High Dielectric Constant and Low-loss Dielectric Ceramies of Sr5LnTi3Ta7O3o （Ln= La,Nd, Sm and Y）

Polycrystalline Sr5LnTi3Ta7O30 （Ln=La, Nd, Sm and Y） ceramics were prepared as single-phase materials through conventional solid-state ceramics method. The structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction method and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The dielectric properties were measured from room temperature to 400℃. All compounds are paraelectric phases adopting the filled tetragonal tungsten bronze （TB） structure at room temperature. At 1 MHz their dielectric constant （ετ） varied from 109 to 139, dielectric loss changed from 0.003 3 to 0.005 8, and the temperature coefficients of the dielectric constant （τε） moved from -710 to -880×10^-6℃^-1.     

Preparation, Characterization and Dielectric Property of Sr5 LaTi3 Nb7O30 Ceramic

Sr5LaTi3Nb7O30 ceramic was prepared by the conventional high temperature solid-state reaction route. The sintered samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy ( SEM ), differential thermal calorimetry ( DSC ) and dielectric measurements. The results show Sr5LaTi3Nb7O30 belongs to paraclectric phase of filled tetrngonal TB structure at room temperature, and undergoes a diffuse phase transition in the temperature range of -54-34℃ . And Sr5LaTi3Nb7O30 ceramic shows a high dielectric constant of 479 with a low dielectric loss of 0.005 at 1MHz . In comparison with Ba-based ceramics with TB structure, the temperature coefficients of the dielectric constant ( τt ) is significantly reduced.     

Preparation,structure and dielectric properties of tungsten bronze ferroelectrics in SrO-Eu<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-Nb<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> system

Compounds Sr4Eu2Ti4Nb6O30 and Sr5EuTi3Nb7O30 with filled tetragonal tungsten bronze structure were prepared,and the dielectric characteristics and ferroelectric transition were investigated.Both ceramics displayed weak frequency dependence in room temperature dielectric constant,which decreased from 125 to 118 for Sr4Eu2Ti4Nb6O30,from 206 to 195 for Sr5EuTi3Nb7O30 in the frequency range of 10 kHz to 1 MHz.The present ceramics showed a diffuse ferroelectric phase transition.The frequency independent transition temperature (Tm) indicated the above compounds had no relaxor property.The diffuseness (γ) was 1.45 and 1.64 for Sr4Eu2Ti4Nb6O30 and Sr5EuTi3Nb7O30 respectively.The weak ferroelectric of the present materials are indicated from the P-E hysteresis loops,and a small 2Pr of 0.596 μC/cm2 and 0.068 μC/cm2 were observed for Sr4Eu2Ti4Nb6O30 and Sr5EuTi3Nb7O30 respectively.     

Preparation and piezoelectric properties of CuO-added (Ag<Subscript>0.75</Subscript>Li<Subscript>0.1</Subscript>Na<Subscript>0.1</Subscript>K<Subscript>0.05</Subscript>)NbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> lead-free ceramics

CuO-doped (Ag_0.75Li_0.1Na_0.1K_0.05)NbO₃ (ALNKN-xCuO, x = 0–2mol%) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were prepared by the solid-state reaction method in air atmosphere. The effects of CuO addition on the phase structure, microstructure, and piezoelectric properties of the ceramics were investigated. The experimental results show that the ALNKN ceramics without doping CuO possess rhombohedral phase along with K2Nb6O16-type phase and metallic silver phase. For all of the CuO-doped ALNKN ceramics, a pure perovskite structure with the orthorhombic phase was obtained by enclosing the samples in a corundum tube. A homogeneous microstructure with the grain size of about 1 μm was formed for the ceramics with 0.5mol% CuO. The grain size increases with increasing amount of CuO. The temperature dependence of dielectric properties indicates that the ferroelectric phase of the ALNKN-xCuO ceramics becomes less stable with the addition of CuO. The ceramics with x = 1mol% exhibit relatively good electrical properties along with a high Curie temperature. These results will provide a helpful guidance to preparing other AN-based ceramics by solid-state reaction method in air atmosphere.     

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of Mg-doped LiNi<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> cathode materials for Li-ion battery

The layered LiNi0.6Co0.2-xMn0.2MgxO2 (x=0.00,0.03,0.05,0.07) cathode materials were prepared by a co-precipitation method.The properties of the Mg-doped LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD),scanning electron microscopy (SEM),and electrochemical measurements.XRD studies showed that the Mg-doped LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 had the same layered structure as the undoped LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2.The SEM images exhibited that the particle size of Mg-doped LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 was finer than that of ...     

