Electrospinning of complex oxide nanofibers

Electrospinning is a versatile process for drawing fibers of diverse materials including polymers, ceramics, and composites. We demonstrate here its application in the synthesis of complex ceramic oxide materials. The phase formation and morphology of BaTiO₃ nanofibers synthesized via electrospinning is investigated as a function of heat treatment conditions. Fully crystallized BaTiO₃ nanofibers with the perovskite structure are obtained after annealing at 750 °C and show an average grain size of about 30 nm. Tetragonal crystal structure of the fibers is indicated by XRD peak splitting (calculated c/a ratio=1.007), and confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, the advancement in heat treatment of the electrospun fibers yields single crystalline BaTiO₃ nanofibers with 50 nm in diameter and lengths up to 1 μm.     

Stability of Motion of a Nonholonomic System

Perturbation differential equations of motion of a general nonholonomic system subjected to the ideal nonholonomic constraints of Chetaev＇s type are established, and the equation of variation of energy is deduced by using the perturbation equations of the system. A criterion of the stability is obtained and an example is given to illustrate the application of the result.     

Study on the recovery of NBTI of ultra-deep sub-micro MOSFETs

Taking the actual operating condition of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuit into account, conventional direct current (DC) stress study on negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) neglects the detrapping of oxide positive charges and the recovery of interface states under the `low' state of p-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) inverter operation. In this paper we have studied the degradation and recovery of NBTI under alternating stress, and presented a possible recovery mechanism. The three stages of recovery mechanism under positive bias are fast recovery, slow recovery and recovery saturation.     

Adsorption and desorption characteristics of barium oxide at high temperature

Oxygen-selective adsorbents were prepared by two different methods, hydrothermal and sol-gel methods. The adsorption and desorption characteristics of these adsorbents were compared in terms of stability and sorption capacity. The sorbents prepared by the sol-gel method showed better cyclic stability and higher adsorption capacity than that prepared by the hydrothermal method because the sol-gel method entrapped well the barium peroxide.Relaxation time for adsorption ranged from 4 to 9 min depending on the preparation methods and that for desorption was 6 min regardless of the preparation methods. Breakthrough experiment with the sorbent prepared by the sol-gel method was performed. The adsorption breakthrough curves at 600 °C showed two plateau regions. One was at about 3.5%, and the other was 20%. The first plateau region is related to the sharp transition point of the oxygen adsorption isotherm. Though the relaxation time for adsorption was 6 min, the time required from the end of the first plateau to the beginning of the second plateau was just 2 min. During the desorption, a plateau region at 3.5% of oxygen concentration was observed regardless of the desorption flow rate.     

Surface and catalytic properties of doped tin oxide nanoparticles

Mixed oxides composed of Zn-Sn, Ti-Sn and V-Sn were prepared by a co-precipitation method and evaluated as catalysts for methanol oxidation in an ambient fixed-bed reactor. Surface analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed an electronic interaction between dopant and Sn atoms in the oxide structure and showed the formation of surface states associated with the dopants. Oxygen vacancies were present on the Zn-doped oxide, and the oxidation of methanol to carbon oxides was favored. The Ti-doped oxide exhibited a favorable selectivity to dimethyl ether, related to the oxygen anions near Ti centers. Vanadium dopants not only dramatically increased the catalytic activity but also promoted the partial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. Results demonstrate that the bridging dopant-O-Sn bond acts as active sites and influences product distribution.     

AlNxOy thin films deposited by DC reactive magnetron sputtering

AlN_xO_y thin films were produced by DC reactive magnetron sputtering, using an atmosphere of argon and a reactive gas mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, for a wide range of partial pressures of reactive gas. During the deposition, the discharge current was kept constant and the discharge parameters were monitored. The deposition rate, chemical composition, morphology, structure and electrical resistivity of the coatings are strongly correlated with discharge parameters. Varying the reactive gas mixture partial pressure, the film properties change gradually from metallic-like films, for low reactive gas partial pressures, to stoichiometric amorphous Al₂O₃ insulator films, at high pressures. For intermediate reactive gas pressures, sub-stoichiometric AlN_xO_y films were obtained, with the electrical resistivity of the films increasing with the non-metallic/metallic ratio.     

Identifying a perovskite phase in rare-earth nickelates using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

We demonstrate a practical way to identify the presence of a perovskite phase in rare-earth nickelates (RNiO₃) using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). By varying the calcination temperature, we prepared RNiO₃ powders with different degrees of chemical reaction. We found that perovskite RNiO₃ becomes predominant after high-temperature calcination (≥1,000 °C) in X-ray diffraction and XPS (at Ni 3p and O 1s edges) measurements. While the observed spectra at the Ni 3p edge are similar for all powders, a sizable difference was observed in the O 1s-edge spectra depending on the calcination temperature. With the formation of a perovskite phase with a trivalent Ni³⁺ state, an XPS peak corresponding to oxygen ions in the perovskite lattice distinctly emerges. Our work shows that the Ni³⁺ state cannot be determined by analyzing the Ni 3p edge solely and rather, the O 1s edge should be simultaneously monitored for explicit identification.