A novel P3-type Na2/3Mg1/3Mn2/3O2 as high capacity sodium-ion cathode using reversible oxygen redox
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99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Results for “Structural phase transition”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Widely tunable alloy composition and crystal structure in catalyst-free InGaAs nanowire arrays grown by selective area molecular beam epitaxy
We delineate the optimized growth parameter space for high-uniformity catalyst-free InGaAs nanowire (NW) arrays on Si over nearly the entire alloy compositional range using selective area molecular beam epitaxy. Under the required high group-V fluxes and V/III ratios, the respective growth windows shift to higher growth temperatures as the Ga-content x(Ga) is tuned from In-rich to Ga-rich InGaAs NWs. Using correlated x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy, we identify structural defects to govern luminescence linewidths in In-rich (x(Ga) < 0.4) and Ga-rich (x(Ga) > 0.6) NWs, whereas limitations at intermediate Ga-content (0.4 < x(Ga) < 0.6) are mainly due to compositional inhomogeneities. Most remarkably, the catalyst-free InGaAs NWs exhibit a characteristic transition in crystal structure from wurtzite to zincblende (ZB) dominated phase near x(Ga) ∼ 0.4 that is further reflected in a cross-over from blue-shifted to red-shifted photoluminescence emission relative to the band edge emission of the bulk ZB InGaAs phase.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Magnetic order of Nd 5 Pb 3 single crystals
We report millimeter-sized Nd 5 Pb 3 single crystals grown out of a Nd–Co flux. We experimentally study the magnetic order of Nd 5 Pb 3 single crystals by measuring the anisotropic magnetic properties, electrical resistivity under high pressure up to 8 GPa, specific heat, and neutron single crystal diffraction. Two successive magnetic orders are observed at T N1 = 44 K and T N2 = 8 K. The magnetic cells can be described with a propagation vector $k=(0.5, 0, 0)$ . Cooling below T N1 , Nd1 and Nd3 order forming ferromagnetic stripes along the b-axis, and the ferromagnetic stripes are coupled antiferromagnetically along the a-axis for the $k=(0.5, 0, 0)$ magnetic domain. Cooling below T N2 , Nd2 orders antiferromagnetically to nearby Nd3 ions. All ordered moments align along the crystallographic c-axis. The magnetic order at T N1 is accompanied by a quick drop of electrical resistivity upon cooling and a lambda-type anomaly in the temperature dependence of specific heat. At T N2 , no anomaly was observed in electrical resistivity but there is a weak feature in specific heat. The resistivity measurements under hydrostatic pressures up to 8 GPa suggest a possible phase transition around 6 GPa. Our first-principles band structure calculations show that Nd 5 Pb 3 has the same electronic structure as does Y 5 Si 3 which has been reported to be a one-dimensional electride with anionic electrons that do not belong to any atom. Our study suggests that R 5 Pb 3 (R = rare earth) can be a materials playground for the study of magnetic electrides. To conclude, this deserves further study after experimental confirmation of the presence of anionic electrons.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Magnus-induced dynamics of driven skyrmions on a quasi-one-dimensional periodic substrate
Here we numerically examine driven skyrmions interacting with a periodic quasi-one-dimensional substrate where the driving force is applied either parallel or perpendicular to the substrate periodicity direction. For perpendicular driving, the particles in a purely overdamped system simply slide along the substrate minima; however, for skyrmions where the Magnus force is relevant, we find that a rich variety of dynamics can arise. In the single skyrmion limit, the skyrmion motion is locked along the driving or longitudinal direction for low drives, while at higher drives a transition occurs to a state in which the skyrmion moves both transverse and longitudinal to the driving direction. Within the longitudinally locked phase we find a pronounced speedup effect that occurs when the Magnus force aligns with the external driving force, while at the transition to transverse and longitudinal motion, the skyrmion velocity drops, producing negative differential conductivity. For collectively interacting skyrmion assemblies, the speedup effect is still present and we observe a number of distinct dynamical phases, including a sliding smectic phase, a disordered or moving liquid phase, a moving hexatic phase, and a moving crystal phase. The transitions between the dynamic phases produce distinct features in the structure of the skyrmion lattice and in the velocity-force curves. Lastly, we map these different phases as a function of the ratio of the Magnus term to the dissipative term, the substrate strength, the commensurability ratio, and the magnitude of the driving force.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Phase diagram of generalized XY model using the tensor renormalization group
We use the higher-order tensor renormalization group method to study the two-dimensional generalized XY model that admits integer and half-integer vortices. This model is the deformation of the classical XY model and has a rich phase structure consisting of nematic, ferromagnetic, and disordered phases and three transition lines belonging to the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless and Ising class. We explore the model for a wide range of temperatures, T , and the deformation parameter, Δ , and compute specific heat along with integer and half-integer magnetic susceptibility, finding both Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless-like and Ising-like transitions and the region where they meet. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
