Temperature‐dependent Raman scattering studies of polycrystalline BiFeO3 bulk ceramics

This work reports the temperature‐dependent Raman scattering study of mutiferroic BiFeO₃ (BFO) bulk ceramics in a wide temperature range of 93–843 K. The polycrystalline samples are sintered at four different temperatures and characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), vibrating sample magnetometry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and optical microscopy. The microstructure shows remarkable changes in terms of grain size and domain pattern as the sintering temperature increases. The DSC curves show prominent exothermic peaks at 645 K, the antiferromagnetic–paramagnetic phase transition temperature. The Raman spectra of all the four specimens reveal strong anomalies in the vicinity of the Neel temperature, which can be attributed to the multiferroic nature of BFO. The Raman scattering studies also reveal considerable spectral changes at a temperature range of 140–200 K in all the specimens, which can be inferred to a further spin–reorientation transition exhibited in BFO at a cryogenic temperature. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Introducing ZrFe2O5 nanopowders for hyperthermia applications

The present paper was written with the aim of synthesizing zirconium ferrite nanopowders and evaluating its magnetic hyperthermia properties. A mechanical milling process along with a sintering process were conduct on the raw powders to prepare zirconium ferrite nanopowders. X-ray diffraction results confirmed a pure product and the VSM tools, showed a single domain state for the powders with a size less than 35?nm. Analysis of the samples under AC magnetic field demonstrated that mono-disperse nanoparticles met a higher value of the specific absorption rate (SAR) in comparison with multi-disperse one. Besides, according to the linear response theory the ratio of the anisotropy energy to the thermal one, as a dimensionless anisotropy parameter (σ), has a key role in the SAR values of zirconium ferrite nanopowders.     

LaAl1-xFexO3/Al2O3/FeCrAl催化剂的制备及其对甲烷燃烧的催化性能

 以FeCrAl合金薄片为载体,以LaAl1-xFexO3为活性组分,以Al2O3为过渡层,制备了LaAl1-xFexO3/Al2O3/FeCrAl金属基整体式催化剂,并用XRD和SEM等方法对催化剂的物相和形貌进行了表征,对催化剂上甲烷催化燃烧活性进行了评价. 结果表明,催化剂物相中有LaAl1-xFexO3型钙钛矿及 α-Al2O3 和 γ-Al2O3; 催化剂的颗粒小于2 μm, 并且颗粒的尺寸及形貌与LaAl1-xFexO3中的Fe/Al摩尔比有关; 催化剂样品对甲烷催化燃烧活性的大小顺序为LaAl0.3Fe0.7O3/Al2O3/FeCrAl＞LaFeO3/Al2O3/FeCrAl＞LaAl0.5Fe0.5O3/Al2O3/FeCrAl＞LaAl0.7Fe0.3O3/Al2O3/FeCrAl＞LaAlO3/Al2O3/FeCrAl.     

Effects of Sm substitution on ferroelectric domains and conductivity in bismuth ferrite ceramics

The large piezoelectric coefficient and multiferroicity of bismuth ferrite (BFO) make it an attractive candidate for lead-free ferroelectric devices. However, large leakage currents have limited broader applications. Rare-earth substitutions in BFO have been shown to improve ferroelectric and magnetic properties. In this work, we employed piezoresponse and conductive atomic force microscopy to study ferroelectric domains in Bi_1-xSm_xFeO₃ (x = 0–0.150) grown by the co-precipitation method. The combined piezoresponse and conductivity measurements can directly visualize the local ferroelectric domains under different sample bias. At Sm mol% > 7.5, Sm-substitution effectively lowers defect-generated conductivity. At Sm mol% < 7.5, conductivity increases due to conductive domain walls inside sample grains. The surfaces of these conductive samples exhibit a p-type rectifying behavior while the bulk is n-type. Our work details how the local piezoelectric properties and transport behaviors of BFO ceramics change as a function of Sm-substitution.     

A new lanthanum coordination polymer built from a semi‐rigid tripodal carboxylic acid ligand: synthesis,crystal structure and properties

