Spin-glass behavior in LaFe(x)Co(2-x)P2 solid solutions: interplay between magnetic properties and crystal and electronic structures

To explore the evolution of magnetic properties from ferromagnetic LaCo(2)P(2) to paramagnetic LaFe(2)P(2) (both of ThCr(2)Si(2) structure type) a series of mixed composition LaFe(x)Co(2-x)P(2) (x ≤ 0.5) has been comprehensively investigated by means of single-crystal and powder X-ray and neutron diffraction, magnetization and heat capacity measurements, M?ssbauer spectroscopy, and electronic band structure calculations. The Curie temperature decreases from 132 K in LaCo(2)P(2) to 91 K in LaFe(0.05)Co(1.95)P(2). The ferromagnetic ordering is suppressed at higher Fe content. LaFe(0.1)Co(1.9)P(2) and LaFe(0.2)Co(1.8)P(2) demonstrate spin-glass-like behavior, which was also confirmed by the absence of characteristic features of long-range magnetic ordering, namely, a λ-type anomaly in the heat capacity, a hyperfine splitting in the M?ssbauer spectrum, and magnetic reflections in the neutron diffraction pattern. Finally, both LaFe(0.3)Co(1.7)P(2) and LaFe(0.5)Co(1.5)P(2) exhibit paramagnetic behavior down to 1.8 K. The unit cell parameters of the mixed compounds do not follow the Vegard behavior as the increase in the Fe content results in the decrease of average M-M distances (M = Fe, Co). Quantum-chemical calculations and crystal orbital Hamiltonian population analysis reveal that upon aliovalent (nonisoelectronic) substitution of Fe for Co the antibonding character of M-M interactions is reduced while the Fermi level is shifted below the DOS peak in the 3d metal subband. As the result, at higher Fe content the Stoner criterion is not satisfied and no magnetic ordering is observed.     

Rare earth doped cobalt ferrite thin films deposited by PLD

CoFe₂O₄ thin films with preferential texture structure, small grain size, and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy can be obtained by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. In this work, we studied the influence of the Fe³⁺ ions substitution by three elements from lanthanide group (Dy, La, and Gd) on the structural properties of the thin films. The samples were deposited by Nd:YAG laser (λ=532 nm, 10 ns) ablation of CoFe_1.8RE_0.2O₄, (RE=Dy, La, Gd) targets at various substrate temperatures ranging from room temperature to 600 °C. The microstructure and chemical composition of the thin films were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, XRD, SEM-EDS, and ToF-SIMS. The XRD patterns and Raman spectra of the thin films indicated the formation of a single spinel structure. Thus, the desired substitution of the iron ions in the spinel lattice with the RE elements was achieved in the thin films, although in the bulk material, their presence determined the formation of a residual phase with a perovskite-type structure.     

On a class of lacunary series in BMOA

In this paper we consider a special class of lacunary series and we characterize their membership in the BMOA of the unit ball of Cn in terms of their Taylor coefficients. In addition, we show that a similar result holds for the class VMOA.     

The obstacle problem for Monge Ampere equation

We consider the following obstacle problem for Monge-Ampere equation and discuss the regularity of the free boundary . We prove that is if f is bounded away from 0 and , and it is C ^1,1 if .Received: 4 February 2003, Accepted: 3 March 2004, Published online: 16 July 2004     

Migration and localization of metal atoms on strained graphene

Reconstructed point defects in graphene are created by electron irradiation and annealing. By applying electron microscopy and density functional theory, it is shown that the strain field around these defects reaches far into the unperturbed hexagonal network and that metal atoms have a high affinity to the nonperfect and strained regions of graphene. Metal atoms are attracted by reconstructed defects and bonded with energies of about 2?eV. The increased reactivity of the distorted π-electron system in strained graphene allows us to attach metal atoms and to tailor the properties of graphene.     

Combinatorics of reaction-network posets

Reaction networks are viewed as derived from ordinary molecular structures related in reactant-product pairs so as to manifest a chemical super-structure. Such super-structures then are candidates for applications in a general combinatoric chemistry. Notable additional characterization of a reaction super-structure occurs when such reaction graphs are directed, as for example when there is progressive substitution (or addition) on a fixed molecular skeleton. Such a set of partially ordered entities is in mathematics termed a poset, which further manifests a number of special properties, as then might be utilized in different applications. Focus on the overall "super-structural" poset goes beyond ordinary molecular structure in attending to how a structure fits into a (reaction) network, and thereby brings an extra "dimension" to conventional stereochemical theory. The possibility that different molecular properties vary smoothly along chains of interconnections in such a super-structure is a natural assumption for a novel approach to molecular property and bioactivity correlations. Different manners to interpolate/extrapolate on a poset network yield quantitative super-structure/activity relationships (QSSARs), with some numerical fits, e.g., for properties of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) seemingly being quite reasonable. There seems to be promise for combinatoric posetic ideas.