2-dimensional systems↗
Theoretical development and first-principles analysis of strongly correlated systems
A variety of quantum many-body methods have been developed for studying the strongly correlated electron systems. We have also proposed a computationally efficient and accurate approach, named the correlation matrix renormalization (CMR) method, to address the challenges. The initial implementation of the CMR method is designed for molecules which have theoretical advantages, including small size of system, manifest mechanism and strongly correlation effect such as bond breaking process. The theoretic development and benchmark tests of the CMR method are included in this thesis. Meanwhile, ground state total energy is the most important property of electronic calculations. We also investigated an alternative approach to calculate the total energy, and extended this method for magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) of ferromagnetic materials. In addition, another theoretical tool, dynamical mean- field theory (DMFT) on top of the DFT , has also been used in electronic structure calculations for an Iridium oxide to study the phase transition, which results from an interplay of the d electrons' internal degrees of freedom.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Design of ZnSe QPM for Wide Transparency Sensing and Laser Applications
ZnSe has been a great choice for the rare-earth and transition metal doping to develop lasers. It is an excellent materialfor variety of optical applications due to wide transparency range, good fabricability and very low optical absorptionsimilar to other selenides. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center has developed large crystals using physical vapordeposition (PVD) doped with transition metals for lasing. GaAs based quasi-phase matched structures have a lot oflimitations including difficulty of frequency conversion from available high power lasers. We are developing Si- andGaAs- based templates and using microfabrication process to deposit ZnSe using physical vapor transport (PVT)method. Experimental results of the fabrication of templates and growth of ZnSe on templates will be presented.
Epitaxial↗
Phase Synchronization and Desynchronization of Structural Response Induced by Turbulent and External Sound
Acoustic and turbulent boundary layer flow loadings over a flexible structure are used to study the spatial-temporal dynamics of the response of the structure. The stability of the spatial synchronization and desynchronization by an active external force is investigated with an array of coupled transducers on the structure. In the synchronous state, the structural phase is locked, which leads to the formation of spatial patterns while the amplitude peaks exhibit chaotic behaviors. Large amplitude, spatially symmetric loading is superimposed on broadband, but in the desynchronized state, the spectrum broadens and the phase space is lost. The resulting pattern bears a striking resemblance to phase turbulence. The transition is achieved by using a low power external actuator to trigger broadband behaviors from the knowledge of the external acoustic load inducing synchronization. The changes are made favorably and efficiently to alter the frequency distribution of power, not the total power level. Before synchronization effects are seen, the panel response to the turbulent boundary layer loading is discontinuously spatio-temporally correlated. The stability develops from different competing wavelengths; the spatial scale is significantly shorter than when forced with the superimposed external sound. When the external sound level decreases and the synchronized phases are lost, changes in the character of the spectra can be linked to the occurrence of spatial phase transition. These changes can develop broadband response. Synchronized responses of fuselage structure panels have been observed in subsonic and supersonic aircraft; results from two flights tests are discussed.
Maestrello, Lucio↗
Thermal self-oscillations in radiative heat exchange
We report the effect of relaxation-type self-induced temperature oscillations in the system of two parallel plates of SiO{sub 2} and VO{sub 2} which exchange heat by thermal radiation in vacuum. The non-linear feedback in the self-oscillating system is provided by metal-insulator transition in VO{sub 2}. Using the method of fluctuational electrodynamics, we show that under the action of an external laser of a constant power, the temperature of VO{sub 2} plate oscillates around its phase transition value. The period and amplitude of oscillations depend on the geometry of the structure. We found that at 500 nm vacuum gap separating bulk SiO{sub 2} plate and 50 nm thick VO{sub 2} plate, the period of self-oscillations is 2 s and the amplitude is 4 K, which is determined by phase switching at threshold temperatures of phase transition.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Photo-Induced Vacancy Ordering and Phase Transition in MoTe 2
We demonstrate here that nonequilibrium dynamics plays a central role in the photo-induced 2H-to-1T’ phase transition of MoTe 2 . The phase transition is initiated by a local ordering of Te vacancies, followed by a 1T’ structural change in the original 2H lattice. The local 1T’ region serves as a seed to gather more vacancies into ordering and subsequently to induce a further growth of the 1T’ phase. Remarkably, this process is controlled by photo-generated excited carriers as they enhance vacancy diffusion, increase the speed of vacancy ordering, and are hence vital to the 1T’ phase transition. This mechanism can be contrasted to the current model requiring a collective sliding of a whole Te atomic layer, which is thermodynamically highly unlikely. By uncovering the key roles of photo excitations, our findings may have prime implications to fine control phase transitions in transition-metal dichalcogenides.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Structural Mechanisms and the Thermodynamic Description of the Isosymmetric Orbital Ordering in Rare-Earth Manganites
