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At least 1,063 records · Page 59

Enhanced temperature-stable dielectric properties in oxygen annealed 0.85(K0.5Na0.5)NbO3-0.15SrZrO3 ceramic

Highlights: • Prepared O{sub 2}-annealed KNN-15SZ could meet the EIA X8R specification. • Oxygen annealing resulted in different variation of T{sub m} of cores and shells. • Variation of T{sub m} related to decrease of oxygen vacancies and diffusion of KNN. • Enhanced dielectric temperature stability attributed to change of PNRs size. - Abstract: The structure, morphology and dielectric properties of the oxygen annealed (O{sub 2}-annealed) and untreated (as-prepared) 0.85(K{sub 0.5}Na{sub 0.5}) NbO{sub 3}-0·15SrZrO{sub 3} (KNN-15SZ) ceramics were investigated. The temperature dependence of dielectric permittivity shows two diffuse dielectric peaks associated with duplex core-shell structure, leading to relatively stable dielectric permittivity in a wide temperature range. Interestingly, the O{sub 2}-annealed sample with the operating temperature range of −104 °C–157 °C could meet the EIA X8R specification, which is superior to the as-prepared one (−98 °C–130 °C) for the EIA X7R specification. Furthermore, the dielectric contribution from cores and shells of both samples was divided by the Lorentz fitting. The relation between relaxation frequency and temperature of both samples obeyed the Vogel-Fulcher law. This finding could pave a possible way to modify dielectric temperature stability for multilayer ceramic chip capacitors applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Crystal structure, Raman spectra, infrared spectra and microwave dielectric properties of Li2Mg3Ti1-X(Mg1/3Ta2/3)XO6 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) solid solution ceramics

Highlights: • Microwave properties of ε{sub r} = 14.70, Q·f = 200,600 GHz and τ{sub f} = −11.83 ppm/°C were obtained. • A small amount of (Mg{sub 1/3}Ta{sub 2/3}){sup 4+} can obviously improve properties. • Rietveld refinement and spectra were used to analyze properties. • Relationships between intrinsic parameters and properties were established. - Abstract: Li{sub 2}Mg{sub 3}Ti{sub 1-X}(Mg{sub 1/3}Ta{sub 2/3}){sub X}O{sub 6} (x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) solid solution ceramics were prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction method. Rietveld refinements, Raman spectra, infrared spectra, polarizability and bond energy were used to research the changes of microwave dielectric properties of these solid solutions. With the increase of x values from 0 to 0.2, dielectric constants (ε{sub r}) gradually increased, which could be explained by the variations of the polarizability, infrared resonant modes and Raman vibration modes. The variations of the quality factor (Q·f) could be explained by the changes of the bond valences. The temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ{sub ƒ}) correlated with the bond energy of TiO bonds. A small quantity of (Mg{sub 1/3}Ta{sub 2/3}){sup 4+} can obviously improve the microwave dielectric properties. Excellent microwave dielectric properties of ε{sub r} = 14.70, Q·f = 200,600 GHz and τ{sub f} = −11.83 ppm/°C were obtained for Li{sub 2}Mg{sub 3}Ti{sub 0.95}(Mg{sub 1/3}Ta{sub 2/3}){sub 0.05}O{sub 6} ceramic sintered at 1550 °C.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Temperature-dependent diffuse reflectance measurements of ceramic powders in the near- and mid-infrared spectra

