Anomalous dielectric behaviour during the monoclinic to tetragonal phase transition in La(Nb0.9V0.1)O4

The behaviour of εr in La(Nb0.9V0.1)O4vs. temperature is anomalous and may have novel applications in composite ceramics.

Phase transition enhanced superior elasticity in freestanding single-crystalline multiferroic BiFeO3 membranes

The integration of ferroic oxide thin films into advanced flexible electronics will bring multifunctionality beyond organic and metallic materials. However, it is challenging to achieve high flexibility in single-crystalline ferroic oxides that is considerable to organic or metallic materials. Here, we demonstrate the superior flexibility of freestanding single-crystalline BiFeO3 membranes, which are typical multiferroic materials with multifunctionality. They can endure cyclic 180° folding and have good recoverability, with the maximum bending strain up to 5.42% during in situ bending under scanning electron microscopy, far beyond their bulk counterparts. Such superior elasticity mainly originates from reversible rhombohedral-tetragonal phase transition, as revealed by phase-field simulations. This study suggests a general fundamental mechanism for a variety of ferroic oxides to achieve high flexibility and to work as smart materials in flexible electronics.

Structure, phase composition and mechanical properties of composites based on ZrO2 and multi-walled carbon nanotubes

In this work, composites based on yttria-stabilized zirconia (3Y-TZP), with additives of 1, 5 and 10 wt. % multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were investigated. Samples were obtained by spark plasma sintering at a temperature of 1500 °C. It was found that MWCNTs retain their structure after high-temperature sintering, they are located along the grain boundaries of ZrO2, forming a network structure. Found that the addition of 1 wt. % MWCNTs increase the relative density of the composite from 98.3 % to 99.0 %. It is noted that nanotubes can significantly affect the phase composition of composites. Additive 5 wt. % MWCNT partially limits the monoclinic-tetragonal phase transition of ZrO2, and the addition of 10 wt. % MWCNTs leads to the formation of a cubic phase of zirconium carbide. It was found that the fracture toughness of the composite with 10 wt. % MWCNTs increases from 4.0 to 5.7 MPa·m1/2.

Thermodynamic analyses of the orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition in Pr2−xNdxNiO4+δ under controlled oxygen partial pressures

The standard entropy change, ΔS°, and enthalpy change, ΔH°, at the structural phase transition of Pr2−xNdxNiO4+δ and their impact on variation of phase transition temperature by Nd content.

Phase transition and dielectric properties of BaTiO3 ceramics containing 10 mol% BaGeO3

Dielectric properties and the cubic ? tetragonal phase transition temperature ofdense BaTiO3 ceramics containing 10 mol% BaGeO3, sintered between 840 and 1350 °C,have been investigated. The ceramic bodies were prepared from a nano-sized BaTi0.9/Ge0.1O3powder consisting of both BaTiO3 and BaGeO3 phases. The addition of BaGeO3 leads to areduction and broadening of the permittivity maximum, and to a small downshift of theparaelectric ? ferroelectric phase transition temperature, compared to a pure BaTiO3 ceramic.Lower sintering temperatures and thus small grain sizes of the ceramics cause an additionalreduction of the maximum permittivity down to 2800. Both DTA and dilatometricmeasurements reveal also a downshifting of the phase transition temperature, as well as adecrease of the latent heat.