The observed specific features of the orbital phase transition in AMnO{sub 3} (A = La, Pr, …, Lu) are shown to be due to the appearance, at high temperatures, of rotational distortions of the cubic lattice, which cause anion displacements, which induce an “internal field” coinciding in symmetry with the order parameter, which describe the ordering of octahedra distorted due to the Jahn–Teller effect (orbital ordering). The effect of this “field” substantially determines the orbital ordering type, its temperature, and the phase transition order. The comparative analysis of the orbitally ordered states is performed for the entire AMnO{sub 3} series in both the framework of the phenomenological theory of phase transitions and on the base of the three-minimum multi-sublattice model proposed in this report. The peculiarities of magnetic transitions in manganites determined by the specific features of their structures are discussed.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Magnetic, thermal, and electrical properties of an Ni{sub 45.37}Mn{sub 40.91}In{sub 13.72} Heusler alloy
The magnetization, the electrical resistivity, the specific heat, the thermal conductivity, and the thermal diffusion of a polycrystalline Heusler alloy Ni{sub 45.37}Mn{sub 40.91}In{sub 13.72} sample are studied. Anomalies, which are related to the coexistence of martensite and austenite phases and the change in their ratio induced by a magnetic field and temperature, are revealed and interpreted. The behavior of the properties of the alloy near Curie temperature T{sub C} also demonstrates signs of a structural transition, which suggests that the detected transition is a first-order magnetostructural phase transition. The nontrivial behavior of specific heat detected near the martensite transformation temperatures is partly related to a change in the electron density of states near the Fermi level. The peculiar peak of phonon thermal conductivity near the martensitic transformation is interpreted as a consequence of the appearance of additional soft phonon modes, which contribute to the specific heat and the thermal conductivity.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Structured interactions drive abrupt transitions in the spatial organization of microbial communities
Bacteria possess diverse mechanisms to regulate their motility in response to environmental and physiological signals, enabling them to navigate complex habitats and adapt their behavior. Some of these mechanisms are species specific and enable cells to modulate their movement based on the ecological identity of neighboring species. Here, we introduce a model in which bacteria interact via local signals that either enhance or suppress the motility of neighboring cells depending on species type. Through large-scale simulations and a coarse-grained stochastic model, we demonstrate the emergence of a sharp transition driven by nucleation processes: increasing the density of motility-suppressing interactions drives the system from a fully mixed, motile phase to a state characterized by large, stationary bacterial clusters. Remarkably, in systems with a large number of interacting species, this transition can be triggered solely by altering the structure of the motility-regulation interaction matrix while maintaining species and interaction densities constant. In particular, we find that heterogeneous and modular interactions promote the transition more readily than homogeneous random ones. These findings add a dimension to the theory of motility-induced phase separation and contribute to the ongoing effort to understand microbial interactions, suggesting that structured, nonrandom ones may be key to reproducing commonly observed spatial patterns in microbial communities.
bacterial communities↗
The interplay between spatial and heliconical orientational order in twist-bend nematic materials
The helical pitch formed by organic molecules, such as the α-helix of proteins, usually requires hydrogen bonding between chiral units and long-range positional order. It was recently found that certain liquid crystal oligomers can have a twist-bend nematic (NTB) phase with nanoscale heliconical structure without hydrogen bonding, molecular chirality or positional order. To understand the nature of this unique structure, here we present hard and resonant tender X-ray scattering studies of two novel sulfur containing dimer materials. We simultaneously measure the temperature dependences of the helical pitch and the correlation length of both the helical and positional order. In addition to an unexpected strong variation of the pitch with the length of the spacer connecting the monomer units, we find that at the transition to the NTB phase the positional correlation length drops. Additionally, the helical structure was found not only in the NTB phase but observed even in the upper range of a smectic phase that forms just below the NTB state. The coexistence of smectic layering and the heliconical order indicates a layered (SmATB) phase wherein the rigid units of the dimers are tilted with respect to the smectic layer normal in order to accommodate the bent conformation of the dimers and the tilt direction rotates along the heliconical axis.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Mechanism of Spontaneous Blebbing Motion of an Oil–Water Interface: Elastic Stress Generated by a Lamellar–Lamellar Transition
