Low Temperature Hydrothermal Synthesis of MnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Nanoclusters as Positive Material of RAM Batteries

MnO₂ nanoclusters were synthesized by a low temperature hydrothermal method. In the presented procedure, MnO₂ was precipitated by oxidation of manganese sulfate solution upon addition of ammonium persulfate solution. The synthesized sample was characterized by SEM and XRD. Optimized nanoclusters with needle diameters of 30 nm were synthesized by mixing of manganese sulfate solution (0.8 M) with ammonium persulfate solution (0.7 M) in sulfuric acid media (0.8 M) at constant temperature of 80 °C. Effect of solid state lithium sulfate treatment on the phase composition, particle size and morphology of the obtained MnO₂ nanoclusters was studied at different temperatures. The obtained results showed that lithium salt can changes MnO₂ nanoclusters morphology without any intercalation. Discharge capacity and cycle life of the synthesized MnO₂ nanoclusters as positive materials of RAM battery (Zn–MnO₂ battery), before and after treatment with lithium sulfate were studied. MnO₂ nanopowder showed average discharge capacity of 190 mA.h/g (with respect to MnO₂ weight) during 3 first discharges. Lithium sulfate-treated powder showed higher discharge capacity (160 mA.h/g) and shorter cycle life than the untreated powder.     

An aqueous solution-gel method for low temperature synthesis of nanocrystalline NaNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> and their ceramics

Nano-sized NaNbO₃ powder has been successfully prepared by aqueous solution-gel method. The phase evolution of NaNbO₃ powder is investigated by TG/DSC, X-rays spectra, FT-IR, and Raman spectra. The results show that the pure NaNbO₃ phase has been obtained at about 375 °C, which is lowered by about 100 °C comparing to others’ work. In TEM studied, it shows the average particle size of ~ 70 nm for the powders heat-treated at 750 °C for 4 h. The powders heat-treated below 650 °C for 4 h shows a Pmnm symmetry, then change from O₃ orthorhombic to O₁ orthorhombic with the heat-treatment temperature above 650 °C.     

Synthesis and microwave dielectric properties of Ca<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>La<Subscript>0.267</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanocrystalline powders by sol–gel method

Ca_0.6La_0.267TiO₃ nanocrystalline powders were successfully synthesized by the sol–gel method using PEG1000 as a dispersant in this study. The sinterability of the powders and the microwave dielectric properties of the ceramics were also investigated. The XRD diffraction result showed that pure Ca_0.6La_0.267TiO₃ powder with orthorhombic perovskite structure could be synthesized at 600 °C for 2 h without any detectable intermediate phase. The average grain size of the as-synthesized powder was as low as 35 nm. Compared with Ca_0.6La_0.267TiO₃ ceramics fabricated by conventional solid-state process, the bulk materials prepared by sintering as-prepared nanopowders performed better in densification and microwave dielectric properties. The ceramics sintered at 1,300 °C exhibited a higher relative density of 98.3% combined with a dielectric constant (ε _r ) of 120.3, a quality factor (Q × f) of 23,550 GHz and a temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ _f ) of +220.7 ppm/°C, respectively.     

AgNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> ceramics synthesized by aqueous solution-gel method

AgNbO₃ powders and ceramics were prepared by aqueous solution-gel method. The phase evolution of the powders was investigated by TG/DSC and XRD. The results showed that the pure AgNbO₃ phase was obtained at 600 °C without special treatment. The sintering behavior and dielectric properties of the AgNbO₃ ceramics were also investigated. It showed the dense ceramics were obtained as lower as 925 °C, which had the excellent dielectric properties with the permittivity of 291 and dielectric loss of about 1.7% at 1 MHz. The coarse grains were observed for the sample sintered over 975 °C, and then they decreased with the sintering temperature further increasing to 1,050 °C.     

Microstructure,dielectric properties and optical band gap control on the photoluminescence behavior of Ba[Zr<Subscript>0.25</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>0.75</Subscript>]O<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films

Ba[Zr_0.25Ti_0.75]O₃ (BZT) thin films were synthesized by the complex polymerization method and heat treated at 400 °C for different times and at 700 °C for 2 h. These thin films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, field emission gun-scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy, electrical and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. FEG-SEM and AFM micrographs showed that the microstructure and thickness of BZT thin films can be influenced by the processing times. Dielectric constant and dielectric loss of BZT thin films heat treated at 700 °C were approximately 148 and 0.08 at 1 MHz, respectively. UV–vis absorption spectra suggested the presence of intermediary energy levels (shallow and deep holes) within the band gap of BZT thin films. PL behavior was explained through the optical band gap values associated to the visible light emission components.     

