Electrical conductivity in undoped and Mn2+-doped NaNO2 single crystals

Electrical conductivity studies in NaNO₂ single crystals with inherent impurities and also in crystals with added Mn²⁺ impurities have been reported. The heating conductivity runs of undoped and doped NaNO₂ crystals have been compared. The decrease in conductivity in cooling following a heating run has been attributed to the oxidation during heating leading to the bulk precipitation of impurities in the host. Above 170°C however the intrinsic defects are responsible for conduction. An anomaly is noticed in both the heating and cooling conductivity runs of the sample at about the Curie temperatures and has been found to show thermal hysteresis.     

DSC and electrical conductivity studies of (Li1−xKx)2SO4 mixed crystals

Abstract

(Li_1?K_x)₂SO₄ mixed crystals were prepared by the precipitation technique where x = 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 and 0.99. The phase transformations of the mixed crystals have been analyzed by the DSC technique. The DSC curves of (Li_1?xK_x)₂SO₄ mixed crystals reveal that as the potassium content increases the first high temperature phase of the intermediate LiKSO₄ phase at T = 436°C disappears and a two- phase mixture of LiKSO₄ and K₂SO₄ is found for x = 0.7 and 0.9. It is observed from the electrical conductivity measurements of (Li_1?xK_x)₂SO₄ mixed crystals that the electrical conductivity increases as the K₂SO₄ concentration increases with average activation energy of 1.04 eV. The enhancement in the electrical conductivity is primarily a result of the presence of two ionically conducting constituents and the formation of a diffuse space charge layer at the interface region between these two phases.     

Adsorption of Al13-Keggin clusters to sapphire c-plane single crystals: Kinetic observations by streaming current measurements

We have carried out streaming current measurements of sapphire c-plane single crystals in contact with the solutions containing the Al₁₃-?-Keggin ions at different pH values. We followed the evolution of the zeta-potential as a function of time and pH.The Keggin ions were synthesised and characterised by ESI-MS in two different laboratories, and the results showed that nearly 100% of Al was in the form of Al₁₃ cluster.The streaming current measurements were carried out to investigate whether Al₁₃ clusters would (i) be adsorbed to the surface and (ii) remain stable. Close to the isoelectric point of the sapphire c-plane (around pH 4) it was found that the Al₁₃ ions were adsorbed and stable in the systems for an extended period. After some time the conductivity of the solution strongly increased and the zeta-potential declined, indicating that the clusters were destroyed (certainly in solution, as indicated by the conductivity reading, but potentially also at the surface). ESI-MS measurements at various dilution factors or decreased pH also showed disintegration of the clusters resulting in a multitude of smaller Al species, in agreement with the conductivity measurements during the streaming current measurements. Additions at higher pH showed clear adsorption of the clusters but resulted in stability over the complete observation period as inferred from the conductivity measurements.     

Optical and electrical properties of some sulphates doped with cobalt

Doubly ionized cobalt ion which has a ⁴F ground state exhibits several optical bands in orthorhombic sulphates. In view of the low symmetry, many degenerate states split and at low temperature (77°K) well resolved bands have been observed which enable the detailed calculation of the crystal field parameters in orthorhombic symmetry.Electrical conductivity measurements in pure potassium and ammonium sulphates show only the extrinsic unassociated region while in cobalt doped crystals, extrinsic as well as association regions are observed. Three distinct regions with slopes 0·86, 1·2 and 0·5 eV are obtained in cobalt doped K₂SO₄.X-irradiated pure crystals give two prominent bands at 2200 and 3300 Å which are attributed to SO₃^? and SO₂^?. Divalent cobalt doped crystals give additional bands at 2100 and 3100 Å. These bands are attributed to Co⁺ in different surroundings. Three ESR lines with ‘g’ values 2·042, 2·02 and 2·004 are obtained in support of the assignments.     

