Polyacrylonitrile electrolytes: 1. A novel high-conductivity composite polymer electrolyte based on PAN, LiClO4 and α-Al2O3

In this work, a series of novel solid-type α-Al₂O₃-containing polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based composite polymer electrolytes (CPE) with high conductivity and high mechanical property at room temperature has been prepared. The effect of the addition of α-Al₂O₃ on the properties of the PAN-based composite polymer electrolyte has been analyzed. The best conductivities obtained at room temperature is 5.7×10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ from the CPE with 7.5 wt.% α-Al₂O₃ and 0.6 LiClO₄ per PAN repeat unit. The stress–strain test result indicates that the membranes prepared possess high yield stress (73 kg cm⁻²) suitable for serving as separators in the solid-state lithium and lithium ion batteries and high yield elongation (225%) pliable to form good interface with electrodes. Also discussed are the effects of the addition of the ceramics on the interactions in the system and the possible conduction mechanism.     

Structural and optical properties of Ba(Ti1−x,Nix)O3 thin films prepared by sol–gel process

Ba(Ti_1−x,Ni_x)O₃ thin films were prepared on fused quartz substrates by a sol–gel process. X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements showed that the films are of pseudo-cubic perovskite structure with random orientation and the change of lattice constant caused by Ni-doping with different concentrations is very small. Optical transmittance spectra indicated that Ni-doping has an obvious effect on the energy band structure. The energy gap of Ba(Ti_1−x,Ni_x)O₃ decreased linearly with the increase of Ni concentration. It indicates that the adjusting of band gap can be achieved by controlling the Ni-doping content accurately in Ba(Ti_1−x,Ni_x)O₃ thin films. This has potential application in devices based on ferroelectric thin films.     

Al nuclear magnetic resonance study of synthetic and natural corundum (α-Al2O3) Some experimental aspects of quantitative Al nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The ²⁷Al nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) response of a series of natural and synthetic corundum (α-Al₂O₃) samples is studied quantitatively by short-pulse excitation and frequency-stepped adiabatic half-passage (FSAHP). Using on- and off-resonance nutation NMR, it was established that the quadrupole coupling parameters of visible Al is identical in all samples. Remarkably, the relaxation behavior for the aluminum is very different in the various samples and has a marked effect on the quantitative response. In natural corundum samples the ²⁷Al spin-lattice relaxation is very efficient as these samples contain paramagnetic impurities. As a result, however, the full signal could not be recovered, which is attributed to relaxation broadening of spins in the vicinity of these impurities. In synthetic samples, containing no impurities, the full signal could be recovered, although the relaxation behaviour appeared to depend strongly on the preparation method. We observed differences in the spin-lattice relaxation by a factor 20; the longest T₁ was observed in a crushed single crystal. This implies that α-Al₂O₃ can only be used as a standard in quantitative analyses if it has been characterized thoroughly. Furthermore, the effective relaxation behaviour for different types of excitation is studied. Finally, a method to measure the spin-lattice relaxation of half-integer quadrupole nuclei is introduced, using a frequency-stepped adiabatic passage (FSAP) to invert the spin system.     

Effect of Y2O3 addition on the conductivity and elastic modulus of (CeO2)1 − x(YO1.5)x

The conductivity and elastic modulus of (CeO₂)_1 − x(YO_1.5)_x for x values of 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.30, and 0.40 were investigated by experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. The calculated conductivity exhibited a maximum value at approximately 15 mol% Y₂O₃; this trend agreed with that of the experimental results. In order to clarify the reason for the occurrence of the maximum conductivity, the paths for the transfer of oxygen vacancies were counted. The numerical result revealed that as the content of Y₂O₃ dopant increases, the number of paths for the transfer of oxygen vacancies decreases, whereas the number of oxygen vacancies for conductivity increases. Thus, the trade-off between the increase in the number of vacancy sites and the decrease in the vacancy transfer was considered to be the reason for the maximum conductivity occurring at the Y₂O₃ dopant content of approximately 15 mol%. The calculated elastic modulus also exhibited a minimum value at approximately 20 mol% Y₂O₃, which also agreed with the experimental results. It was shown that the Y–O–Y bonding energy increased with the increasing content of Y₂O₃ dopant. Thus, the trade-off between the increase in the number of vacancy sites and that in the Y–O–Y bonding energy was considered to be the reason for the minimum elastic modulus occurring at the Y₂O₃ dopant content of approximately 20 mol%.     

Synthesis, characterization and melt processing of Y1−x(Yb0.9Nd0.1)xBa2Cu3Oz superconductors

Effects of a combined substitute of Yb and Nd on Y site on the superconducting properties of YBa₂Cu₃O_y have been studied. We synthesized Y_1−x(Yb_0.9Nd_0.1)_xBa₂Cu₃O_z compound with x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0. Here, the ratio of Yb–Nd was fixed to be 9:1 for obtaining 123 phase without secondary phases. The melt processing thermal profiles for Y_1−x(Yb_0.9Nd_0.1)_xBa₂Cu₃O_z with x = 0.2 and 0.4 and the addition of 40 mol% {Y_1−x(Yb_0.9Nd_0.1)_x}₂BaCuO₅ and 0.5 wt% Pt in air were determined on the basis of the thermal analysis results. All samples showed a low grain growth rate, particularly for high x values, which may be partially ascribed to un-optimized thermal schedules. Although almost all the samples exhibited low J_c values, the sample with x = 0.2 exhibited T_c of 88.8 K and a relatively high J_c value of 16,000 A/cm² at 77 K for H//c-axis.     

Low-temperature growth and properties of flower-shaped - Ni(OH)2 and NiO structures composed of thin nanosheets networks

Flower-shaped β- Ni(OH)₂ structures composed of thin nanosheet networks have been synthesized via the simple aqueous solution route by using nickel chloride and ammonium hydroxide at 65 C in 4 h. The general morphological observations revealed that the flowers are composed of thin nanosheets which were connected to each other in such a manner that they form network-like morphologies. Moreover, single-crystalline flower-shaped NiO structures composed of thin nanosheets were also obtained by thermal decomposition of flower-shaped β- Ni(OH)₂ structures. The shape of nanosheet networks in β- Ni(OH)₂ was sustained after thermal decomposition to NiO however, some broken nanosheets were also observed from the flower-shaped structures of NiO. The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).