Percolation conductivity of single-crystal manganite Pr1 − x Sr x MnO3 (x = 0.22; 0.24) in the phase-separation state

This paper presents an experimental study of the temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity, thermopower, and magnetoresistance of single-crystal manganite Pr_{1 ? x} Sr _x MnO₃ (x = 0.22, 0.24). The results obtained have been analyzed in terms of the theory of hopping electrical conductivity of manganites in the phase-separation state and the main postulates of percolation theory. In the 2–400-K interval, hopping conductivity with temperature-dependent activation energy has been observed. Near the Curie temperature, the monotonic exponential growth of electrical resistivity with decreasing temperature becomes distorted by formation of finite metallic clusters. For T ≤ 36 K, the conductivity of Pr_0.8Sr_0.22MnO₃ follows the Mott law.     

Hopping conduction in EuS polycrystals

The dependences of the electrical conductivity of europium monosulfide (EuS) polycrystals on temperature in the range 150–400 K and pressures to 620 MPa have been studied. It is shown that the electrotransfer is mainly performed due to a hopping mechanism.     

Effect of melt viscosity and surface tension of polymers on the percolation threshold of conductive-particle-filled polymeric composites

The electrical conductivities of carbon-black-filled low-density polyethylene (LDPE), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(vinyl chloride)-vinyl acetate (PVC/ VAc) copolymer were measured as functions of carbon content and melt viscosity of the matrix at the temperatures at which the composites were prepared. Sharp breaks in the relationship between the carbon filler content and the conductivity of composites were observed in all specimens at some content of the carbon filler. The conductivity jumps as much as 10 orders of magnitude at the break point. This phenomenon has been known as the “percolation threshold”. The critical carbon content corresponding to the break point     

Thermopower of composites containing metallic cobalt nanoparticles embedded in the Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript> dielectric matrix

The concentration and temperature dependences of the thermopower of composites containing Co nanoparticles embedded in the Al₂O _n dielectric matrix are investigated. Below the percolation threshold, i.e., in the tunneling conduction region, the absolute values of the thermopower of the composites under investigation are less than those above the percolation threshold. It is revealed that, in the tunneling conduction region, the slope of the temperature dependences of the thermopower changes at a temperature of ～205 K. This can indicate that the thermopower is sensitive to a change in the mechanism of conduction from the Mott law ln(σ) ∝ (1/T)^1/4 to a power relation that corresponds to the model of inelastic resonant tunneling through a chain of localized states in the dielectric matrix. The introduction of oxygen in the course of sputtering brings about a decrease in the absolute values of the thermopower; however, the character of variation in the concentration and temperature dependences of the thermopower remains unchanged.     

Temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity of vapor grown carbon nanofiber/epoxy composites with different filler dispersion levels

The influence of the dispersion of vapor grown carbon nanofibers (VGCNF) on the electrical properties of VGCNF/epoxy composites has been studied. A homogeneous dispersion of the VGCNF does not imply better electrical properties. The presence of well distributed clusters appears to be a key factor for increasing composite conductivity. It is also shown that the main conduction mechanism has an ionic nature for concentrations below the percolation threshold, while above the percolation threshold it is dominated by hopping between the fillers. Finally, using the granular system theory it is possible to explain the origin of conduction at low temperatures.     

Electrical properties of amorphous (Co45Fe45Zr10)x(Al2O3)1?x nanocomposites

The electrical properties of (Co₄₅Fe₄₅Zr₁₀)_x(Al₂O₃)_1−x granular nanocomposites have been studied. The concentration dependences of electrical resistivity are S-shaped (in accordance with the percolation theory of conduction) with a threshold at a metallic component concentration of ∼41 at. %. An analysis of the temperature behavior carried out in the range 300–973 K revealed that structural relaxation and crystallization of the amorphous phase are accompanied by a decrease in the electrical resistivity of the composites above the percolation threshold and by its increase below the percolation threshold. For metallic phase concentrations x<41 at. %, variable range hopping conduction over localized states near the Fermi level was found to be dominant at low temperatures (77–180 K). A further increase in temperature brings about a crossover of the conduction mechanism from Mott’s law ln(σ) ∝ (1/T)^1/4 to ln(σ) ∝ (1/T)^1/2. A model of inelastic resonance tunneling over a chain of localized states of the dielectric matrix was used to find the average number of localized states involved in the charge transport between metallic grains. __________ Translated from Fizika Tverdogo Tela, Vol. 46, No. 11, 2004, pp. 2076–2082. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2004 by Kalinin, Remizov, Sitnikov.     