Optical investigations of the metal-insulator transition in a low-dimensional organic conductor (EDT-TTF)4[Hg3I8]

The polarized reflectance spectra of single crystals of the low-dimensional organic conductor (EDT-TTF)₄[Hg₃I₈] undergoing a metal-insulator phase transition at a temperature T < 35 K have been presented. The spectral region of the study is 700–6000 cm^?1 (0.087–0.74 eV), and the temperature range is 300–9 K. It has been shown that the reflectance spectra are determined by a system of quasi-free electrons of the upper half-occupied molecular π-orbitals, which form a half-filled metallic band in the crystals. A high anisotropy of the spectra and their temperature dependences have been found. For two polarizations, the quantitative analysis of the spectra at 100 and 25 K has been performed in the framework of the phenomenological Drude model, the effective mass and the width of the initial metallic π-electron band have been deter-mined, and it has been found that the conducting system in the crystals has a quasi-one-dimensional character. As temperature decreases, the spectra demonstrate substantial changes indicating the formation of the energy gap (or pseudogap) in the spectrum of electronic states in the range of ～1500–2500 cm^?1. In the low-frequency region (700–1600 cm^?1), a vibrational structure has been observed, and the most intense feature of the structure (ω = 1340 cm^?1) is caused by the interaction of electrons with intramolecular vibrations of the C=C bonds of the EDT-TTF molecule. For temperatures of 15 and 9 K, the analysis of the spectra has been performed in the framework of the theoretical “phase phonon” model taking into account the interaction of electrons with the intramolecular vibrations. It has been concluded that the metal-insulator transition observed in the reflectance spectra of the crystals is similar to the Peierls dielectric transition that occurs in a system of electrons coupled with the intramolecular vibrations of the molecules forming the crystal.     

Temperature dependent phonon modes and ionicity of LiGaO2 single crystal

This paper reports that polarized far-infrared reflectivity measurements have been done on LiGaO2 single crystal along two crystalline taxes at different temperatures. The temperature dependent frequencies of the longitudinal and transverse optical phonon have been obtained from the real part of optical conductivity and the loss function respectively. A small Drude component is observed at frequency below 300 cm^-1 which could arise from Li ions or oxygen deficiencies. The ionicity of LiGaO2 has been studied from the analysis of the Born effective charge of different ions.     

Magnetic and transport properties of YbRhIn5 and YbIrIn5 single crystals

Single crystals of YbRhIn₅ and YbIrIn₅ have been grown by flux method. The crystals were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, magnetic and electrical transport measurements. Both compounds were found to be weak diamagnets with metallic character of the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient.     

Yb:CaF2-SrF2激光晶体光谱性能以及热学性能的研究

采用坩埚下降法生长了Yb: CaF₂-SrF₂晶体,测试了该晶体的吸收和荧光光谱 以及在不同温度下晶体的热扩散系数和热膨胀系数,并且计算了晶体的热膨胀系数以及在常温下的热导率. 采用对比的方法,对晶体的吸收光谱,荧光光谱,热学性能进行了分析.从吸收和荧光光谱结果表明: 在掺杂相对较高浓度的SrF₂的混晶中, Yb³⁺吸收截面和发射截面比较大. Yb: CaF₂-SrF₂ (19%)晶体在1040 nm附近的发射截面比较大,光谱也比较宽. 这说明在掺杂相同浓度Yb时,混晶中CaF₂, SrF₂的比例不同,晶体的光谱性质不同, 主要原因是在混晶中晶体的无序度不同,晶体对称性降低,形成低对称光学中心. 从热扩散系数计算的热导率结果看出晶体具有比较好的热导率.     

Electric conductivity of electron-bombarded single crystals of KCl-RbCl solid solutions

We present the results of investigations of the influence of divalent cation impurities on the radiative changes in the electric conductivity of RbCl crystals and KCl-RbCl solid solutions bombarded by electrons. It was observed that a temperature dependence of the electic conductivity of the bombarded crystals has a complicated form in this case. In the case of crystals containing no cation impurities of different valence, there is no radiative decrease of the electric conductivity due to the action of the Smoluchowski mechanism, and a sharp increase is observed instead. We consider physical properties that lead to the appearance of a maximum in the temperature dependence of the electric conductivity of the bombarded crystals.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 92–96, December, 1970.     

