Enhanced dielectric properties and energy storage density of interface controlled ferroelectric BCZT-epoxy nanocomposites

Polymer nanocomposites with ferroelectric fillers are promising materials for modern power electronics that include energy storage devices. Ferroelectric filler, Ba_0.85Ca_0.15Zr_0.1Ti_0.9O₃ (BCZT) nanopowder, was synthesized by sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed the phase purity and the particle size distribution was determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Extended aromatic ligand in the form of naphthyl phosphate (NPh) was chosen for surface passivation of BCZT nanoparticles. Surface functionalization was validated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and impedance spectroscopy using slurry technique. The dielectric constant of surface-passivated BCZT nanopowder was ~155, whereas pristine BCZT nanopowder dielectric constant could not be assessed due to high innate surface conductivity. Furthermore, BCZT–epoxy nanocomposite films were prepared and analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dielectric spectroscopy, dielectric breakdown strength (DBS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Owning to stronger polymer–particle interface, dielectric measurements of 5 vol.% NPh surface functionalized BCZT–epoxy nanocomposites indicated improved DBS and glass transition temperature (T_g), reduced dielectric loss, and enhanced energy storage density compared to untreated BCZT–epoxy composites and pure epoxy. The energy storage density of 30 vol.% NPh surface functionalized BCZT–epoxy nanocomposite of 20 μm film thickness was almost three times that of pure epoxy polymer of identical film thickness.     

A simple fast microwave-assisted synthesis of thermoelectric bismuth telluride nanoparticles from homogeneous reaction-mixture

A new simple chemical method for synthesis of nanocrystalline bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃) has been developed by microwave assisted reduction of homogeneous tartrate complexes of bismuth and tellurium metal ions with hydrazine. The reaction is performed at pH 10. The nano-crystallites have rhombohedral phase identified by XRD. The size distribution of nanoparticle is narrow and it ranges between 50 to 70 nm. FESEM shows that the fine powders are composed of small crystallites. The TEM micrographs show mostly deformed spherical particles and the lattice fringes are found to be 0.137 nm. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis shows the atomic composition ratio between bismuth and tellurium is 2:3. Thermoelectric properties of the materials are studied after sintering by spark plasma sintering method (SPS). The grain size of the material after sintering is in the nanometer range. The material shows enhanced Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity value at 300 K. The figure of merit is found to be 1.18 at 300 K.

Open image in new window

Graphical Abstract ?

     

Azimuthal pion fluctuation in ultra relativistic nuclear collisions and centrality dependence—a study with chaos based complex network analysis

Various works on multiplicity fluctuation have investigated the dynamics of particle production process and eventually have tried to reveal a signature of phase transition in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions. Analysis of fluctuations of spatial patterns has been conducted in terms of conventional approach. However, analysis with fractal dynamics on the scaling behavior of the void has not been explored yet. In this work we have attempted to analyze pion fluctuation in terms of the scaling behavior of the void probability distribution in azimuthal space in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions in the light of complex networks. A radically different and rigorous method viz. Visibility Graph was applied on the data of ³²S-Ag/Br interaction at an incident energy of 200 GeV per nucleon. The analysis reveals strong scaling behavior of void probability distributions in azimuthal space and a strong centrality dependence.     

Electronic states and spectroscopic properties of GeSi

Electronic structure and spectroscopy of the GeSi molecule have been investigated by performing ab initio based multireference configuration interaction calculations. Potential energy curves of 29 Λ-S states of singlet, triplet, and quintet spin multiplicities have been constructed. Spectroscopic constants of 24 bound states within 36 000 cm⁻¹ are reported and compared with the available data. The calculated dissociation energy of GeSi in the ground state is 2.80 eV. Effects of the spin-orbit coupling on the spectroscopic properties of the molecule have been found to be small. However, the computed zero-field-splitting of the ground state compares well with the earlier prediction. Transitions such as 2³Σ⁻-X³Σ⁻, 3³Σ⁻-X³Σ⁻, 4³Π-A³Π, 5³Π-A³Π etc. are relatively strong. Radiative lifetimes for several dipole allowed and spin-forbidden transitions are calculated. The estimated lifetimes of the 2³Σ⁻, 3³Σ⁻, and 5³Π states are about 109, 33, and 62 ns, respectively. Dipole moments of most of the low-lying states of GeSi are also reported.     