Synthesis of Bi<Subscript>4</Subscript>Ge<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> ceramic scintillators by the polymeric precursor method

Bismuth germanate ceramic powders were synthesized for the first time by the polymeric precursor method (Pechini’s method). Differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric techniques were used to study the decomposition of the resin precursor, which indicated a suitable calcination temperature at 600 °C. It was observed that the mass loss occurs in two main stages that are associated with two exothermic reactions. The crystalline phases of the powders were inspected by the X-ray diffraction technique after thermal treatment between 300 and 600 °C. Single phase Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂ ceramic bodies were obtained after sintering at 840 °C for 10 h. The sintered ceramics presented a luminescence band emission centred at around 530 nm when excited with X-rays and UV radiation.     

Synthesis of nanoparticles of the giant dielectric material,CaCu<Subscript>3</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> from a precursor route

A complex oxalate precursor, CaCu₃(TiO)₄(C₂O₄)₈·9H₂O, (CCT-OX), was synthesized and the precipitate that obtained was confirmed to be monophasic by the wet chemical analyses, X-ray diffraction, FTIR absorption and TG/DTA analyses. The thermal decomposition of this oxalate precursor led to the formation of phase-pure calcium copper titanate, CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂, (CCTO) at ≥680°C. The bright-field TEM micrographs revealed that the size of the as synthesized crystallites to be in the 30–80 nm range. The powders so obtained had excellent sinterability resulting in high density ceramics which exhibited giant dielectric constants upto 40000 (1 kHz) at 25°C, accompanied by low dielectric losses, <0.07.     

Microwave-assisted combustion synthesis of nanocrystalline La<Subscript>2</Subscript>Mo<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>9</Subscript> oxide-ion conductor and its characterization

Nanocrystalline La₂Mo₂O₉ oxide-ion conductor has been successfully synthesized by microwave-assisted combustion method within a very short time duration using aspartic acid as the newer fuel in a domestic microwave oven. The synthesized nanocrystalline powder showed good sinterability and reached more than 97% of theoretical density even at low temperature of 800 °C for 5 h. The sintered La₂Mo₂O₉ sample exhibited a conductivity of 0.159 S/cm in air at 750 °C.     

The microstructure and magnetic properties of Ni<Subscript>0.4</Subscript>Zn<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> films prepared by spin-coating method

Nickel zinc ferrite (Ni_0.4Zn_0.6Fe₂O₄) films on Si (100) substrate were synthesized using a spin-coating method. The crystallinity of the Ni_0.4Zn_0.6Fe₂O₄ films with the thickness of about 386 nm became better as the annealing temperature increased. The films have smooth surface, relatively good packing density and uniform thickness. The volatilization of Zn is serious at 900 °C. With the increase of annealing temperature, the saturation magnetization M _s increases in the temperature ranging from 400 to 700 °C, however, decreases above 700 °C, and the coercivity H _c increases in the temperature range 400–800 °C, decreases above 800 °C. After annealed at 700 °C for 2 h in air with the heating rate 2 °C/min, the film shows a maximum saturation magnetization M _s of 349 emu/cc and low coercivity H _c of 66 Oe. The M _s is higher than others which prepared by this method, however, the H _c is lower. The M _s of Ni_0.4Zn_0.6Fe₂O₄ films annealed at 700 °C increases with increasing annealing time and the H _c changes slightly.     

Influence of the Conditions for Preparing LaPO<Subscript>4</Subscript>-Based Materials with Inclusions of the LaP<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>9</Subscript> Phase on Their Thermal and Mechanical Properties

A material based on lanthanum orthophosphate LaPO₄ with inclusion of particles of lanthanum metaphosphate LaP³O₉ was synthesized. The influence of the process parameters of the synthesis on the structure and properties of the material was determined. Heat treatment of the coprecipitated lanthanum phosphates at 700°C leads to the formation of a nanopowder with the LaPO₄crystallite size of approximately 17 nm. Heat treatment of the nanopowder at temperatures from 1100 to 1500°C yields compact materials based on the LaPO₄–LaP₃O₉ system. The heat treatment of the nanopowder at 1100°C leads to a sharp decrease in the porosity of the material (to ~5%) at insignificant grain growth (200–400 nm); under these conditions, the thermal conductivity [λ(25°C) = 3.2 W m–1 K^–1], microhardness [Hv(25°C) = 4.6 ± 0.4 GPa], Young’s modulus [E(25°C) = 132 ± 9 GPa], and cracking resistance [K_1c(25°C) = 1.6 ± 0.1 MPa m^1/2] pass through maxima. The thermal expansion coefficient of the material depends on the heat treatment conditions only slightly and amounts to (8.2 ± 0.2) × 10^–6 K^–1.     