Study of the formation of Co3O4 thin films using sol–gel method

Sol–gel derived coatings containing cobalt have been analyzed using impedance and reflection measurements. It is found that during the thermal treatments in air at temperatures in the range of 35–400 °C, cobalt migrates to the front surface of the coating where it is oxidized by the atmospheric oxygen and forms a top layer rich in nanocrystalline Co₃O₄. In samples heated above 260 °C, the current flows entirely through this top layer because it has higher conductivity than the rest of the coating. For these samples, the impedance spectra show two semicircles, related with the electrical properties of grain and grain boundaries of the cobalt oxide layer. Using the brick model, the grain boundary volume fraction was calculated as a function of the heating temperature.     

DC electrical conductivity measurements on KCl and KNO3-added MgSO4·7H2O single crystals

Pure and impurity-added (with KCl and KNO₃) MgSO₄·7H₂O single crystals were grown by the free-evaporation method and characterized by density and DC electrical conductivity measurements. The present study indicates that the conductivity increases with temperature but does not vary systematically with impurity concentration. Activation energies were also estimated.     

Ionic conductivity in the single crystals of non-stoichiometric fluorite phases M1−xRxF2+x (M=Ca,Sr, Ba; R=Y,La-Lu)

The ionic conductivity has been measured of single crystals of rare earth fluoride solid solutions in Ca, Sr and Ba fluorides described by the formula M_1?xR_xF_2+x (M=Ca, Sr, Ba; R=Y, La-Lu). The measurements have been done using dc and ac within the temperature range 300–850 K. With the increase of RF₃ concentration up to x=0.05–0.15 (in different systems) conductivity steeply increases. With the further concentration growth the conductivity increases only slightly, reaching saturation value for the solid solution Ba_1?xR_xF_2+x. The dependence of solid solution conductivity on the chemical composition has been studied for isoconcentrates M_0.9R_0.1F_2.1. It has been established that in CaF_2- based series the crystals with R=Gd, Tb possess maximum conductivity and minimum activation energy. For SrF₂ and BaF₂-based series the highest conductivity was observed for crystals containing LaF₃. It has been established that for all the crystals, independent of the chemical composition and defect concentration, the conductivity logarithm at definite temperature linearly depends on the activation energy. Within the investigated class of substances the optimum composition for solid electrolytes is Sr_0.69La_0.31F_2.31.     

Effects of pressure on magnetic properties of F-centers in rubidium halides

Room temperature magnetic resonance measurements have been made on additively colored RbCl and RbBr and on X-irradiated RbH at pressures up to 8 kbar. In RbCl and RbH pressure shifts of the F-center isotropic coupling constant a₁ were obtained from changes in the resolved EPR hyperfine structure. Pressure shifts of first and second shell hyperfine coupling constants of F-centers in RbBr were found from high pressure ENDOR spectra. Effects of the pressure induced polymorphic phase transformations in RbCl and RbBr are discussed. No evidence was found for a structure transformation in RbH. Room pressure ENDOR measurements on additively colored RbI were made at 77°K. The first and second shell hyperfine coupling constants are reported. All results accord well with the behavior of F-centers in other alkali halides.     

Low-temperature heat transport in α-HgI2 single crystals

The thermal conductivity of several samples from α-HgI₂ crystals grown by two different methods has been measured from 50 mK to 200 K. The thermal conductivity is found to be intrinsic but anisotropic above 15 K: it is smaller along c-axis than along a-axis, the anisotropy ratio being about 5 between 15 and 200 K. Below 15 K, the thermal conductivity is sample dependent and the calculated Casimir limit is not reached at the lowest temperatures. The results have been interpreted considering phonon scattering by structural defects. A simple quantitative analysis of the curves suggests that phonons are scattered mainly by large clusters of interstitial defects due to the lack of stoichiometry of the crystals; the typical dimensions of these clusters are not smaller than 1 μm perpendicular to c-axis and 0.3 /gmm along c-axis. The presence of plane defects is also detected. Point defect scattering is relatively small and explained by residual metallic impurities and carbon at interstitial sites. The intrinsic anisotropy is briefly discussed.     