Selective separation of strontium by multitopic ion‐pair receptor: A DFT exploration

Selective extraction of a radionuclide in the presence of other interfering ions is one of the vital steps in the back‐end‐of‐the‐nuclear fuel cycle. The presence of interfering cations (such as Ca²⁺) in the radioactive waste and involvement of multiple separation steps are known to be bottlenecks in the efficient Sr²⁺ extraction. Here, using free energy corrected density functional theory, we have proposed a two‐step Sr²⁺ extraction methodology in nitrate media in the presence of interfering Ca²⁺ ion using a multitopic ion‐pair receptor, which was earlier reported to be strongly selective for K⁺ (Kim et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134 , 1782–1792). To depict the correct free energy trend in the proposed extraction processes, the most probable binding mode of the metal (Sr²⁺, Ca²⁺, and K⁺) nitrates in the host are identified. In excellent agreement with the previously reported experiment, Crown/Pyrrole (C/P) binding is noted to be the most preferable mode for KNO₃, where K⁺ and occupied the Crown (C) and Pyrrole (P) site, respectively. However, the divalent metal ions (Ca²⁺ and Sr²⁺) are noted to marginally prefer Crown/Crown‐Pyrrole (C/CP) mode, in which metal reside at the C site while two nitrates occupy the P site and also simultaneously bind at the outer sphere of C site to coordinate with the metal via monodentate motif. Based on the free energy of extraction, we predict that the selective separation of chemically alike Ca²⁺/Sr²⁺ pair is indeed achievable using this receptor. We propose that once [Sr(NO₃)₂] is extracted in organic media, the receptor's high affinity toward K⁺ in nitrate media can be used to back strip Sr²⁺ to the aqueous phase.     

An Aluminum Hydride That Functions like a Transition‐Metal Catalyst

The reaction of [LAlH₂] (L=HC(CMeNAr)₂, Ar=2,6‐iPr₂C₆H₃) with MeOTf (Tf=SO₂CF₃) resulted in the formation of [LAlH(OTf)] ( 1 ) in high yield. The triflate substituent in 1 increases the positive charge at the aluminum center, which implies that 1 has a strong Lewis acidic character. The excellent catalytic activity of 1 for the hydroboration of organic compounds with carbonyl groups was investigated. Furthermore, it was shown that 1 effectively initiates the addition reaction of trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) to both aldehydes and ketones. Quantum mechanical calculations were carried out to explore the reaction mechanism.     

Synthesis of libraries of quinoxalines through eco-friendly tandem oxidation-condensation or condensation reactions

A facile and expeditious solid-phase synthesis of libraries of quinoxalines promoted on KF-alumina surface via tandem oxidation-condensation or condensation reactions is reported. The reaction protocol is operationally simple and mild. Moreover, solvent-free reaction condition makes the reaction procedure eco-friendly and economically viable.     

Solving multi-objective parallel machine scheduling problem by a modified NSGA-II

In this paper, we modify a Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm, known as Nondominated sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) for a parallel machine scheduling problem with three objectives. The objectives are – (1) minimization of total cost due tardiness, (2) minimization of the deterioration cost and (3) minimization of makespan. The formulated problem has been solved by three Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms which are: (1) the original NSGA-II (Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm–II), (2) SPEA2 (Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm-2) and (3) a modified version of NSGA-II as proposed in this paper. A new mutation algorithm has also been proposed depending on the type of problem and embedded in the modified NSGA-II. The results of the three algorithms have been compared and conclusions have been drawn. The modified NSGA-II is observed to perform better than the original NSGA-II. Besides, the proposed mutation algorithm also works effectively, as evident from the experimental results.