Improved multiferroic properties of La-doped 0.6BiFeO3—0.4SrTiO3 solid solution ceramics

The 0.6（Bi1-xLax）FeO 3-0.4SrTiO 3（x = 0,0.1） multiferroic ceramics are prepared by a modified Pechini method to study the effect of substitution of SrTiO3 and La in BiFeO3.The X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the single phase characteristics of all the compositions each with a rhombohedral structure.The magnetic properties of the ceramics are significantly improved by a solid solution with SrTiO3 and substitution of La.The values of the dielectric constant ε r and loss tangent tan δ of all the samples decrease with increasing frequency and become constant at room temperature.The La-doped 0.6BiFeO3-0.4SrTiO3 ceramics exhibit improved dielectric and ferroelectric properties,with higher dielectric constant enhanced remnant polarization（Pr） and lower leakage current at room temperature.Compared with a anti-ferromagnetic BiFeO3 compound,the 0.6（Bi0.9La0.1）FeO3-0.4SrTiO3 sample shows the optimal ferromagnetism with remnant magnetization M r ～ 0.135 emμ/g and ferroelectricity with Pr ～ 5.94 μC/cm 2 at room temperature.     

Stability and electronic properties of carbon in α-Al2O3

The stability and electronic properties of carbon in α-Al₂O₃ are investigated using density functional theory. In the host lattice, the substitutional C prefers the Al site under the O-rich conditions, whereas the O site is preferred by carbon under the Al-rich conditions. The calculated results predict a direct relationship between the thermodynamic and optical transition levels with the degree of the local distortion induced by C in the alumina lattice. We also find C at the O site acts as a charge compensator to stabilize the F⁺ center, thereby enhancing the TL signal at 465 K. Also, C at Al site can serve as electron traps for TL emission process in α-Al₂O₃.     

Synthesis and properties of Au-Fe3O4 and Ag-Fe3O4 heterodimeric nanoparticles

Monodisperse Au-Fe 3 O 4 heterodimeric nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by injecting precursors into a hot reaction solution.The size of Au and Fe 3 O 4 particles can be controlled by changing the injection temperature.UV-Vis spectra show that the surface plasma resonance band of Au-Fe 3 O 4 heterodimeric NPs was evidently red-shifted compared with the resonance band of Au NPs of similar size.The as-prepared heterodimeric Au-Fe 3 O 4 NPs exhibited superparamagnetic properties at room temperature.The Ag-Fe 3 O 4 heterodimeric NPs were also prepared by this synthetic method simply using AgNO 3 as precursor instead of HAuCl 4.It is indicated that the reported method can be readily extended to the synthesis of other noble metal conjugated heterodimeric NPs.     

Absorption by pure NH3 and NH3-H2 mixtures in the 5 μm window region

Absorption by pure NH₃ and NH₃-H₂ mixtures in the transparency region was studied at room temperature using two different set-ups. Measurements were made for various density conditions in order to deduce pressure normalized absorption coefficients due to line-wing contributions. The results obtained from the two experiments are in good agreement and demonstrate that the NH₃ line wings are significantly sub-Lorentzian, particularly when broadened by H₂. Empirical corrective line-shape factors χ are proposed for NH₃-NH₃ and NH₃-H₂ collisions whose use leads to satisfactory agreement with experiments and that should be useful for the prediction of Jovian spectra.     

Electronic and thermodynamic properties of α-Pu2O3

Based on density functional theory+U$\text{density functional theory}+U$ calculations and the quasi-annealing simulation method, we obtain the ground electronic state for α-Pu₂O₃ and present its phonon dispersion curves as well as various thermodynamic properties, which have seldom been theoretically studied because of the huge unit cell. We find that the Pu–O chemical bonding is weaker in α-Pu₂O₃ than in fluorite PuO₂, and subsequently a frequency gap appears between oxygen and plutonium vibration density of states. Based on the calculated Helmholtz free energies at different temperatures, we further study the reaction energies for Pu oxidation, PuO₂ reduction, and transformation between PuO₂ and α-Pu₂O₃. Our reaction energy results are in agreements with available experiment. And it is revealed that high temperature and insufficient oxygen environment are in favor of the formation of α-Pu₂O₃.     

Investigation of structural,physical and optical properties of CeO2–Bi2O3–B2O3 glasses

xCeO₂–30Bi₂O₃–(70−x) B₂O₃ glasses are synthesized by using the melt quench technique. A number of studies such as XRD, density, molar volume, optical band gap, refractive index and FTIR spectroscopy are employed to characterize the glasses. The band gap decreases from 2.15 to 1.61 eV, refractive index increases from 2.67 to 2.93 and density increases from 4.151 to 4.633 g/cm³. The decrease in band gap with CeO₂ doping approaches the semiconductor behavior. FTIR spectroscopy reveals that incorporation of CeO₂ into glass network helps to convert the structural units of [BO₃] into [BO₄] and results in Bi–O bond vibration of [BiO₆].     