纳米硅薄膜的低温电输运机制

在很宽的温度范围(500—20K)研究了本征和不同掺磷浓度的纳米硅薄膜的电输运现象.发现 原先的异质结量子点隧穿(HQD)模型能很好地解释薄膜在高温下(500—200K)的电导曲线,但 明显偏离低温下的实验值.低温电导(100—20K)具有单一的激活能W,并与k_BT值 大小相当(W～1—3k_BT),呈现出Hopping电导的特征.对HQD模型做了修正,认为 纳米硅同时存在两种输运机制：热激发辅助的电子隧穿和费米能级附近定域态之间的Hoppin g电导.高温时(T 关键词： 纳米硅薄膜 低温电导 电输运     

Alternating current electrical conductivity of high-density polyethylene-carbon nanofiber composites

High-density polyethylene (HDPE)-carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites with good dispersion of fillers in the polymer matrix were melt-compounded in a Haake mixer. The dependences of the alternating current conductivity of such nanocomposites on the filler content, temperature, and DC bias were investigated. The results showed that the electrical conducting behavior of HDPE-CNF nanocomposites can be well characterized by the direct current conductivity ( s_DC \sigma_{{{\rm DC}}}^{} , characteristic frequency (f_c) and critical exponent (s . It was found that s_DC \sigma_{{{\rm DC}}}^{} of percolating HDPE-CNF nanocomposites increases with increasing filler concentration and follows the scaling law of percolation theory. Increasing temperature caused a reduction of s_DC \sigma_{{{\rm DC}}}^{} , leading to the occurrence of positive-temperature-coefficient effect near the melting temperature of HDPE matrix. Application of DC bias led to an increase of s_DC \sigma_{{{\rm DC}}}^{} due to the creation of additional conducting paths within the polymer composites. The characteristic frequency generally followed the same tendency as s_DC \sigma_{{{\rm DC}}}^{} . The s values of percolating composites were slightly higher than those predicted by the percolation theory, indicating the presence of tunneling or hopping conduction in these composites.     

Conductivity anisotropy and localization of charge carriers in CuFeTe2 single crystals with a layered structure

The temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity of CuFeTe₂ semiconductor single crystals with a layered structure are investigated parallel and perpendicular to the plane of the crystal layers in the temperature range 5–300 K. It is demonstrated that, in both cases, the temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity in the temperature range studied are characterized by two portions associated with different mechanisms of electrical conduction. In the high-temperature range, the electrical conduction is predominantly provided by thermally excited impurity charge carriers in the allowed energy band. In the low-temperature range, the electrical conduction occurs through charge carrier hopping between localized states lying in a narrow energy band near the Fermi level. The activation energy for impurity charge carriers is determined. The density of localized states near the Fermi level, the spread in energies of these states, and the average carrier-hopping distances are estimated for different temperatures     

Transport effects in single-crystal La0.82Ca0.18MnO3

This paper reports experimental data on the temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity, magnetoresistance, thermopower, magnetothermopower, and normal and spontaneous Hall coefficients of the La_0.82Ca_0.18MnO₃ single crystal with a Curie temperature of 180 K. It is shown that, at low temperatures, electrons are the majority carriers. For T < 110 K, the electrical resistivity depends substantially on the position of the magnetization vector with respect to the crystallographic axes, which implies a significant role played by the spin-orbit interaction. For T > 137 K, holes are dominant. In the vicinity of the Curie temperature, electrical conduction is effected primarily by holes activated to the mobility edge. The local activation energy of the resistivity exhibits a critical behavior. The temperature dependence of the local activation energy is determined by spin correlation functions. For T > 240 K, the activation energy does not depend on temperature.     

Electrophysical properties of carbon nanocomposites based on nanodiamonds irradiated with fast neutrons

The electrophysical properties of nanoporous carbon composites consisting of a nanometer-sized pyrolytic carbon matrix and nanodiamonds have been analyzed. It has been shown that the power-law dependence of the electrical resistivity on the thickness of the pyrolytic carbon layer D on a log-log scale has an inflection for D = 1 Å. It has been found that the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of the nanocomposite is described by an exponential function with an exponent of 1/4 for both unirradiated samples and samples irradiated with fast neutrons. This is characteristic of variable-range hopping conductivity in the case of strong localization in systems with semiconductor conductivity in the presence of a local disorder. With an increase in the neutron fluence, the electrical resistivity of the studied material changes very significantly (by several hundred percent) and nonmonotonically. This result is associated with the transformation of the structure of the graphite-like matrix and with possible graphite-diamond phase transitions.     

