Isochoric heat capacity and <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>-ρ dependence of cooling agents and their mixtures along the phase equilibrium line

The entropy data were used to calculate the isochoric heat capacity along the phase equilibrium line. The rules governing the thermodynamic properties of cooling agents and possible alternative mixture variants were analyzed.     

AC conductivity of BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> ceramics obtained by spark plasma sintering of nanopowder

The structure and electrical properties of BiFeO₃ ceramics obtained by spark plasma sintering of a nanopowder are investigated. The nanopowder was synthesized by burning of an organic nitrate precursor. The ac conductivity was measured in a frequency range of 1 kHz–10 MHz in a temperature interval of 25–500°C. It is established that the temperature conductivity coefficients above and below ~350°C significantly differ with both alternating and direct currents. The frequency dependence of the conductivity obeys the Jonscher power law σ ~ ω ^s , where s < 1. The interpretation of this behavior is given in the framework of the model of correlated hops of charge carriers over potential barriers. It is assumed that the hopping mechanism is realized between Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions in ceramic grains. The role of oxygen vacancies in the conduction is also discussed.     

Specific features of the thermal physical properties of relaxor ceramics based on lead zirconate titanate

The heat capacity and thermal expansion of ferroelectric relaxors based on lead zirconate titanate are studied near the diffuse phase transition. It is shown that no spontaneous phase transitions from the paraelectric phase to the ferroelectric phase and from the relaxor state to the normal ferroelectric state occur in an ensemble of nanometer-sized polar regions. It is noted that the transitions can be caused only by external electric fields or storage for a fairly long time.     

Calculation of the Parameters of the Dimeric Association of Water Molecules and Determination of Their Temperature Dependence

The conditions are determined, and the parameters for the onset of the mode of dimeric molecular association in the water system are estimated. The characteristics of dimeric associates of molecules are determined. The region of anomalous thermal compression water is increased from T ≤ 4°C to T ≤ 66.4°C by introducing the temperature equivalent T₀ of the energy of proton transition from molecule to molecule into the parameter of resonant interaction of atoms of different molecules. The time of transfer of excitation energy correlates with the periods of the valence and deformation vibrations of the molecules. Therefore, a molecule that performs valence vibrations “has time” to store an excitation energy sufficient to provide a parallel orientation of the spins of the nuclei of the hydrogen atoms in the molecules. Molecules that perform deformation vibrations have zero spins because of the smallness of the frequencies of such vibrations.     

Diffusion-path approximation in nonlocal electron kinetics

For the positive column of a discharge, nonlocal distribution functions obtained by averaging over radial diffusion paths are compared with the exact solution to the kinetic elliptic equation. For a discharge in argon, as an example, the limits of applicability of the approximate solution for various macroscopic characteristics of the plasma were identified. It was previously believed that the approximation based on averaging has the limits of applicability determined by the condition that the plasma inhomogeneity size be smaller than the energy relaxation length. This condition restricts the applicability of the approximation to low pressures. In the present work, it is shown that, for determining a number of macroscopic parameters, such as the concentration, mean energy, mobility, diffusion coefficient, and thermal conductivity of electrons, the pathaveraging approximation works well over a pressure range of up to a few Torr. A number of subtle characteristics, such as the excitation rate, ionization rate, and others, largely influenced by fast electrons, cannot be calculated from the averaged distribution functions at pressures above a few tenths of a Torr.     

Refinement of the atomic structure of CdTe single crystals

A comparative refinement of the anharmonic and disordered models of the atomic structure was performed based on precision X-ray diffraction data sets collected from a CdTe single crystal at 295, 376, 491, and 583 K. Although both models provide the asymmetric contributions of Cd and Te to the structure factors, the anharmonic model seems to be more advantageous.     

Ion Conductivity and Vibrational Spectra of LiNO3–KNO3 + Al2O3 Composites

Russian Journal of Electrochemistry - Composite solid electrolytes are synthesized on the basis of the eutectic nitrate mixture of 0.42LiNO3–0.58KNO3 doped by aluminum oxide nanosized powder....     

Molecular Layer Deposition and Thermal Transformations of Titanium(Aluminum)-Vanadium Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Films

In this work Molecular layer deposition (MLD) technique used to synthesize titanium-vanadium (TiV _x C _y O _z ) and aluminum-vanadium (AlV _x C _y O _z ) hybrid organic-inorganic films via alternating surface reactions of titanium tetrachloride (or trimethylaluminum), vanadium oxochloride, and ethylene glycol. Using in situ monitoring it was found that the surface reactions were self-limiting at temperatures of 90 and 115°C. The coating thickness per molecular layer deposition cycle (growth rate) at 115°C on a silicon substrate varied from 5.8 to 11.4 Å/cycle, and the film densities, from 1.7 to 2.0 g cm^–3. An analysis of the samples obtained at 115°C revealed their amorphous structure. A thermal treatment of titanium-vanadium films at 450°C in air resulted in formation of highly structured coatings. These coatings were composed of nanowires of single-crystal vanadium oxide (V₂O₅) and mixed nanostructures of titanium and vanadium oxides. Increase in thermal treatment temperature to 500°C resulted in elongation of the V₂O₅ nanowires up to tens of micrometers and in their separation from the substrate. A thermal treatment of aluminum-vanadium films in air resulted in formation of a low-density film. Pyrolysis of the films in an inert gas yielded composite coatings containing domains of graphitized carbon. These films can be potentially useful in modern devices for energy storage, electronics, medicine and other promising fields of technology.     

Copper nanowire arrays surface wettability control using atomic layer deposition of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Template two step electrodeposition method and atomic layer deposition were used to synthesize copper nanowires of varied length (1.2 to 26.2 μm) and copper nanowires coated with titanium dioxide. As a result of the atomic layer deposition of TiO₂, coated nanowires demonstrated an up to 10-fold decrease in the wetting angle, compared with uncoated nanowires. It was found the dissipation rate is substantially higher for nanowires coated by the atomic layer deposition method (100 s) as compared with the uncoated copper nanowires (400 s), which assumes the positive properties of water propagation along the surface, necessary for improving the heat transfer. It was also found that the water contact angle for uncoated nanowires and those coated with TiO₂ by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) gradually increases as the samples are kept in air. A gradual increase in wettability was also observed for smooth silicon wafers coated by ALD of TiO₂, which were exposed to air. On the coated silicon substrates, the wetting angle gradually increased from 10° to approximately 56° in the course of four days. In addition, it was shown that copper nanowires coated with TiO₂ by the atomic layer deposition method have an excellent corrosion resistance, compared with uncoated nanowires, when brought in contact with air and water.     

Synthesis of epitaxial layers of zinc oxide on nonorienting substrates

The first experiments on the growth of single-crystal layers of zinc oxide on nonorienting substrates (crystalline leucosapphire and fused quartz) by chemical transport reactions in a reduced-pressure flow-through reactor in a hydrogen atmosphere is reported. To ensure autoepitaxy on a surface of a nonorienting substrate, an optimized intermediate layer of zinc oxide of thickness 200–1000 Å, which provides a texture of basal orientation regardless of the orienting properties of the substrate, is preliminarily deposited by magnetron sputtering. It is shown that the subsequent growth of layers on such a surface by a chemical transport reaction to a thickness of 1–5 ensures high structural perfection, uniformity, and a very smooth surface, while polycrystalline films are deposited on the portion of the surface without a buffer layer. The proposed method can be used to grow heteroepitaxial structures and other electronic materials on nonorienting substrates using chemical transport reactions.