Molecular relaxations in mixtures of O2 with CO2 observed on?laser-induced gratings

Laser-induced gratings in mixtures of O₂ with CO₂ were formed by excitation of the O₂ molecules to the singlet state b ¹ Σ _g ⁺(v′=0). Density changes from heat release and from electrostriction, and variation of electric polarizability by excitation of molecules contribute to the grating. For modeling the relaxation of the excited O₂ molecules, a three-step process is assumed: Fast heat release with respect to the rotational states first, then medium fast electronic de-activation with excitation of vibrational states of the O₂ and CO₂ molecules, and then the final slow heat release processes. The observed temporal evolution of the diffraction efficiency of the grating agrees rather well with modeling. Average rates of the final relaxations and the value of the polarizability of the singlet state b ¹ Σ _g ⁺(v′=0) are determined in this way.     

Rheological properties of a γ-Fe2O3 paraffin-based ferrofluid

A stable γ-Fe₂O₃ paraffin-based ferrofluid was prepared via high energy milling. The magnetic particles were characterized using X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering and vibrating sample magnetometer techniques. The rheological properties of the ferrofluid were studied using a standard rotating rheometer. The magnetoviscous effect and thixotropy in the ferrofluid were studied. The formation and destruction of magnetically induced structures and the interactions of nanoparticles and aggregates are discussed.     

Influence of hydrothermally modified γ-Al2O3 on the properties of NiMo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst

The influence of hydrothermal modification of γ-Al₂O₃ on the properties of NiMo/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst was investigated in this paper. The experimental results showed that the use of the modified γ-Al₂O₃ in the preparation of the NiMo/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst led to the increase of the dispersion of the surface Mo and Ni oxides, favored the formation of the poly-molybdates and promoted the reduction of the active Mo oxides owing to the increase of the surface acidity of the modified γ-Al₂O₃. Therefore, the NiMo/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst supported on the modified γ-Al₂O₃ exhibited a higher hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) activity than that supported on the untreated γ-Al₂O₃ in the temperature range of 300-340 °C.     

Photoluminescence properties of rare earth doped α-Si3N4

The photoluminescence properties of Eu²⁺, Ce³⁺ and Tb³⁺ doped α-Si₃N₄ have been studied and a possible structural model has been proposed on the basis of the Rietveld refinement of X-ray powder diffraction data. Nearly single phase rare earth doped α-Si₃N₄ was synthesized by a solid state reaction at 1600 °C in N₂-H₂ atmosphere starting from amorphous Si₃N₄ and rare earth oxides or nitrides. Because of small crystal field splitting of the 5d levels, the excitation and emission bands of Eu²⁺ and Ce³⁺ are positioned at higher energies as isolated ions in comparison with that in Ca-α-Sialon. Both Eu²⁺- and Ce³⁺-doped α-Si₃N₄ show blue band emission peaking at about 470 and 450 nm, respectively, under UV excitation. α-Si₃N₄:Tb³⁺ exhibits dominant green line emission mainly arising from ⁵D₄→⁷F_J (J=6-3) with weak ⁵D₃→⁷F_J (J=6-3) transitions of Tb³⁺ when excited by UV light. The thermal stability of α-Si₃N₄:Eu²⁺ is comparable with that of Ca-α-Sialon:Eu²⁺ and is much better than that of α-Si₃N₄:Ce³⁺.     

Novel photoluminescence properties of InAlO3（ZnO）m superlattice nanowires

One-dimension InAlO 3 (ZnO) m superlattice nanowires were successfully synthesized via chemical vapor deposition.Transmission electron microscopy measurements reveal that the nanowires have a periodic layered structure along the 0001 direction.The photoluminescence properties of InAlO 3 (ZnO) m superlattice nanowires are studied for the first time.The near-band-edge emissions exhibit an obvious red shift due to the formation of the localized tail states.The two peaks centered at 3.348 eV and 3.299 eV indicate a lever phenomenon at the low-temperature region.A new luminescence mechanism is proposed,combined with the special energy band structure of InAlO 3 (ZnO) m.     

Luminescence properties of Eu in gadolinium molybdate β′-Gd2Mo3O12 phosphors

In this paper, we report the synthesis and photoluminescence (PL) properties of β′-Gd₂Mo₃O₁₂ doped with Eu³⁺ ions. The relationship between Eu³⁺ luminescence versus concentration and temperature is discussed. In order to investigate the mechanism of concentration quenching, luminescence decay curves are measured and the Inokuti–Hirayama model is used to analyze them. The activation energy for the thermal quenching is estimated by the Arrhenius fitting. The emission spectrum of β′-Gd₂Mo₃O₁₂ exhibits the strongest emission peak at 614.5 nm due to electric–dipole transition. The excitation spectrum shows several sets of lines in the range of 350–425 nm which are associated with the typical intra-configurational 4f⁶ transitions of Eu³⁺. The spectral positions of these lines match well with the emission spectra of near-UV LEDs, which makes the phosphor find a potential application for white light-emitting-diodes.     