By employing the semi‐rigid multidentate carboxylic acid ligand 4,4′,4′′‐{[(2,4,6‐trimethylbenzene‐1,3,5‐triyl)tris(methylene)]tris(oxy)}tribenzoic acid (denoted H₃L), a new lanthanum coordination polymer, namely poly[[bis(dimethylformamide)(μ₆‐4,4′,4′′‐{[(2,4,6‐trimethylbenzene‐1,3,5‐triyl)tris(methylene)]tris(oxy)}tribenzoato)lanthanum(III)] dimethylformamide tetrasolvate 0.25‐hydrate], {[La(C₃₃H₂₇O₉)(C₃H₇NO)₂]·4C₃H₇NO·0.25H₂O}_n or {[La(L)(DMF)₂]·4(DMF)·0.25(H₂O)}_n (DMF is dimethylformamide) ( 1 ), was prepared and characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, IR spectroscopy and photoluminescence studies. The asymmetric unit contains one La^III cation, one anionic L^3? ligand, two coordinated DMF molecules, four free DMF molecules and one‐quarter of a free water molecule. Compound 1 possesses (3,6)‐connected two‐dimensional kgd topology sheets consisting of secondary building units of La₂ clusters and L^3? ligands, which further stack into three‐dimensional supramolecular networks through π–π interactions. Compound 1 exhibits a photoluminescence emission at room temperature, with a peak at 410 nm, owing to a ligand‐centred excited state.     

Reorientational dynamics of p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene and of its La(III) complex in water

The reorientational dynamics of p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene and of its La(III) complex in deuterated water were studied by 1H NMR longitudinal relaxation rates. It is shown that the relaxation is purely dipolar in the non-extreme narrowing regime. The distance between the geminal protons could be determined from the NMR data, giving good agreement with the values generally used in correlation time calculations. The correlation times show an Arrhenius behaviour in good agreement with previously reported data from 13C measurements for a similar uncomplexed calixarene. The Arrhenius energies of activation are identical for the uncomplexed and the complexed calixarenes, suggesting a reorientational motion strongly dependent on the structure of the water cage around the complex. This is also in agreement with a complexation of the La(III) cation in the second sphere of solvation of the sulfonate groups, as shown by molecular dynamics simulations.     

Dynamic structural change of the self-assembled lanthanum complex induced by lithium triflate for direct catalytic asymmetric aldol-Tishchenko reaction

The development of a direct catalytic asymmetric aldol-Tishchenko reaction and the nature of its catalyst are described. An aldol-Tishchenko reaction of various propiophenone derivatives with aromatic aldehydes was promoted by [LaLi3(binol)3] (LLB), and reactivity and enantioselectivity were dramatically enhanced by the addition of lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate (LiOTf). First, we observed a dynamic structural change of LLB by the addition of LiOTf using 13C NMR spectroscopy, electronspray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and cold-spray ionization mass spectrometry (CSI-MS). X-ray crystallography revealed that the structure of the newly generated self-assembled complex was a binuclear [La2Li4(binaphthoxide)5] complex 6. A reverse structural change of complex 6 to LLB by the addition of one equivalent of Li2(binol) was also confirmed by ESI-MS and experimental results. The drastic concentration effects on the direct catalytic asymmetric aldol-Tishchenko reaction suggested that the addition of LiOTf to LLB generated an active oligomeric catalyst species.     

Enhanced ferrite nanoparticles as MRI contrast agents

Enhanced ferrite nanoparticles are a new class of contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The enhanced ferrites are synthesized by reverse micelles technique to form iron core and oxide or ferrite shell preventing further oxidation of the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are further functionalized using dopamine and PEG-600 to increase the solubility of the high magnetic moment nanoparticles. ¹H relaxation measurements of aqueous solutions of the nanoparticles were conducted at 2.4 T. The relaxivities r₁ and r₂, representing the slopes of these curves, are 7.19 and 9.96 s⁻¹ mM⁻¹, respectively. These values should be compared with relaxivities of 4–5 s⁻¹ mM⁻¹ corresponding to commonly used commercial contrast agents in human MR examinations.     

Magnetic and microwave absorption properties of BaFe12−x (Mn0.5Cu0.5Zr)x/2O19 synthesized by sol–gel processing

BaFe_12−x (Mn_0.5Cu_0.5Zr)_x/2O₁₉ hexaferrites with x=1, 2 and 3 were prepared by sol–gel process. The ferrite powders possess hexagonal shape and are well separated from one another. The powders of these ferrites were mixed with polyvinylchloride (PVC) plasticizer to be converted into a microwave absorbing composite ferrite with a thickness of 1.8 mm. X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), ac susceptometer, vibrating sample magnetometer and vector network analyzer were used to analyze its structure, electromagnetic and microwave absorption properties. The results showed that magnetoplumbite structures for all samples were formed. The sample with higher magnetic susceptibility and coercivity exhibits a larger microwave absorbing ability. Also the present investigation demonstrates that a microwave absorber using BaFe_12−x(Mn_0.5Cu_0.5Zr)_x/2O₁₉ (x=2 and 3)/PVC with a matching thickness of 1.8 mm can be fabricated for applications over 15 GHz, with reflection loss more than −25 dB for specific frequencies, by controlling the molar ratio of the substituted ions.