Rare earth oxide doping in oxide cathodes

The effect on life performance and poisoning with O₂ by doping oxide cathodes with rare earth oxides and pseudo rare earth oxides, notably yttria, is qualitatively explained in terms of electrolysis of BaO during emission of electrons. Doped cathodes show less electrolysis and consume therefore less Ba during life: consequently, doped cathodes have a better life performance. However, the lower Ba-production makes doped cathodes more sensitive to oxygen poisoning. The experimentally found relation between conductivity and yttria concentration was the motive to propose a new model for the crystal imperfections in BaO. In this new imperfection model most Y³⁺-ions will combine with barium vacancies, therefore, the increase of the conductivity is modest and also the effect on the position of the Fermi level is modest. By assuming a combination of bulk and surface conductivity, the agreement between experiment and theory can be improved further.     

Indium oxide, tin oxide and indium tin oxide nanostructure growth by vapor deposition

Indium oxide, tin oxide and indium tin oxide nanowires have been grown by vapor deposition on Si and quartz substrates. Under the growth conditions used, pure SiO_x nanowires, a mixture of SiO_x and indium oxide, tin oxide or indium tin oxide nanostructures, or pure indium oxide, tin oxide or indium tin oxide nanostructures could be obtained at different substrate temperatures. The growth mechanism of the obtained nanostructures at different substrate temperatures is discussed. Optical and electrical properties of the deposited pure indium oxide, tin oxide or indium tin oxide nanostructures have been measured, and low sheet resistances on quartz substrates have been obtained for indium oxide and indium tin oxide nanostructures.     

Structural and optical properties of evaporated Zn oxide,Ti oxide and Zn-Ti oxide films

Zn oxide, Ti oxide and Zn-Ti oxide thin films were prepared by vacuum evaporation. Their structural and optical properties have been obtained by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), the energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) method and spectrophotometry. The EDXRF method was used to study the stoichiometry of the deposited Zn-Ti oxide films. The XRD patterns show that the prepared ZnO and Zn-Ti oxide films were polycrystalline, while Ti oxide films were amorphous. Spectroscopic optical constants n() and k() as well as the energy gap E_g were evaluated from spectrophotometry in the interband transition energy region. It was discovered that ZnO–TiO thin films remain transparent in a shorter wavelength range than the ZnO thin films, resulting from the slight increase of their band gap. It was found that n, k and transmittance values for the mixed-oxide film vary smoothly between the values of the pure constituent oxides in the fundamental energy gap region. PACS 68.60.Wm; 68.55.-a; 78.66.-w     

Synthesis and characterization of graphene oxide,reduced graphene oxide and their nanocomposites with polyethylene oxide

This work describes the synthesis of GO, rGO and their nanocomposites with PEO. GO and rGO were prepared by the modified Hummers method and in-situ reduction of GO utilizing green reductant L (+) Ascorbic acid. The nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Universal Testing Machine (UTM). FT-IR and XRD confirmed the synthesis of GO and rGO. FE-SEM confirmed the uniformly exfoliated GO and rGO nanosheets in the polymer matrix. Hydrogen bonding was the main interaction mechanism for GO with PEO while no interaction was detected by FT-IR for rGO. Enhanced thermal stability was observed for both GO/PEO and rGO/PEO nanocomposites. The mechanical analysis showed an increase in Young's modulus, tensile strength, and elongation at break for GO/PEO nanocomposites, which is attributed to the homogeneous dispersion and hydrophilic hydrogen bonding interaction of GO with PEO.     

Zirconia based oxide ion conductors for solid oxide fuel cells

The electrical conductivity in the ZrO₂-Ln₂O₃ and ZrO₂-MO₂-Ln₂O₃(M = Hf, Ce, Ln = lanthanides) systems has been examined.The highest conductivity of 0.3 S/cm at 1000 °C was found in the ZrO₂-Sc₂O₃ system. The addition of MO₂ into the ZrO₂-Ln₂O₃(Ln = Sc, Y, Yb) systems showed the conductivity decreasing. The conduction mechanism in the zirconia based oxide ion conductors was discussed in view of the dopant ionic radius. The aging effect of the conductivity in the ZrO₂-Ln₂O₃ systems has been measured in a temperature rang 800–1000 °C. ZrO₂ with a high content of Ln₂O₃ showed no significant conductivity degradation. Paper presented at the 97th Xiangshan Science Conference on New Solid State Fuel Cells, Xiangshan, Beijing, China, June 14–17, 1998.     