Influence of Cu(II) in the SrSnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> crystallization

Perovskite type oxides have been intensively studied due to their interesting optical, electrical, and catalytic properties. Among perovskites the alkaline earth stannates stand out, being strontium stannates (SrSnO₃) the most important material in ceramic technology among them due to their wide application as dielectric component. SrSnO₃ has also been applied as stable capacitor and humidity sensor. In the present work, SrSnO₃:Cu was synthesized by polymeric precursor method and heat treated at 700, 800, and 900 °C for 4 h. After that, the material was characterized by thermal analysis (TG/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy, and UV–vis spectroscopy. Results indicated three thermal decomposition steps and confirmed the presence of strontium carbonate and Cu²⁺ reduction to Cu⁺ at higher dopant amounts. XRD patterns indicated that the perovskite crystallization started at 700 °C with strontiatite (SrCO₃) and cassiterite (SnO₂) as intermediate phases, disappearing at higher temperatures. The amount of secondary phase was reduced with the increase in the Cu concentration.     

Influence of pH and microwave calcination on the morphology of KGd(WO<Subscript>4</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript> particles derived by Pechini Sol–Gel method

KGd(WO₄)₂ (KGW) particles were synthesized at 3.5, 5.5 and 7.5 pH values by Pechini polymeric complex sol–gel method using potassium nitrate, gadolinium nitrate, ammonium paratungstate, citric acid and ethylene glycol as starting materials. Deionized water was used as solvent. Polymeric precursor gel was formed with citric acid as complexing agent and ethylene glycol as binder. Synthesized gel was analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy. Prepared precursor gels were further annealed using resistive and microwave processes at 550 and 700 °C, respectively. The properties of heat treated samples were characterized by powder XRD, FT-IR, Raman and SEM analysis to understand the crystallinity, organic liberation, tungstate ribbon formation and surface morphology, respectively. The phase formation and different phases of intermediate oxides in pre-fired samples were investigated by powder XRD. Organic liberation in the samples in relation to temperature, and the carbon content in the pre-fired powder was analyzed using FT-IR spectrum. Raman spectrum reveals the formation of tungsten ribbons as well as the quality of the samples. The morphological changes at different synthesis conditions were observed with SEM micrographs.     

Thermal analysis applied in the crystallization study of SrSnO3

SrSnO₃ was synthesized by the polymeric precursor method with elimination of carbon in oxygen atmosphere at 250 °C for 24 h. The powder precursors were characterized by TG/DTA and high temperature X-ray diffraction (HTXRD). After calcination at 500, 600 and 700 °C for 2 h, samples were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and Rietveld refinement of the XRD patterns for samples calcined at 900, 1,000 and 1,100 °C. During thermal treatment of the powder precursor ester combustion was followed by carbonate decomposition and perovskite crystallization. No phase transition was observed as usually presented in literature for SrSnO₃ that had only a rearrangement of SnO₆ polyhedra.     

Hydrogen generation from H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O/H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript>/MnWO<Subscript>4</Subscript> system

Hydrogen gas as a clear energy resource was found to be largely bubbled from a H₂O/H₂O₂/MnWO₄ system. MnWO₄ powder was fabricated by an aqueous reaction method. The powder was characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS). The efficiency of the hydrogen generation increases with an increase in initial pH in the appropriate range, H₂O₂ proportion, MnWO₄ proportion, and intensity of light resource. Calcining at 400 °C for 1 h can make the MnWO₄ powder synthesized by an aqueous reaction more effective for H₂ generation and more stable in higher initial pH. The MnWO₄ catalyst shows a long-term stability for photocatalytic H₂ generation. A mechanism was suggested for the hydrogen generation from the H₂O/H₂O₂/MnWO₄ system together with XPS analysis.     

A facile synthesis of NaNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> powders by decomposition of ammonium niobium oxalate with sodium salt at low temperature

A facile synthesis of NaNbO₃ powders was performed by solid-state reaction at low temperature. Stoichiometric ammonium niobium oxalate and Na₂CO₃ were mixed in water and then calcined at different temperatures for various times after drying. A combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis was used to characterize the product and precursor compound. The XRD patterns show that single-phase NaNbO₃ powders with high crystallinity can be synthesized at 425 °C for 15 min. The particle size from XRD data is found to be about 40 nm for NaNbO₃ powders calcined at 500 °C for 3 h, which is in good agreement with SEM data. The SEM photograph shows that NaNbO₃ powders are cuboid-like and well crystallized when calcination at 800 °C for 3 h. The product compositions prepared using other sodium reactants, such as HCOONa and NaNO₃, are also discussed.     