A quaternary system composed of surfactant, cosurfactant, oil, and water showing spontaneous motion of the oil-water interface-under far-from-equilibrium condition is studied in order to understand nanometer-scale structures and their roles in spontaneous motion. We characterize the interfacial motion by the repetitive. extension and retraction of spherical protrusions at the interface, i.e, blebbing motion. During, the, blebbing motion, elastic aggregates are accumulated, which were characterized as surfactant lamellar structures with mean repeat distances d of 25 to 40 nm. The relationship between the structure formation and, the dynamics of the interfacial motion is still unclear. In the present study, we find that a new lamellar structure with d larger than. 80 run is formed at. the blebbing oil-water interface,. while the resultant elastic aggregates, which are the one reported before, have a lamellar structure with smaller d (25 to 40 nm). Such transition of lamellar structures from the larger d to smaller d is induced by a penetration of surfactants from an aqueous phase into the aggregates. We propose a model in which elastic stress generated by the transition-drives the blebbing motion at the interface. These results explain the link between nanometer-scale transition of lamellar structure and millimeter-scale dynamics at an oil water interface.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
3d-Metal Induced Magnetic Ordering on U(IV) Atoms as a Route toward U(IV) Magnetic Materials
Uranium(IV) 5f 2 magnetism is dominated by a transition from a triplet to a singlet ground state at low temperatures. For the first time, we achieved magnetic ordering of U(IV) atoms in a complex fluoride through the incorporation of 3d transition metal cations. This new route allowed us to obtain an unprecedented series of U(IV) ferrimagnetic materials of the new composition Cs 2 MU 3 F 16 (M = Mn 2+ , Co 2+ , and Ni 2+ ), which were comprehensively characterized with respect to their structural and magnetic properties. Magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed ferromagnetic-like phase transitions at temperatures of ~14.0, 3.5, and 4.8 K for M = Mn 2+ , Co 2+ , and Ni 2+ , respectively. The transition is not observed when the magnetic M cations are replaced by a diamagnetic cation, Zn 2+ . Neutron diffraction measurements revealed the magnetic moments of 0.91(6)–1.97(3) μ B on the U atoms, which are only partially compensated by antiparallel moments of 1.53(14)–3.26(5) μ B on the 3 d cations. This arrangement promotes suppression of the transition to a diamagnetic ground state characteristic of U(IV), and in doing so, induces magnetic ordering on uranium via 3 d –5 f exchange coupling.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Disorder-driven phase transition in La{sub 0.37}D{sub 0.30}Ca{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3} (D = Bi, Sm) manganites
In the present work we report the structural, electron spin resonance (ESR) and magnetic properties of La{sub 0.37}D{sub 0.30}Ca{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3} (D = Bi, Sm) manganites synthesized by sol-gel method. The critical behavior at the critical point, where the system undergoes phase transition from paramagnetic (PM) to ferromagnetic (FM) state, is investigated by using modified-Arrott plots, Kouvel-Fisher method and critical isotherm analysis. Both the samples show second-order phase transition near the critical point. The decrease in magnetization (M), Curie temperature (T{sub C}), evolution of spin or cluster glass behavior and the nature of second-order phase transition compared to the first-order transition reported in the literature for La{sub 0.67}Ca{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3} are ascribed to disorder caused by the size mismatch of the A-site cations with Bi and Sm doping at La-site.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Tungsten Incorporation into Gallium Oxide: Crystal Structure, Surface and Interface Chemistry, Thermal Stability and Interdiffusion
Tungsten (W) incorporated gallium oxide (Ga2O3) (GWO) thin films were deposited by radio-frequency magnetron co-sputtering of W-metal and Ga2O3-ceramic targets. Films were produced by varying sputtering power applied to the W-target in order to achieve variable W-content (0-12 at%) into Ga2O3 while substrate temperature was kept constant at 500 °C. Chemical composition, chemical valence states, microstructure and crystal structure of as-deposited and annealed GWO films were evaluated as a function of W-content. The structural and chemical analyses indicate that the samples deposited without any W-incorporation are stoichiometric, nanocrystalline Ga2O3 films, which crystallize in β-phase monoclinic structure. While GWO films also crystallize in monoclinic β-Ga2O3 phase, W-incorporation induces surface amorphization as revealed by structural studies. The chemical valence state of Ga ions probed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analyses is characterized by the highest oxidation state i.e., Ga3+. No changes in Ga chemical state are noted for variable W-incorporation in the range of 0-12 at%. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) analyses indicate the uniform distribution of W-content in the GWO films. However, XPS analyses indicate the formation of mixed valence states for W ions, which may be responsible for surface amorphization in GWO films. GWO films were stable up to 900 oC, at which point thermally induced secondary phase (W-oxide) formation was observed. A transition to mesoporous structure coupled with W interdiffusion occurs due to thermal annealing as derived from the chemical analyses at the GWO films’ surface as well as depth-profiling towards the GWO-Si interface. A model has been formulated to account for the mechanism of W-incorporation, thermal stability and interdiffusion via pore formation in GWO films.
Chemical composition↗