Atomic imaging of oxide surfaces: II. Terbium oxide

The surface topography of anion-deficient, and nominally stoichiometric. terbium oxides has been characterised at the atomic level by high resolution electron microscopy using the surface profile imaging technique. The predominant surface was found to be (111) which generally formed well-ordered terraces: other surfaces such as (100) and (022) were less prevalent and usually quite irregular. Surface modifications were also observed in real-time which were face-dependent, and the rapidity of the associated atomic arrangements appeared to correlate with the number of oxygen atom positions at the different surfaces.     

Nanostructured oxide membranes

Porous aluminum (Al 99.99%) foil membranes prepared by electrochemical anodizing and subsequent removing the continuous barrier layer by ion-plasma irradiation are described. As a result, Al₂O₃ membranes about 2–5 μm thick with regular arrangement of channels have been obtained. The possibility has been shown of regulation of a channel diameter in a range of 20–100 nm by changing the oxidation conditions. The experimental dependences of Al and Al₂O₃ sputtering coefficients on the xenon ion energy (100–400 eV) and the angle of incidence have been obtained.     

Calcium oxide phosphors

Preparation conditions, emission spectra, and optical absorption spectra are given for CaO-phosphors containing 17 different activators. Spectra and performances are compared to those of corresponding CaS phosphors. CaO is less versatile as a phosphor host material than CaS and, with few exceptions, CaO-phosphors are less efficient. Technical use of the few efficient CaO-phosphors is restricted because of chemical stability problems of CaO in open air.     

Indium oxide nanostructures

In this report we review the growth of indium oxide (In₂O₃) nanostructures, including octahedral nanocrystals (NCs), nanobelts (NBs), nanosheets (NSs), and nanowires (NWs), by hot-wall chemical vapor deposition (HW-CVD). This system is highly controllable, allowing the user to easily access different growth regimes – each corresponding to the growth of a different nanostructure – by changing growth variables of the HW-CVD system. Hot-wall CVD produces crystalline nanostructures; here we present a survey of microstructural characterizations of the four types of In₂O₃ nanostructures using transmission- and scanning-electron microscopy. Interestingly, the In₂O₃ nanostructures have different preferred growth directions: NCs have (111) faces, NBs are predominantly (200), and NWs are predominantly (110). We end the review by discussing the current shortcomings of HW-CVD growth of In₂O₃ nanostructures. PACS 61.46.-w; 61.82.Rx; 73.31.Hb; 81.02.-b     

Magnetic oxide films

Magnetic oxide films including europium oxide, yttrium and gadolinium iron garnets, orthoferrites, and ferrites are reviewed from a point of view which stresses the common aspects of oxide film growth and the resulting structural and magnetic properties. The growth techniques of each material are described. They include chemical vapor deposition, sputtering, chemical solution, liquid epitaxy, and evaporation. Problems such as non-stoichiometry, strain, cracking, and substrate-film interaction are discussed for each material. The substrate is found to exert a strong influence on the film quality and generally a better match between film and substrate results in improved films. The magnetic characteristics of the films including the magnetization, coercive force, Faraday rotation, and ferromagnetic resonance linewidth are discussed. In terms of these properties, the films are compared with the corresponding bulk materials. The means of improving magnetic oxide films are considered, and an assessment is made of the possibility of producing thin films whose structural and magnetic properties are comparable with those of bulk material.     

Titanium oxide xerogel films in porous aluminum oxide for photocatalytic application

We have used the sol–gel method to synthesize titanium dioxide in the pores of an anodic aluminum oxide membrane. The samples were used for the test reaction of degradation of the organic dye rhodamine B. The concentration of the dye rhodamine B was monitored from the change in the absorption spectra in the 554 nm region, for an aqueous solution containing the dye and exposed to the emission from a mercury lamp. The synthesized samples of titanium oxide xerogel in the porous anodic aluminum oxide membrane are efficient photocatalysts for decomposition of organic dyes in an aqueous medium.     

Fabrication and characterization of graphene oxide/zinc oxide nanorods hybrid

This work presented a hybrid architecture of graphene oxide (GO)/ZnO nanorods (ZNs) with ZNs attached parallel onto GO sheets. ZNs were synthesized by refluxing zinc acetate dehydrate in methanol solution under basic conditions followed by surface modification of 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (ATS), and then the preformed ZNs were attached onto GO sheets by reaction of the amino groups on the outer wall of ZNs with the carboxyl groups on the GO surface. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of the as-prepared hybrid reveals the morphology of the architecture of GO/ZNs hybrid. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and fluorescence spectroscopy were also performed to characterize the structure and properties of the GO/ZNs hybrid. It was shown that ZNs maintained their initial morphology and crystallinity in the hybrid and the luminescence quenching of yellow-green emission of ZNs confirmed the electron transfer from excited ZnO to GO sheets.     

