Topological excitations vs intergranular phase — coherence in a HTSC Y0.5Sm0.5Ba2Cu3O7 ceramics

This paper reports a detailed study of the electrical transport properties of good quality superconducting Y_0.5Sm_0.5Ba₂Cu₃O₇ ceramic samples. Analyses of the dependence of resistance on temperature, the relations current-voltage and the magnetoresistance allows to identify:a) the mean field critical temperature (T _CO =93.73±0.01 K);b) a power law behaviorVI atT _CO . The exponent jumps abruptly from 1 to 3, at a certain temperatureT _C =93.276±0.005 K;c) an exponential inverse root-square temperature dependence of the resistivity in theT _{C–T CO} temperature range. These features, typically observed when topological excitations sets in two dimensional systems, can also be interpreted as a signature of a percolation process and a transition towards intergranular phase coherence. We analyze and discuss the relevance of both models to account for the experimental data.     

Exchange interactions in BaFe12O19

In the scope of the mean field approximation the nine nearest neighbour exchange interactions existing among the ferric ions in BaFe₁₂O₁₉ hexagonal ferrite have been determined from the experimental sublattice magnetizations. It is shown that these exchange interactions are well explained by means of the superexchange theory. It is also concluded that some direct exchange interaction does exist among the octahedral 4f _VI ions. The calculated magnetization, paramagnetic susceptibility, and Curie temperature are in good agreement with the corresponding experimental values. The stability of the collinear Gorter-type magnetic structure of BaFe₁₂O₁₉ is discussed as well.     

Hyperfine fields and exchange interactions in BaLiFe17O27 W-type hexagonal ferrite

The temperature dependence of the hyperfine fields corresponding to ferric ions in the different sublattices of BaLiFe₁₇O₂₇ W-type hexagonal ferrite has been measured. A mean field analysis of these sublattice magnetizations has been done and a set of nearest neighbour isotropic exchange interactions has been obtained. The relative strenght of these fitted exchange values is in accordance with superexchange theory     

Evolution of yttrium trifluoroacetate during thermal decomposition

A detailed analysis of the thermal decomposition of yttrium trifluoroacetate under different atmospheres is presented. Thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis, and evolved gas analysis have been used for this in situ analysis. Solid residues at different stages have been characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The first decomposition stage (310 °C) is exothermic and involves the complete removal of carbon (organic part) and the formation of yttrium fluoride. This process is characterized by a fast mass loss rate. Afterwards, yttria (Y₂O₃) is formed at 1200 °C through a slow process controlled by the out diffusion of fluorine that involves the formation of yttrium oxyfluoride as an intermediate. The evolution of the mass during the decomposition and the structure of the yttria particles is not affected by the presence of oxygen or water. However, when the oxygen (water) partial pressure is as low as 0.02% (<0.002%), the kinetics and final particle structure are strongly affected.     

The dynamics of bipyramidal ions in magnetoplumbite-like hexagonal ferrite systems revisited

The dynamics of the bipyramidal 4e–Fe ions in the M-type hexagonal ferrite La_0.7Na_0.3Fe₁₂O₁₉ single crystal, is investigated by using Mössbauer spectroscopy. We show that a photon self-interference phenomenon can be used to explain the available experimental data. From this model we have deduced the jumping distance of the Fe(4e) ions. This model can also be succesfully used to investigate the existing data on the isomorphous CaAl₁₁FeO₁₉ and BaFe₁₂O₁₉ oxides. In all cases, the calculated jumping distances are in a excellent agreement with X-ray diffraction results. For CaAl₁₁FeO₁₉ and BaFe₁₂O₁₉ we have deduced the thermal dependence of the jumping distance. Any evidence of an atomic freezing is not found in the temperature range 80–300 K.