Radiative properties are critical to quantify radiative energy fluxes between surfaces and in participating media. However, there is limited experimental data on temperature-dependent radiative properties of materials. Herein, this work focuses on experimentally measuring temperature-dependent diffuse reflectance in the near- and mid-infrared spectra (1–20 μm) for ceramic particles with applications as heat-transfer and thermal-storage media in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. Specifically, a commercially available sintered bauxite proppant, ACCUCAST ID80, and its primary chemical constituents—alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) and silica (SiO 2 )—are measured in powder form using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) coupled with a specialized diffuse reflectance accessory and a heated stage. Room-temperature diffuse reflectance measurements show increased absorption in tests with greater mass fractions of the ceramic samples. There is a strong correlation in the measured reflectance spectra of ACCUCAST with alumina and silica in the spectral range 2000–500 cm –1 (5–20 μm). Whereas, for shorter wavelengths (< 5 μm), the absorptance for ACCUCAST is greater than the absorptance for alumina and silica, indicating contributions from other chemical species present in the composite material. For the first time, temperature-dependent diffuse reflectance measurements are reported for ACCUCAST up to 1000 °C. These results are compared against those of alumina and silica through the calculation of a thermal emittance. All three materials exhibit a calculated emittance of ~0.9 at room temperature. However, this value decreases to ~0.6 for ACCUCAST and drops to less than 0.4 for alumina and silica at 1000 °C. Thermal cycling in air at 1000 °C resulted in a visible color change from dark grey to light orange for ACCUCAST and a subsequent larger increase in reflectance for wavelengths less than 5 μm as compared to ACCUCAST thermally cycled at 1000 °C in vacuum. Alumina and silica spectra proved to be largely unaffected by thermal cycling under atmospheric conditions. Overall, this study establishes a powerful technique for the characterization of radiative properties of particulate materials as a function of temperature and presents a detailed case study of ACCUCAST, a candidate for next-generation particle-based CSP.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Performance evaluation of an industrial ceramic nanofiltration unit for wastewater treatment in oil production

An industrial ceramic nanofiltration membrane (pore size 0.9 nm) was tested in a Canadian oil field for more than 12,500 h to treat wastewater directly from daily operations, without any type of pre-treatment. This wastewater contained a high content of total suspended solids (13 to 510 mg/kg), and total organic carbon (31 to 134 mg/kg). The membrane unit was operated at different transmembrane pressure (TMP) set points (4–16 bar) and recovery set points (40–80%). The data show that ion and compound rejection depend strongly on a combination of both TMP and recovery, with the largest rejection occurring at low recovery values and high TMP values. Two mechanisms were responsible for rejection: sieving, which mostly impacted compound rejection, and electrostatic phenomena that impacted ion rejection. It is shown that ion rejection depends linearly on charge density of the ion. Ion rejection was measured as high as 85% and compounds (such as TSS) were rejected as high as 100%. The specific flux varied between 1–10 L/(m 2 .h.bar). Results from this field testing indicate the possibility of using these types of ceramic membranes for oil field wastewater treatment.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Tailorable Micelle Morphology in Self-Assembling Block Copolymer Gels for Templating Nanoporous Ceramics

The self-assembly of block copolymers offers opportunities for the facile organization and templating of inorganic nanomaterials. Here, we describe a morphology map for a poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(n-butyl acrylate)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA-b-PnBA-b-PMMA) block copolymer/polycarbosilane system that allows for tunable control over nanoscale micelle geometry via manipulation of the preceramic polymer content. We produced gels with spherical, wormlike, and bicontinuous morphologies, which were processed to create silicon carbide-based ceramic structures with tunable nanoscale porosities. The role of the constituent polymers in influencing the structure and rheology of this system is discussed. The PMMA-b-PnBA-b-PMMA block copolymer/preceramic polymer system offers a number of advantages including: (i) commercial availability, (ii) rapid self-assembly kinetics, and (iii) successful conversion of the self-assembled nanostructure to ceramic via pyrolysis. Finally, this system may be useful for catalytic, structural, or thermal applications in both industrial and academic settings because of its ease of use and relatively inexpensive reagents.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Nanoscale Imaging and Measurements of Grain Boundary Thermal Resistance in Ceramics with Scanning Thermal Wave Microscopy

Material thermal conductivity is a key factor in various applications, from thermal management to energy harvesting. With microstructure engineering being a widely used method for customizing material properties, including thermal properties, understanding and controlling the role of extended phonon-scattering defects, like grain boundaries, is crucial for efficient material design. However, systematic studies are still lacking primarily due to limited tools. In this study, we demonstrate an approach for measuring grain boundary thermal resistance by probing the propagation of thermal waves across grain boundaries with a temperature-sensitive scanning probe. The method, implemented with a spatial resolution of about 100 nm on finely grained Nb-substituted SrTiO 3 ceramics, achieves a detectability of about 2 × 10 –8 K m 2 W –1 , suitable for chalcogenide-based thermoelectrics. The measurements indicated that the thermal resistance of the majority of grain boundaries in the STiO 3 ceramics is below this value. While there are challenges in improving sensitivity, considering spatial resolution and the amount of material involved in the detection, the sensitivity of the scanning probe method is comparable to that of optical thermoreflectance techniques, and the method opens up an avenue to characterize thermal resistance at the level of single grain boundaries and domain walls in a spectrum of microstructured materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