A study of nitric oxide adsorbed on nickel oxide,cobalt oxide,and graphite by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The nitrogen 1s binding energy of nitric oxide adsorbed on nickel oxide, cobalt oxide and graphite was measured at several temperatures by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. For the oxides, a temperature dependent range of binding energies was observed, but for graphite the nitrogen 1s binding energy was independent of temperature. The values obtained suggest that significant back donation of electrons occurs from the oxides to the adsorbed nitric oxides, but no back donation occurs from graphite to adsorbed nitric oxide. However, adsorption did not cause changes in the binding energy of substrate core electrons. It is believed that unless the mean free path of electrons is short, the total photoelectron signal will not reveal changes in binding energy of electrons from substrate atoms at the surface.     

Electrical properties of triple-doped bismuth oxide electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells

In this study, the quaternary solid solutions of (Bi₂O₃)_(0.8?x)(Tb₄O₇)_0.1(Ho₂O₃)_0.1(Dy₂O₃)_x (x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) as an electrolyte were synthesized for solid oxide fuel cells by the technique of solid-state synthesis.

The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, differential thermal analysis/thermal gravimetry and the four-point probe technique (4PPT). The total electrical conductivity is measured on the temperature and the doped concentration by 4PPT.

All samples have been obtained as the δ-phase. According to the measurements of the 4PPT, the electrical conductivities of the samples increase with the temperature but decrease with the amount of doping rate. The value of the highest conductivity (σ) is found as 1.02?×?10^?1 S cm^?1 for the system of (Bi₂O₃)_0.75(Tb₄O₇)_0.1(Ho₂O₃)_0.1(Dy₂O₃)_0.05 at 850 °C. The thermal gravimetry (TG) curve shows that there is no mass loss of sample during the measurement. The analyses of differential thermal reveal that there are neither endothermic peaks nor exothermic peaks during the heating and cooling cycles (ranging from 30 to 1000 °C).     

Highly ordered zinc oxide nanotubules synthesized within the anodic aluminum oxide template

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanotubules were prepared by sol-gel synthesis within the pores of an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) were used to investigate the morphology and crystalloid structures of the ZnO nanotubules. The results indicate that polycrystalline ZnO nanotubules are very uniformly assembled and parallel to each other in the membrane pores of the AAO template. Received: 15 January 2001 / Accepted: 1 February 2001 / Published online: 27 June 2001     

Optical characterization of poly (ethylene oxide)/zinc oxide thin films

The optical characterization of poly (ethylene oxide)/zinc oxide thin films has been done by analyzing the absorption spectra in the spectral wavelength region 380–800 nm using a ultraviolet-spectrophotometer at room temperature. Thin film polymer composites made of poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) containing zinc oxide (ZnO) filler concentrations (0%, 2%, 6%, 10%, and 14%) by weight were used in this study. The optical results obtained were analyzed in terms of the absorption formula for non-crystalline materials. The optical energy gap and other basic optical constants such as dielectric constants and optical conductivity were investigated and showed a clear dependence on the ZnO filler concentration. It was found that the optical energy gap for the composite films is less than that for the neat PEO, and that it decreases as the ZnO concentration increases. Enhancement of the optical conductivity was observed with increase in the ZnO concentration. Dispersion of refractive index was analyzed using the Wemple–DiDomenico single oscillator model. The refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k), and dispersion parameters (E_o, E_d) were calculated for the investigated films.     

Two-dimensional zinc oxide nanostructure

Transparent two-dimensional ultralong and ultrabroad single crystal zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosheets were directly synthesized by a simple solid vapor deposition process under lead oxide (PbO) atmosphere. The nanosheets are well grown single crystals with thickness of about 50-70 nm, breadth of 50-100 μm and length of 4-6 mm. The growth mode of the ultrabroad nanosheets displays a unique aspect that (001) planes form the narrowest facets of the nanosheets, which is completely different from other belt-like nanostructures of ZnO. Control experiments show that PbO play an important role in the vapor-solid growth process of ZnO nanosheets.