Effects of K4CuNb8O23 on phase structure and electrical properties of K0.5Na0.5NbO3–LiSbO3 lead-free piezoceramics

Dense K₄CuNb₈O₂₃ (KCN) modified 0.948K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃–0.052LiSbO₃ (KNNLS) ceramics were prepared by conventional solid state reaction method. The effect of addition of K₄CuNb₈O₂₃ liquid phase sintering aid on the phase structure and electrical properties of ceramics was studied. Results showed that K₄CuNb₈O₂₃ induced a perovskite structure transition from coexistence of orthorhombic and tetragonal phases to orthorhombic symmetry. The addition of K₄CuNb₈O₂₃ promoted the sintering of KNNLS ceramics. In particular, the K₄CuNb₈O₂₃ addition to the KNNLS greatly improved the mechanical quality factor Q_m value. The ceramics with x=0.8 sintered at 1090 °C possess the optimum properties (Q_m=192, d₃₃=135 pC/N, tan δ=0.024 and k_p=0.357). These results indicate that the ceramic is a promising candidate for lead-free high-power piezoelectric devices, such as piezoelectric actuators, transformers and filter materials.     

The effect of intragranular microstress in Al2O3—SiC nanocomposites

A theoretical model is established to investigate the intragranular particle residual stress in Al2O3-SiC nanocomposites.Using this model,we calculate the average compressive stress on the Al2O3 grain boundary(GB) and the average tensile stress within Al2O3 grains caused by SiC nanoparticles.The normal compressive stress strengthens the GB,and the average tensile stress weakens the grains.The model gives a reasonable interpretation of the strength changes of Al2O3-SiC nanocomposites with the number of SiC particles.     

Vibration-Torsion-Rotation Study of the ν5 State of CH3CF3

An investigation of the torsion-rotation-vibration energies in the ν₅ vibrational state in CH₃CF₃ has been carried out using infrared and mm-wave spectroscopy. The lowest frequency parallel fundamental band ν₅ near 600 cm⁻¹ has been measured at a resolution of 0.00125 cm⁻¹ with Fourier transform spectroscopy for the two lowest torsional states v₆=0 and 1. The cold band (v₅=1, v₆=0)←(v₅=0, v₆=0) showed no torsional splittings and looked much like a parallel band in a C_3v molecule. The hot band (v₅=1, v₆=1)←(v₅=0, v₆=1) consisted of three distinct subbands, one for each torsional sublevel σ=0, +1, and −1. For the state (v₅=1, v₆=1), the torsional splitting was increased from ∼0.001 cm⁻¹ to ∼0.022 cm⁻¹ by torsion-mediated Fermi-type interaction primarily with the dark state (v₅=0, v₆=5). The effects of this coupling on the spectrum are striking in spite of the fact that the two interacting states are ∼100 cm⁻¹ apart and differ by four units in v₆. The large amplitude character of the state (v₅=0, v₆=5) is seen to be largely responsible for the unusual (k, σ) dependence of the energies in the state (v₅=1, v₆=1). The pure rotational spectrum in the state (v₅=1, v₆=0) has been measured between ∼50 and 370 GHz with Doppler-limited resolution; no σ-splitting was detected. The 3590 infrared and mm-wave frequencies measured here have been analyzed together with the 1494 measurements reported earlier by Wang et al. in an analysis of the vibrational ground state (2001, J. Mol. Spectrosc.205, 146-163). A good fit was obtained here by varying 36 parameters in a Hamiltonian which takes into account the interaction between the torsional stacks of levels for v₅=0 and 1, as well as the (A₁−A₂) splittings measured earlier for v₅=0. The explicit treatment of the interstack interactions is shown to lead to significant changes in the parameters (V_0,3, V_0,6) that characterize the torsional potential for v₅=0. These changes have been explained quantitatively by examining the contact transformation that is implicitly applied when the interstack coupling is neglected.     

