Spin-glass behavior and magnetocaloric effect in melt-spun TbCuAl alloys

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects of amorphous and crystalline TbCuAl ribbons are investigated by measuring their ac susceptibilities including a nonlinear term and dc magnetizations. The in-phase third harmonic ac susceptibility is found to be negative. It can be well fitted by the expression at high temperatures, indicating a spin-glass behavior in amorphous TbCuAl alloy. ΔT_f(ω)/[T_f(ω)Δlog₁₀ω], a possible distinguishing criterion to judge the presence of a spin-glass behavior is ∼0.011. The frequency-dependent data can be well fitted by the conventional critical slowing down law and the spin-glass transition temperature is obtained to be 20.1 K. The maximum of magnetic entropy change reaches 4.5 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹ for a field change of 0-50 000 Oe, while the crystalline TbCuAl compound experiences a simple ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic phase transition. The peak value of magnetic entropy change is obtained at the Curie temperature and reaches 14.4 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹ for the same field change, which is much larger than that of amorphous TbCuAl alloy.     

Half-metallic ferromagnetism in I2-VI compounds with non-magnetic dopants

First-principles calculations based on the tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital (TB-LMTO) method were performed to investigate the occurrence of spin polarization in the alkali metal oxides (M₂O) [M: Li, Na, K, Rb] in antifluorite (anti- CaF₂-type) structure with non-magnetic (N, P, As, Sb and Bi) dopants. The calculations reveal that non-magnetic substitutional doping at anion site can induce stable half-metallic ferromagnetic ground state in I₂-VI compounds. Total energy calculations show that the antifluorite ferromagnetic state is energetically more stable than the antifluorite non-magnetic state at equilibrium volume. Ground state properties such as equilibrium lattice constant and bulk modulus were calculated. The calculated magnetic moment is found to be 1.00 μ_B per dopant atom. The magnetic moment is mainly contributed by p orbitals of dopant atom.     

The effect of Fe doping on superconductivity in ZrRuP

This work reports the structure and superconducting properties of the superconductor ZrRuP doped with Fe; the ZrRu_1−xFe_xP solid solution was investigated by means of X-ray powder diffraction, SQUID magnetometry and Mößbauer spectroscopy. It is shown that the modification of the superconducting properties by doping with Fe is similar to the effect of chemical pressure and that the Fe doped compounds do not show any magnetic ordering.     

Preparation, characterization and MRI application of carboxymethyl dextran coated magnetic nanoparticles

Superparamagnetic nanoparticles functionalized with carboxymethyl dextran (CM-dextran) were synthesized by a two-step method. First, the magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with dextran (M_w ≈ 20000) were prepared by co-precipitation of Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions. Then, dextran on the surface of MNPs reacted with monochloroacetic acid (MCA) in alkaline condition. The influences of temperature and reactant concentration on the amount of -COOH on the surface of nanoparticles were systematically studied. The obtained MNPs coated with CM-dextran were stable over the entire range of pH and NaCl concentration. The MRI experiment indicated that the CM-dextran MNPs could potentially be used as MRI contrast agents for magnetic resonance molecular imaging.     

The effect of Co ion implantation on Ge1−xMnx films

Ge_1−xMn_x (x = 0, 0.013, 0.0226, 0.0339, 0.0565, 0.0678, 0.0904, 0.113) films prepared by magnetron sputtering at 773 K had a Ge cubic structure except for x = 0.1130. Co ion implantation into these films can effectively prevent the formation of a second phase. Both single-doped and co-doped samples were ferromagnetic at room temperature. The d-d exchange interaction between the interstitial Mn (MnT) and the substituted Mn (Mn_Ge) resulted in ferromagnetism in the sputtered films. Since Co ion implantation destroyed the Mn_T-Mn_Ge-Mn_T complex, the saturated magnetization decreased. Hall measurements revealed that the Co ion implanted films were n-type semiconductors, and the anomalous Hall Effect (AHE) suggested the ferromagnetism was carrier-mediated in the implanted films.     