An epoxy-reinforced ceramic sheet as a durable solid electrolyte for solid state Na-ion batteries

In a conventional Na-ion battery system using liquid electrolyte, there are critical safety issues due to the instability of the liquid electrolyte. Na 3 Zr 2 Si 2 PO 12 (NASICON) solid electrolyte is a material that is sufficient to replace a liquid electrolyte as it has high ionic conductivity and thermal and electrochemical stability. However, as there is a large interfacial resistance in the NASICON solid electrolyte powder, even when used in combination with a polymer electrolyte, the advantageous effects of ceramics are not easily exhibited. In this study, we propose a top-down method of combining a polymer with a ceramic in which an ion transport channel is previously formed. In this method, a NASICON solid electrolyte is partially sintered to form ion transport channels. Then the NASICON solid electrolyte pores are filled with an epoxy polymer to increase the strength of the epoxy-NASICON composite electrolyte. This method demonstrates the possibility of our composite electrolyte being used as a thin and strong film. As a result of our methods, the ionic conductivity and thermal and electrochemical stability of NASICON were maintained, while the physical strength was enhanced by approximately 2 times. In addition, a capacity of 120 mA h g -1 and stability of 20 cycles were confirmed in a half cell with a Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 cathode and Na metal. This method proposes a new direction for research regarding composite electrolytes created using an oxide-based solid electrolyte.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Synthesis and structural studies of multi-component strontium zinc silicate glass-ceramics

Glass having composition 40SrO-10ZnO-40SiO{sub 2}-2B{sub 2}O{sub 3}-2Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-2TiO{sub 2}-2Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3}-2Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}, (mol %) was prepared by melt-quench technique and converted into glass-ceramics by subjecting it to varying heat treatments. Thermal properties were measured by thermo-mechanical analyzer and differential thermal analyzer. The XRD revealed that initially Sr{sub 2}ZnSi{sub 2}O{sub 7} phase at lower temperature and later SrSiO{sub 3}/Sr{sub 3}Si{sub 3}O{sub 9} phase crystallized. The structural elucidation by Raman spectroscopy shows the presence of mainly Q{sup 1} structural units along with Q{sup 2} and Q{sup 0} units in the base glass. Raman spectra revealed that during crystallization initially crystalline phase having Q{sup 1} structural units (corresponding to Sr{sub 2}ZnSi{sub 2}O{sub 7} phase) are formed and later crystalline phase having Q{sup 2} structural units with 3 member ring type structure crystallizes. Thus, Raman spectroscopy and XRD together confirm that in early stage of crystallization, Sr{sub 2}ZnSi{sub 2}O{sub 7} phase and later Sr{sub 3}Si{sub 3}O{sub 9} phase formed in the glass-ceramics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Structural and multiferroic properties of YMnO{sub 3} ceramics synthesized by co-precipitation method

Single phased hexagonal YMnO{sub 3} (YMO) ceramics have been synthesized via soft chemical co-precipitation route and adopting different sintering conditions. From the X-ray diffraction analysis, ceramic powder sintered at 600 Degree-Sign C was found to be amorphous. Sintering at 1000 Degree-Sign C lead to the formation of single phase YMO belonging to the noncentrosymmetric P6{sub 3}cm space group. Further, dielectric, Leakage and magnetic studies were performed at room temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Impedance response and dielectric relaxation in co-precipitation derived ferrite (Ni,Zn)Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} ceramics

