Structural Peculiarities of Anomalous Electrolytic Palladium Deposits Prepared under Hydride Formation Conditions

The peculiarities of bulk and surface structures of electrolytic palladium deposits formed under hydride formation conditions are studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. For anomalous deposits with high hydrogen capacities, the evolution of the XRD behavior is traced as a function of thermal treatment. The material is shown to comprise two cubic phases with different lattice parameters.     

Effect of electrolytes on the slow aggregation of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanocrystals

We studied the slow aggregation of dilute TiO₂ hydrosols containing narrow fractions of nanocrystals separated from polydisperse sol by the stepwise coagulation with portions of HCl. It is shown that the kinetics of this process and the structure of formed aggregates greatly depend on the ionic strength and the pH of a medium. It is suggested that, in the presence of various electrolytes, the aggregation proceeds by an identical mechanism. In this case, highly ordered aggregates are formed in which there are thin layers of medium between TiO₂ nanocrystals.     

Synthesis and structure of composite fibers based on silicon and carbon obtained by electrospinning

Composite polymer fibers with a composition of Si-C-O obtained by electrospinning of precursors solution containing polycarbosilane or phenol formaldehyde resins with an admix of organic-silicon compounds were synthesized in order to find efficient new electrode materials for lithium ion batteries. The composition and structure of pyrolized composite fibers were studied by means of X-ray dispersive analysis and X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and by AFM and SEM. It was shown that the composite fibers (with a diameter of 0.5–1.5 μm) were nanostructured materials with carbon and silicon-oxy-carbide areas about 2–5 nm in size. A model of the nanostructure of a skeleton for composite fibers synthesized is proposed.     

Radiation-Induced Changes in the Degree of Crystallinity of Powdered Polytetrafluoroethylene

Crystallography Reports - An analysis of the diffraction patterns of powdered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) γ-irradiated at room temperature in a nitrogen atmosphere to doses of 10–500...     

Multifunctional phenomena in sublimed dysprosium in high magnetic fields: The magnetocaloric effect and magnetostriction

With the use of sublimed dysprosium having a controllable impurity composition, two physical functional phenomena induced by a magnetic field are studied: magnetostriction and the magnetocaloric effect, which is estimated by independent direct and indirect methods. A giant magnetostriction value at the “order–order” magnetic phase transition and a large magnetocaloric effect in high magnetic fields at the “order–disorder” transition are shown. Both phenomena are discussed in relation to the complex field and temperature behavior of metallic-dysprosium magnetization, the measurement of which is carried out in wide intervals of temperature and magnetic fields (to 14 T).     

The magnetocaloric effect in hydrogen-doped Nd<Subscript>2</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>14</Subscript>B and Er<Subscript>2</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>14</Subscript>B intermetallic compounds

The nature of the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in compounds R₂Fe₁₄B (R = Nd, Er) and their hydrides in a wide temperature range is investigated. The investigation is carried out on initial samples of a special purity including single-crystalline ones. The highest value of the magnetocaloric effect is established in the Curie-temperature region. The hydrogenation of samples affects the value of the MCE. The model explaining the dependence of the value and sign of the magnetocaloric effect on the hydrogen contents in R₂Fe₁₄B compounds with participation of erbium and neodymium is proposed.     

The effect of adding aluminum and iron to Tb–Dy–Ho–Co multicomponent alloys on their structure and magnetic and magnetocaloric properties

A comprehensive analysis of the structure, phase composition, surface topology features, and magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Tb_0.3Dy_0.35Ho_0.35Co_1.75 T _0.25 (T = Al, Fe) multicomponent alloys has been performed. The specifics of variations in the structure and functional properties induced by the partial substitution of cobalt atoms in the 3d sublattice of RCo₂ with aluminum or iron atoms have been determined.     

Ferroelectric phase transitions in ionic conductors based on bismuth vadanate

Ceramic solid solutions (Bi_{1 ? x} La _x )₄V₂O_{11 ? z} (I), Bi₄(V_{1 ? x} Fe _x )₂O_{11 ? y} (II), and (Bi_{1 ? x} La _x )₄(V_0.96Fe_0.04)₂O_{11 ? y} (III) (x = 0–0.3, step Δx = 0.02) are prepared using solid-phase synthesis. The concentration and temperature ranges of stabilization of different polymorphic modifications, including the ranges of concentrations x corresponding to the stabilization of the ferroelectric phase, are established. It is revealed that an increase in the concentration x in the region of existence of the pseudoorthorhombic phase α of the solid solutions studied leads to a decrease in the transition temperature, smearing of the transition, and an increase in the width of the thermal hysteresis of the ferroelectric phase transition. The effect of compressing of the domain walls by oxygen vacancies was revealed in the samples from the region of existence of the ferroelectric α phase, and the effect of dielectric relaxation was detected in the samples from the region of existence of the orthorhombic phase β.     

Magnetostriction and magnetization of the intermetallic compounds R Fe2 ? x Co x ( R = Tb, Dy, Er) with compensated magnetic anisotropy

The compounds Tb_0.35Dy_0.45Er_0.2Fe_{2 − x} Co _x (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) are synthesized in both polycrystalline and single-crystal states. The composition of the new multicomponent alloys with compensated magnetic anisotropy is calculated in the framework of the single-ion magnetic anisotropy model with allowance for the data on the temperature dependences of the magnetic anisotropy constants for RFe₂ single crystals. The synthesized compounds are characterized using metallographic, chemical, X-ray diffraction, and thermomagnetic methods. A combined analysis of the magnetic and magnetoelastic properties is also carried out. It is established that the high magnetostriction characteristics of the rare-earth intermetallic compounds Tb_0.35Dy_0.45Er_0.2Fe_{2 − x} Co _x with a structure of Laves phases are observed in the region of the spin-reorientational phase transition whose temperature can be varied by properly choosing the Co content. It is found that, in the room-temperature region, the magnetic susceptibility (dλ/dH) of the composition with x = 1.3 reaches levels in excess of the value of dλ/dH for terphenol D due to the compensation of magnetic anisotropy. Original Russian Text ? I.S. Tereshina, S.A. Nikitin, G.A. Politova, A.A. Opalenko, E.A. Tereshina, I.V. Telegina, 2009, published in Fizika Tverdogo Tela, 2009, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 85–90.     

Ferroelectric Phase Transitions in Non-Stoichiometric Sodium-Bismuth Titanate Ceramics

Features are studied of the phase formation, structural parameters, microstructure, and dielectric and ferroelectric properties of non-stoichiometric (Na_{0.5 + x}Bi_0.5)TiO₃ ceramics with x = 0–0.1. The investigated samples exhibit ferroelectric phase-transition behavior as anomalies and peaks in dielectric permittivity near 400 and 600 K, respectively. Study of the second harmonic generation shows that phase transitions near 400 K exhibit relaxor-type behavior, indicating there are polar regions in the nonpolar matrix. An increase in the Na/Bi ratio in the initial compositions improves the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the ceramics.