Temperature and magnetic field responsive hyaluronic acid particles with tunable physical and chemical properties

We report the preparation and characterization of thiolated-temperature-responsive hyaluronic acid-cysteamine-N-isopropyl acrylamide (HA-CYs-NIPAm) particles and thiolated-magnetic-responsive hyaluronic acid (HA-Fe-CYs) particles. Linear hyaluronic acid (HA) crosslinked with divinyl sulfone as HA particles was prepared using a water-in-oil micro emulsion system which were then oxidized HA-O with NaIO₄ to develop aldehyde groups on the particle surface_. HA-O hydrogel particles were then reacted with cysteamine (CYs) which interacted with aldehydes on the HA surface to form HA particles with cysteamine (HA-CYs) functionality on the surface. HA-CYs particles were further exposed to radical polymerization with NIPAm to obtain temperature responsive HA-CYs-NIPAm hydrogel particles. To acquire magnetic field responsive HA composites, magnetic iron particles were included in HA to form HA-Fe during HA particle preparation. HA-Fe hydrogel particles were also chemically modified. The prepared HA-CYs-NIPAm demonstrated temperature dependent size variations and phase transition temperature. HA-CYs-NIPAm and HA-Fe-CYs particles can be used as drug delivery vehicles. Sulfamethoxazole (SMZ), an antibacterial drug, was used as a model drug for temperature-induced release studies from these particles.     

An in vitro controlled release study of valproic acid encapsulated in a titania ceramic matrix

Despite the therapeutic efficacy of valproic acid towards numerous diseases, its poor bioavailability and systemic side effects pose significant barriers to long term treatment. In order to take advantage of controlled release implants of valproic acid, the drug was encapsulated into titania ceramic matrices via a sol-gel process. The integrity and structure of valproic acid-containing matrices were characterized through the use of FESEM, TEM, and BET analyses. In vitro controlled release studies and kinetic analyses were performed under ambient conditions (25 °C, atmospheric pressure) and controlled release behaviors were studied using a GC-MS method. Results showed first order dependence in the rate of valproic acid release as a function of drug concentrations in the titania ceramic device. A marked dependence on the surface area and pore size distribution with drug loading was also observed. This research opens new possibilities for the design of novel time-delayed controlled release systems for valproic acid encapsulates.     

Preparation and characterization of bifunctional, Fe3O4/ZnO nanocomposites and their use as photocatalysts

Bifunctional magnetic-optical Fe₃O₄/ZnO nanocomposites with different molar ratio were successfully synthesized by a facile two-step strategy. Compared with the other methods, it was found to be mild, inexpensive, green, convenient and efficient. Fe₃O₄ nanocrystal was used as seed for the deposit and growth of ZnO nanoparticle. A series of the characterizations manifested that the combination of Fe₃O₄ with ZnO nanoparticles was successful. Photocatalytic activity studies confirmed that as-prepared nanocomposites had excellent photodegradating behavior to Methyl Orange (MO) compared to the pure ZnO nanoparticles. The results showed that the degradation percentage of MO was about 93.6% for 1 h when the amount of catalyst was 0.51 g L⁻¹ and initial concentration of MO was 6 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ in the pH 7 solution. Moreover, the kinetics of photocatalytic degradation reaction could be expressed by the first-order reaction kinetic model. Furthermore, the Fe₃O₄/ZnO nanocomposites could be also served as convenient recyclable photocatalysts because of their magnetic properties.     

Influence of annealing temperature on morphological and magnetic properties of La0.9Sr0.1MnO3

The nanocrystalline samples of La_0.9Sr_0.1MnO₃ (LSMO) have been prepared by the combustion method. The thermo gravimetric analysis of precursor was carried out. The X-ray diffraction study confirms the rhombohedral crystal structure without any other impurity phases. The morphology and magnetic properties change with annealing temperature. The saturation magnetization increases linearly and coercivity of the nanoparticles varies significantly as annealing temperature increases. The maximum saturation magnetization and lower coercivity found for the sample heat treated at 1200 °C are 52.5 emu/g and 10.7 Oe respectively.     

阿尔法磁谱仪配电系统的热控系统设计及实验研究

本文以阿尔法磁谱仪中的配电系统为研究对象,阐述了利用热管解决配电系统局部温度过高的热控问题。通过数值模拟,采用体点散热问题的仿生优化方法,获得了高导热性的热管在母板中的人工构造,构建了一种有效的热控系统。数值模拟和实验结果对比验证了数值模拟模型的可靠性和仿生优化方法的可行性,也说明了热管在均温和传热方面的优良作用。