Varistor and dielectric properties of Cr2O3 doped SnO2–Zn2SnO4 composite ceramics

Cr₂O₃ doped SnO₂–Zn₂SnO₄ composite ceramics were prepared by traditional ceramic processing and the varistor, dielectric properties were investigated. With increasing Cr₂O₃ content, the breakdown electrical field E_B increases from 11 to 92 V/mm and the relative dielectric constant ε_r measured at 1 kHz, 50 °C decreases from 11,028 to 3412, respectively. The barrier height ?_B about 0.8–0.84 eV and the decreasing of SnO₂ grain size suggest that the varistor behavior with high ε_r is originated from SnO₂–SnO₂ or SnO₂–Zn₂SnO₄ grain boundary. In the dielectric spectra lower than 1 kHz, a dielectric peak is presented and depressed with increasing bias voltage. Similarly, at high temperature, the dielectric constant also presents a dielectric peak in the temperature spectra and the peak becomes faint with increasing frequency. The exhibition of the dielectric peak is thought to be attributed to the conduction of grain boundary since it is accompanied by the sharp increase of dielectric loss. In addition, a dielectric relaxation with the activation energy about 0.4–0.5 eV was observed in the temperature range of 20–100 °C. Based on the results, the formation mechanism of Schottky barriers at grain boundaries and the varistor behavior with high dielectric constant are well understood.     

Magnetic and microwave absorbing properties of polyaniline/γ-Fe2O3 nanocomposite

The conducting protonated polyaniline (ES)/γ-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite with the different γ-Fe₂O₃ content were synthesized by in-situ polymerization. Its morphology, microstructure, DC conductivity and magnetic properties of samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), four-wire-technique, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), respectively. The microwave absorbing properties of the nanocomposite powders dispersing in wax coating with the coating thickness of 2 mm were investigated using a vector network analyzers in the frequency range of 7–18 GHz. The pure ES has shown the absorption band with a maximum absorption at approximately 16 GHz and a width (defined as frequency difference between points where the absorption is more than 8 dB) of 3.24 GHz, when 10% γ-Fe₂O₃ by weight is incorporated , the width is broadened to 4.13 GHz and some other absorption bands appear in the range of 7–13 GHz. The parameter dielectric loss tan δ_e (=ε″/ε′) in the 7–18 GHz is found to decrease with increasing γ-Fe₂O₃ contents with 10%, 20%, 30%, respectively, but magnetic loss tan δ_m (=μ″/μ′) increases with increasing γ-Fe₂O₃ contents. The results show that moderate content of γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles embedded in protonated polyaniline matrix may create advanced microwave absorption properties due to simultaneous adjusting of dielectric loss and magnetic loss.     

Holographic properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticle-doped organic–inorganic hybrid photopolymer

An organic–inorganic hybrid photopolymer doped with sodium-citrate-coated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles was fabricated. The experimental results showed that the maximum diffraction efficiency could be increased from 69 to 90%, and the maximum refractive index modulation improved from 1.386 × 10⁻³ to 2.083 × 10⁻³. It also found that the volume shrinkage during holographic exposure was noticeably suppressed without affecting the optical quality of the photopolymer.     

Dielectric properties of perovskite ceramics of (1–x)BiFeO3 ? x(KBi)1/2TiO3 (0.40 < x < 0.85) solid solutions from impedance spectroscopy data

The dielectric properties of the ceramics of (1 − x)BiFeO₃ − x(KBi)_1/2TiO₃ (0.40 < x < 0.85) solid solutions with an orthorhombic structure have been studied using impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range 25–10⁶ Hz at different temperatures. It has been shown that these solid solutions undergo a diffuse ferroelectric phase transition. The Curie temperature is found to be in the range 620–640 K. The activation energies of dielectric polarization relaxation (δE _M ) and dc charge carriers (ΔE _dc) are determined. It has been established that, in the vicinity of 460 K, ΔE _dc increases jumpwise as the temperature increases.     

Magnetic anisotropy and magnetoelectric properties of Tb1 ? xErxFe3(BO3)4 ferroborates

Magnetic and magnetoelectric properties of ferroborate single crystals with complex composition (Tb_{1 − x} Er _x Fe₃(BO₃)₄, x = 0, 0.75) and with competing exchange Tb-Fe and Er-Fe interactions are investigated. Jumps in electric polarization, magnetostriction, and magnetization are observed as a result of spin-flop transitions, as well as a considerable decrease in the critical field upon an increase in the Er concentration, in a field H _c parallel to the c axis. The observed behavior of phase-transition fields is analyzed and explained using a simple model taking into account anisotropy in g factors and exchange splitting of funda-mental doublets of the easy-axis Tb³⁺ ion and easy-plane Er³⁺ ion. It is established that magnetoelectric and magnetostriction anomalies under spin-flop transitions are mainly controlled by the Tb subsystem. The Tb subsystem makes a nonmonotonic contribution ΔP _a (H _a , T) to polarization along the a axis: the value of ΔP _a reverses its sign and increases with temperature due to the contribution from the excited states of the Tb³⁺ ion. Original Russian Text ? A.K. Zvezdin, A.M. Kadomtseva, Yu.F. Popov, G.P. Vorob’ev, A.P. Pyatakov, V.Yu. Ivanov, A.M. Kuz’menko, A.A. Mukhin, L.N. Bezmaternykh, I.A. Gudim, 2009, published in Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2009, Vol. 136, No. 1, pp. 80–86.