Dielectric spectra and magnetization hysteresis loops were used to investigate the grain size effect with temperature on the electrical and magnetic response of co-precipitation derived spinel (Ni{sub 0.5}Zn{sub 0.5})Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (NZFO) ceramics. Remarkable dielectric relaxation phenomena of non-Debye type have been observed in each NZFO ceramics as confirmed by two kinds of Cole-Cole plots of the 1100 Degree-Sign C sintered samples, mainly due to the electron-hopping mechanism between n-type and p-type carriers and interfacial ion effect when applied an increase of temperature. The high and low response of grain and grain-boundary regions were determined by modeling the impedance experimental results on two equivalent RC circuits taking into account grain deep trap states. By employing the modified Arrhenius equation, activation energy values of different sintering temperatures were calculated and analyzed in combination with oxygen vacancy. In addition, the magnetization of various sintering temperature samples is dominated by cation distribution and surface effect in different particle ranges.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Alternating and direct current field effects on the structure-property relationships in Na{sub 0.5}Bi{sub 0.5}TiO{sub 3}-x%BaTiO{sub 3} textured ceramics

The influence of alternating (ac) and direct current (dc) fields on the structural and dielectric properties of [001]{sub PC} textured Na{sub 0.5}Bi{sub 0.5}TiO{sub 3}-7%BaTiO{sub 3} (NBT-7%BT) ceramics has been investigated. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the depolarization at temperature T{sub d} in poled samples resulted from a tetragonal {yields} pseudo-cubic transition on heating. Moderate ac drive and dc bias had opposite influences on T{sub d}: ac drive decreased the T{sub d}, whereas dc bias increased it. These investigations suggested an effective method to expand the working temperature range of NBT-x%BT textured ceramics to a high temperature.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Calcium-doping effects on photovoltaic response and structure in multiferroic BiFeO{sub 3} ceramics

Photovoltaic (PV) effects, power-conversion efficiencies, and structures have been systematically measured in (Bi{sub 1−x}Ca{sub x})FeO{sub 3−δ} ceramics for x = 0.05, 0.10, and 0.15. The heterostructures of indium tin oxide (ITO) film/(Bi{sub 1−x}Ca{sub x})FeO{sub 3−δ} ceramics/Au film exhibit significant PV effects under illumination of λ = 405 nm. The maximum power-conversion efficiency in the ITO/(Bi{sub 0.90}Ca{sub 0.10})FeO{sub 2.95} (BFO10C)/Au can reach 0.0072%, which is larger than 0.0025% observed in the graphene/polycrystalline BFO/Pt films [Zang et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 132904 (2011)]. A theoretical model based on optically excited current in the depletion region between ITO film and Ca-doped BFO ceramics is used to describe the I-V characteristic, open-circuit voltage, and short-circuit current density as a function of illumination intensity. This work suggests that the Ca-substitution can reduce the rhombohedral distortion and stabilize the single-phase structure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Temperature-dependent terahertz magnetic dipole radiation from antiferromagnetic GdFeO{sub 3} ceramics

Temperature-dependent terahertz magnetic dipole radiation in antiferromagnetic GdFeO{sub 3} ceramic is investigated both theoretically and experimentally in this work. A two-level quantum transition mechanism is introduced to describe the excitation-radiation process, and radiative lifetime is derived analytically from the change of spin state density during this process. Terahertz spectral measurements demonstrate that the radiative frequency exhibits a red-shift and lifetime shortens as temperature increases, which is in good agreement with theoretical predictions. The temperature-sensitive radiative frequency and excellent terahertz emission mean that the antiferromagnetic ceramics show potential for application in terahertz sensors and frequency-tunable terahertz lasers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Magnetic behavior of erbium-zinc-borate glasses and glass ceramics

Glasses of the system (Er{sub 2}O{sub 3}){sub x}⋅(B{sub 2}O{sub 3}){sub (60−x)}⋅(ZnO){sub 40} (3 ≤ x ≤ 15 mol%) were prepared by conventional melt quenching and subsequently converted to glass ceramics by heat treatment of glass samples at 860 °C for 2 h. The magnetic behaviour of the studied glasses and glass ceramics were investigated using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and a Faraday-type magnetic balance. Magnetic data show that erbium ions are involved in negative superexchange interactions in all the investigated samples, being antiferromagnetically coupled. For all studied samples the experimental values obtained for the effective magnetic moments are lower than the value corresponding to free Er{sup 3+} ions and decrease with the increasing of Er{sub 2}O{sub 3} content. The decrease is more pronounced in heat treated samples than untreated ones.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Interband electronic transitions and phase transformation of multiferroic Bi{sub 1−x}La{sub x}Fe{sub 1−y}Ti{sub y}O{sub 3} ceramics revealed by temperature-dependent spectroscopic ellipsometry