Thermal transport in the intermetallic compound CeNi<Subscript>4</Subscript>Cr

Electrical resistivity, thermopower (TEP), thermal conductivity and the thermoelectric figure of merit are studied for the CeNi₄Cr compound, which has been previously suggested to be a fluctuating valence system with a tendency to the increase of the effective mass at low temperatures. The analysis of the thermoelectric properties confirms such a possibility and provides characteristic parameters like the Debye temperature, Fermi energy and the position of the f band. Both the thermopower and the magnetic part of the electrical resistivity could be analyzed within a similar model assuming a narrow f-band of the Lorentzian form near the Fermi energy. The thermal conductivity shows that the phonon contribution exceeds the electronic one below 220 K.     

Electrical and thermoelectric properties of nanoporous carbon

This paper reports on a study of the temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity, Hall coefficient, and thermopower of nanoporous carbon prepared from polycrystalline carbides (α-SiC, TiC, Mo₂C) and 6H-SiC single crystals in the temperature range 1.5–300 K. The structural units responsible for the character of charge transport in these materials are carbon nanoclusters measuring ～10–30 Å. The conductivity in all the samples studied was found to be p type with a high carrier concentration (n_h ～ 10²⁰ cm^?3). The behavior of the transport coefficients at low temperatures is discussed.     

Thermopower in the region of hopping conduction in TlNiS<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Samples of the composition TlNiS₂ in the hexagonal system with the unit cell parameters a=12.28 Å, c=19.32 Å, and ρ=6.90 g/cm³ are synthesized. The results of the investigation into the electrical and thermoelectrical properties of TlNiS₂ samples in the temperature range 80–300 K indicate that TlNiS₂ is a p-type semiconductor. It is found that, at temperatures ranging from 110 to 240 K, TlNiS₂ samples in a dc electric field possess variable-range-hopping conduction at the states localized in the vicinity of the Fermi level. The density of localized states near the Fermi level is determined to be N_F=9×10²⁰ eV^?1 cm^?3, and the scatter of the states is estimated as J≈2×10^?2 eV. In the temperature range 80–110 K, TlNiS₂ exhibits activationless hopping conduction. At low temperatures (80–240 K), the thermopower of TlNiS₂ is adequately described by the relationship α(T)=A+BT, which is characteristic of the hopping mechanism of charge transfer. In the case when the temperature increases to the temperature of the onset of intrinsic conduction with the activation energy ΔE=1.0 eV, there arise majority intrinsic charge carriers of both signs. This leads to an increase in the electrical conductivity σ and, at the same time, to a drastic decrease in the thermopower α; in this case, the thermopower is virtually independent of the temperature.     

Features of superconducting transition in nanocomposite consisting of “insulating matrix (porous alkali-borosilicate glass)” – “granular metallic filler (indium)”

Patterns in temperature and magnetic field behavior of the electrical resistance of nanocomposite consisting of “insulating matrix (7 nm-pore alkali-borosilicate glass)” – “granular metallic filler (indium)” (PG7+In) has been found and analyzed in the vicinity of superconducting transition. Insulating behavior in the electrical resistivity has been observed in a normal state. External magnetic field shifts the transition to lower temperatures and the same time gradually strengths the insulating behavior above the superconducting transition. Hopping conductivity mechanism developed for the granular conductor systems can be responsible for the insulating behavior in normal-state electrical resistance. Electron hopping in the granular conductor system is realized as tunneling of electrons through intergranular contacts between the metallic granules. The superconducting transition has been found to be rather broad. Broadening in the superconducting transition can be attributed to fluctuation conductivity. Above the superconducting transition, the Aslamazov-Larkin contribution to the conductivity characteristic for three-dimensional systems has been found to be main correction to the conductivity.     

The effect of Fe substitution on the electrical and thermal conductivity and thermopower of Ca3(FexCo1−x)4O9 synthesised by a sol–gel process

The effect of Fe substitution for Co on direct current (DC) electrical and thermal conductivity and thermopower of Ca₃(Co_1−xFe_x)₄O₉ (x = 0, 0.05, 0.08), prepared by a sol–gel process, was investigated in the temperature range from 380 down to 5K. The results indicate that the substitution of Fe for Co results in an increase in thermopower and DC electrical resistivity and substantial (14.9–20.4% at 300K) decrease in lattice thermal conductivity. Experiments also indicated that the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity ρ for heavily substituted compounds Ca₃(Co_1−xFe_x)₄O₉ (x = 0.08) obeyed the relation lnρ ∝ T^−1/3 at low temperatures, T < ~55K, in agreement with Mott’s two-dimensional (2D) variable range hopping model. The enhancement of thermopower and electrical resistivity was mainly ascribed to a decrease in hole carrier concentration caused by Fe substitution, while the decrease of thermal conductivity can be explained as phonon scattering caused by the impurity. The thermoelectric performance of Ca₃Co₄O₉ was not improved in the temperature range investigated by Fe substitution largely due to great increase in electrical resistivity after Fe substitution.     