Synthesis and electrochemical studies on LiV<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>8</Subscript>

The compound, lithium trivanadate (LiV₃O₈), was synthesized by the polymer precursor method, using the polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone. The electrochemical performance of LiV₃O₈ was compared with LiV₃O₈ synthesized by the solid state reaction method. The prepared compounds were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy techniques. The electrochemical performances were studied by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic cycling in the voltage range of 2.0 to 4.0 V at room temperature (25 °C). The compound prepared by the polymer precursor method was found to have a good cycling stability. A reversible capacity value of 203 mAh/g (2.18 mol of Li) and 170 mAh/g (1.83 mol of Li) was obtained at the end of the 70th cycle, at a current density of 30 and 120 mA/g, respectively.     

Ammonia gas sensor based on a spinel semiconductor,Co<Subscript>0.8</Subscript>Ni<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanomaterial

Thick film of nanocrystalline Co_0.8Ni_0.2Fe₂O₄ was obtained by sol–gel citrate method for gas sensing application. The synthesized powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy. The XRD pattern shows spinel type structure of Co_0.8Ni_0.2Fe₂O₄. XRD of Co_0.8Ni_0.2Fe₂O₄ revels formation of solid solution with average grain size of about 30 nm. From gas sensing properties it observed that nickel doping improves the sensor response and selectivity towards ammonia gas and very low response to LPG, CO, and H₂S at 280 °C. Furthermore, incorporation of Pd improves the sensor response and stability of ammonia gas and reduced the operating temperature upto 210 °C. The sensor is a promising candidate for practical detector of ammonia.     

Low temperature sintering study of nanosized Mn–Zn ferrites synthesized by sol–gel auto combustion process

The objective of present research was to sinter nanosized Mn–Zn ferrites (MZF) at low temperature (≤1,000 °C) by avoiding the formation of nonmagnetic phase (hematite). For this purpose, MZF powder was synthesized by sol–gel auto combustion process at 220 °C and further calcined at 450 °C. In calcined powder, single phase (spinel) was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Pellets were pressed, having 43% of the theoretical density and showing 47 emu gm⁻¹ saturation magnetization (M _s). Various combinations of heating rate, dwelling time and gaseous environment were employed to meet optimum sintering conditions at low temperature (≤1,000 °C). It was observed that sintering under air or N₂ alone had failed to prevent the formation of nonmagnetic (hematite) phase. However, hematite phase can be suppressed by retaining the green compacts at 1,000 °C for 180 min in air then further kept for 120 min in nitrogen. Under these conditions, spinel phase (comprising of nano crystallites), 90% of theoretical density and 102 emu gm⁻¹ of saturation magnetization has been achieved.     

Electric-field-induced antiferroelectric to ferroelectric and ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transition at various temperatures in (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O<Subscript>3</Subscript> antiferroelectric thick films

(Pb, La)(Zr, Ti)O₃ antiferroelectric thick films with (100)-preferred orientation were fabricated on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates via a sol–gel method. The electric-field-induced antiferroelectric (AFE) to ferroelectric (FE) phase transition characteristics were studied by C (capacitance)–E (electric field) measurements at different temperature. The films were in AFE state under 0 kV/cm below 122 °C, and the switching field values decreased, with increasing temperature. The films were in FE state between 122 and 135 °C, and when the temperature above 135 °C, the films were in PE state. The temperature-dependent dielectric parameters were deconvoluted using a Gaussian fit multi-peaks showed that two typical phase transitions were discovered. The first peak is the AFE-to-FE phase transition and the second peak is the FE-to-PE phase transition which has been verified by C–E tests.     

Sodium-doped lithium zirconate nano squares: synthesis,characterization and applications for CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> sequestration

Nano squares of sodium-doped lithium zirconate have been synthesized by a simple citrate based sol–gel method at room temperature in the presence of cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a surfactant. The structural and morphological properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) respectively. XRD analysis of sample calcined at 900 °C for 4 h shows the formation of monoclinic lithium zirconate phase. The TEM shows the interesting morphology of formation of nano squares of sodium doped lithium zirconate sample. The carbon dioxide sorption capacity was carried out by TGA analysis at different high temperatures. It is observed that the sample shows ~20 wt% carbon dioxide sorption at higher temperature (650 °C) within 20 min which are better than the known reports.