Optical properties and phase transition of Bi{sub 1−x}La{sub x}Fe{sub 1−y}Ti{sub y}O{sub 3} (BLFTO) ceramics with different composition (0.02 ≤ x ≤ 0.10, 0.01 ≤ y ≤ 0.06) have been investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) in the temperature range of −70–450 °C. The real part of the complex dielectric function ε{sub 1} increases with the temperature. Meanwhile, the imaginary part ε{sub 2} in the low-energy region decreases with the temperature and has an opposite trend in the high-energy side. Four typical interband transitions (E{sub a} ∼ 2.50 eV, E{sub b} ∼ 2.70 eV, E{sub c} ∼ 3.60 eV, and E{sub d} ∼ 4.25 eV) can be observed from the second derivative of the complex dielectric functions with aid of the standard critical point model. The critical point (CP) transition becomes broadening and shifts to a lower energy side as La and Ti compositions increase. Moreover, the CP transition energies show a red-shift trend with increasing the temperature until 320 °C, due to the lattice thermal expansion and electron-phonon interaction. The typical interband transitions and partial spectral weight present anomalies in the proximity of antiferromagnetic transition owing to the coupling between magnetic and ferroelectric order parameters and spin-lattice coupling for BLFTO multiferroic materials. It was found that the Néel temperature of BLFTO ceramics decreases from 364 to 349 °C with increasing doping composition of La and Ti elements. These phenomena can be attributed to the modification of electronic structure and magnetic order because the differences of electronegativity and ionic radii between Bi and La, Fe and Ti induce the variations on the bond angle and bond length between cations and anions. Moreover, the substitution for magnetic Fe{sup 3+} ions with nonmagnetic Ti{sup 4+} ions can reduce the exchange interaction between adjacent magnetic moments. Therefore, SE technique can be sensitive for detecting the phase/structural transitions of multiferroic oxides.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

An analysis of lead-free (Bi{sub 0.5}Na{sub 0.5}){sub 0.915}-(Bi{sub 0.5}K{sub 0.5}){sub 0.05}Ba{sub 0.02}Sr{sub 0.015}TiO{sub 3} ceramic for efficient refrigeration and thermal energy harvesting

This article demonstrates the colossal energy harvesting capability of a lead-free (Bi{sub 0.5}Na{sub 0.5}){sub 0.915}-(Bi{sub 0.5}K{sub 0.5}){sub 0.05}Ba{sub 0.02}Sr{sub 0.015}TiO{sub 3} ceramic using the Olsen cycle. The maximum harvestable energy density estimated for this system is found to be 1523 J/L (1523 kJ/m{sup 3}) where the results are presented for extreme ambient conditions of 20–160 °C and electric fields of 0.1–4 MV/m. This estimated energy density is 1.7 times higher than the maximum reported to date for the lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate (thin film) system. Moreover, this study introduces a generalized and effective solid state refrigeration cycle in contrast to the ferroelectric Ericson refrigeration cycle. The cycle is based on a temperature induced polarization change on application of an unipolar electric field to ferroelectric ceramics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Optical amplification in disordered electrooptic Tm{sup 3+} and Ho{sup 3+} codoped lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate ceramics and study of spectroscopy and communication between cations

Rare earth doped electro-optic (EO) ceramics of lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) are promising in building multifunctional optical devices, by taking advantage of both EO effect and optical activity. In this work, the combination of the measured spectra of absorption and photoluminescence, the fluorescent decay, the calculated Judd-Ofelt parameters, and measured single pass gain in Tm{sup 3+}, Ho{sup 3+} codoped PLZT ceramics have marked them out as promising gain media in building electrically controllable lasers/optical amplifiers and other multifunctional devices. Optical energy storage was also observed in the optical amplification dynamics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