Thermopower of doped semiconducting hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

The thermopower S(T) and electrical conductivity have been measured from 25 to 250C for semiconducting a-C:H films doped with boron or phosphorus. S has the expected sign (positive for B-doping and negative for P-doping), is low for all films (10–50 μ V/K), and increases nearly linearly with T. This behavior, along with that observed for the electrical conductivity, is consistent with conduction via hopping at or near the Fermi level which has been shifted via doping from near mid-gap into broad bands of tail states at the appropriate band edges.     

A study on the DC-electrical and thermal conductivities of epoxy/ZnO composites doped with carbon black

Thermo-electrical characterizations of hybrid polymer composites, made of epoxy matrix filled with various zinc oxide (ZnO) concentrations (0, 4.9, 9.9, 14.9, and 19.9 wt%), and reinforced with conductive carbon black (CB) nanoparticles (0.1 wt%), have been investigated as a function of ZnO concentration and temperature. Both the measured DC-electrical and thermal conductivities showed ZnO concentration and temperature dependencies. Increasing the temperature and filler concentrations were reflected in a negative temperature coefficient of resistivity and enhancement of the electrical conductivity as well. The observed increase in the DC conductivity and decrease in the determined activation energy were explained based on the concept of existing paths and connections between the ZnO particles and the conductive CB nanoparticles. Alteration of ZnO concentration with a fixed content of CB nanoparticles and/or temperature was found to be crucial in the thermal conductivity behavior. The addition of CB nanoparticles to the epoxy/ZnO matrix was found to enhance the electrical conduction resulting from the electronic and impurity contributions. Also, the thermal conductivity enhancement was mostly attributed to the heat transferred by phonons and electrons hopping to higher energy levels throughout the thermal processes. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy were used to observe the morphology and elements’ distribution in the composites. The observed thermal conductivity behavior was found to correlate well with that of the DC-electrical conductivity as a function of the ZnO content. The overall enhancements in both the measured DC- and thermal conductivities of the prepared hybrid composites are mainly produced through mutual interactions between the filling conductive particles and also from electrons tunneling in the composite's bulk as well.     

Influence of filler alignment in the mechanical and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes/epoxy nanocomposites

In this work, we report the mechanical and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes/epoxy composites prepared with aligned and randomly oriented nanotubes as filler. The samples are disks of 30 mm in diameter and 3 mm in thickness. To obtain the carbon nanotubes alignment, an external electric field (250 VAC; 50 Hz) was applied through the thickness of the sample during all the cure process. The AC electrical current was measured, during the cure, as a strategy to determine the optimum time in which the alignment reaches the maximum value. DC conductivity measured after the cure shows a percolation threshold in the filler content one order of magnitude smaller for composites with aligned nanotubes than for composites with randomly oriented filler (from 0.06 to 0.5 wt%). In the percolation threshold, the achieved conductivity was 1.4×10⁻⁵ Sm⁻¹. In both cases, aligned and randomly distributed carbon nanotube composites, the wear resistance increases with the addition of the filler while the Rockwell hardness decreases independently of the nanotubes alignment.     

La2CuO4掺锌样品的低温电阻率与热导率研究

对La2CuO4掺锌样品在不同降温速率下(330K保温30min后,分别以6Kh和02Ks的速率冷却至42K)电阻率(42—330K)和热导率(80—300K)随温度的变化关系进行了研究.实验结果表明,在不同降温速率下,热导率和电阻率都受到很大影响.快速降温过程使得130K以上的热导率减小,而热导率最小值出现在130K,且与降温速率无关.而低温下的热导率不受降温速率变化的影响.样品在高温区(T高于125K)电阻率随降温速率的增大而增大,低温区电阻率的非线性行为可用变程跳跃行为来描述.所有样品的热导率和电阻率在反铁磁相变温度都没有出现反常,这与能带理论框架下预期的结果和Anderson电荷自旋分离理论发生了矛盾,对此进行了讨论,并用极化子理论进行了自洽解释. 关键词： La2CuO4 热导率 电阻率