior of a twin crystal composed of a diarylethene

Here, we found that crystals consisting of 1,2-bis(2-methyl-5-(4-undecyloxyphenyl)-3-thienyl)perfluorocyclopentene (1a) exhibit unusual photomechanical bending. Upon irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) light, the crystal bent toward the incident light, but the velocity of...

Construction of heterojunctions between ReS2 and twin crystal ZnxCd1-xS for boosting solar hydrogen evolution

Facilitating charge separation as well as surface redox reactions is considered to be an efficient way to improving semiconductor-based photocatalytic hydrogen generation. In this contribution, we developed a highly active...

Platelet-like CuS impregnated with twin crystal structures for high performance sodium-ion storage

A platelet-like CuS material with twin crystals is successfully constructed. The twin crystal structure inside the material provides more channels and reaction sites for Na ions intercalation and conversion.

A homojunction–heterojunction–homojunction scaffold boosts photocatalytic H2 evolution over Cd0.5Zn0.5S/CoO hybrids

A hybrid photocatalyst was constructed based on twin crystal Cd0.5Zn0.5S with a homojunction containing M-CoO as the co-catalyst. The homojunction containing M-CoO is proved to be a more efficient co-catalyst than its pure phase counterparts.