The contribution of anion disorder to ionic conductivity on single crystals of β-PbF2

The effect of the different cooling processes on the disorder of flourine ions and ionic conductivity in β-PbF₂ has been studied by X-ray method and ionic conductivity measurements on single crystals below the transition temperature T_c. The spike-like diffuse scattering was observed along the <111>¹ directions around the Bragg reflections. The activation energies for the conduction process are 0.40 eV for the sample quenched from 970 K and 0.54 eV for the one from 720 K. The higher the quenching temperature is, the higher the conductivity and the lower the activation energy become. The dependence of conductivity on the different cooling processes is more evident in single crystals than in polycrystalline samples. The contribution of the different cooling processes to ionic conductivity can be quantitatively explained by the extent of ordering of mobile fluorine ions. Time dependence of ionic conductivity has not been observed.     

Pressure dependence electrical resistivity in DVT grown molybdenum dichalcogenides

Abstract

Single crystals of MoS _x Se_2?x (x=0, 1, 2) have been grown by direct vapour transport method. Pressure-dependent d.c. electrical resistivity measurements have been carried out on the grown crystals to check the possibility of phase transition up to 8 GPa. However, no such transition is observed in the present case but a decrease in resistivity is found with increase in pressure. The observed results have been analysed and discussed on the basis of band structure.     

O−−-Lücken-Dipole in Rubidiumhalogenidkristallen

Dielectric loss measurements are reported for RbCl, RbBr, and RbJ crystals containing O^??ions. The frequency and temperature dependence can be approximated by a Debye curve. The dipole moment is interpreted as being due to O^?? ions associated with anion vacancies. Activation energies for reorientation of the dipole are 0.60 eV for RbCl, 0.56 eV for RbBr, and 0.50 eV for RbJ. The deviations of the experimental dielectric loss curves from a Debye curve are interpreted. The dielectric losses decrease and the center uv absorption changes during annealing due to association of the centers into aggregates. A detailed analysis of the kinetics for RbBr indicates the formation of O^??-pair centers as the first step. The activation energy for association isE ₂=0.79 eV.     

Etude de la reorientation des complexes lacune-impurete dans KCl dope par Mn2+

Depolarization thermocurrent and EPR measurements have been performed on Mn²⁺ doped KCl crystals. From these, we derived a model for the impurity-vacancy complexes reorientation.From EPR measurements we derived the binding energies of the first three associated states and we concluded that the second associated state was the deepest one; such a conclusion has not been previously drawn. The first two binding energy values are confirmed by conductivity measurements.Thermocurrent curves show two peaks: one of them being ascribed to impurity-vacancy complexes (next nearest neighbour—nearest neighbour vacancy jump), the other to aggregates: differents concentrations are used.     

Ionic conductivity studies on LiAlSiO4SiO2 solid solutions of the high quartz type

Impedance measurements have been carried out on four members of the system LiAlSiO₄SiO₂. The conductivity was determined on single crystals as a function of temperature frequency and crystal orientation. The activation energy for the ionic motion was found to be independent of the crystal orientation; the electrolyte conductivity proved to be more sensitive to the structural state of the sample than to its chemical composition.     

Effect of dislocation density on the ageing of NaCl ∶ BaCl2 crystals

The ageing of NaCl BaCl₂ crystals deformed to different degrees has been investigated by means of electric conductivity measurements at 550°C. It has been found that the precipitation of BaCl₂ out of the lattice takes place mainly on edge dislocations. In the earliest stage of the process a Cottrell cloud is formed around the dislocations and precipitation nuclei are formed as the concentration increases. The results are in good quantitative agreement with the simple Cottrell theory.