Synthesis and characterization of ultra-fine Cr<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> from hydrogen reduction of K<Subscript>2</Subscript>CrO<Subscript>4</Subscript>

As a part of the green process for manufacturing chromium compounds, two steps are involved in the synthesis of ultra-fine Cr2O3 powders： the first is the hydrogen reduction of K2CrO4 into intermediate trivalent （Cr^3＋） or tetravalent （Cr^4＋） chromium compounds; the second is the decomposing of the intermediate into Cr2O3 by heat treating. The intermediate is well characterized by means of SEM, XRD, and XPS. The possible reaction mechanism of the process is analyzed.     

Electrochemical preparation of V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> from NaVO<Subscript>3</Subscript> and its reduction mechanism

Vanadium trioxide (V₂O₃) was directly prepared by NaVO₃ electrolysis in NaCl molten salts. Electrolysis products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The existing state and electrochemical behavior of NaVO₃ were also studied. The results indicated that V₂O₃ can be obtained from NaVO₃. VC and C were also formed at high cell voltage, high temperature, and long electrolysis time. During electrolysis, NaVO₃ was dissociated to Na⁺ and VO₃ ^? in NaCl molten salt. NaVO₃ was initially electro- reduced to V₂O₃ on cathode and Na₂O was released simultaneously. Na₂CO₃ was formed due to the reaction between Na₂O and CO₂. The production of C was ascribed to the electro-reduction of CO₃ ^2?. VC was produced due to the reaction between C and V₂O₃.     

Effect of water soluble PVA on the microstructure characteristics of C-S-H formed in Na<Subscript>2</Subscript>SiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-Ca(NO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript> solution system

The structure characteristics of hydrated calcium silicate synthesized by solution reaction method with the existing of water soluble polymer polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)are investigated.Using Na 2 SO 3 and Ca(NO 3 ) 2 as the main raw materials,in the condition of 2%(in weight)addition of PVA and the water to solid ratio of 20,hydrated calcium silicate samples(Ca/Si=1.0 and 1.5)were prepared with 60℃water bath.IR,BET,XRD and SEM methods were used to study the microstructure of the hydration products.The results s...     

Characterization and photocatalytic activity of KSr<Subscript>2</Subscript>Nb<Subscript>5</Subscript>O<Subscript>15</Subscript> with tungsten bronze structure

Tungsten bronze (TB) type potassium strontium niobate KSr₂Nb₅O₁₅ was prepared by solid-state reaction method, and was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-vis diffuse spectrum. The photocatalyst shows high photocatalytic activity of photodegrading acid red G. The effects of photocatalyst dosage and initial concentration of acid red G on the photodegradation process were studied. The kinetics of photocatalytic degradation of acid red G by KSr₂Nb₅O₁₅ catalyst follows the first order reaction.     

A Modified Co-precipitation Method to Prepare Cu/ZnO/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> Catalyst and Its Application in Low Temperature Water-gas Shift (LT-WGS) Reaction

A modified co-precipitation method for the production of Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ complex was studied. The modification was that part of Al was introduced by adding Al³⁺ into Cu²⁺/Zn²⁺ solution, and the rest of Al was added after co-precipitation step in the form of pseudo-boehmite. The prepared samples were characterized by different techniques such as X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption, H₂-N₂O titration, temperature programmed reduction and scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction characterizations revealed that Al³⁺ can be doped in aurichalcite lattice, and the maximum doping amount of Al³⁺ was 5.0% of total Cu and Zn atoms. The Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ sample produced by the modified method, in which co-precipitated Al³⁺ was 2.5% of total Cu and Zn atoms showed much better activity and stability in water-gas shift reaction than commercial sample. The high Cu surface area (26.1 m²/g) obtained by decompositon of doped aurichalcite is believed to be responsible for the activity enhancement. The stability was enhanced mainly because of the support effect of γ-Al₂O₃, which was decomposed from pseudo-boehmite in the calcination step.     

Co-precipitation/hydrothermal synthesis of BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> powder

A coprecipitation/hydrothermal route was utilized to fabricate pure phase BiFeO3 powders using FeCl3·6H2O and Bi（NO3）3·5H2O as starting materials, ammonia as precipitant and NaOH as mineralizer. The synthesized powders were characterized by XRD, SEM and DSC-TG analysis. In the process, single-phase BiFeO3 powders could be obtained at a hydrothermal reaction temperature of 180 ℃, with NaOH of 0.15 mol/L, in contrast to 200 ℃ and 4 mol/L for conventional hydrothermal route. Meanwhile, the micro-morphology of synthesized BiFeO3 powders changed with different reaction temperatures and concentrations of NaOH. The N6el temperature, Curie temperature and decomposition temperature of the synthesized BiFeO3 powders were detected to be 301 ℃, 828 ℃ and 964 ℃, respectively. The hydrothermal reactions mechanism to fabricate BiFeO3 powders were discussed based on the in-situ transformation process.     

Preparation and optical properties of Er<Superscript>3+</Superscript>: Na<Subscript>2</Subscript>O-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> transparent glass-ceramics

Na₂O-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ glass-ceramics doped with Er³⁺ ions were synthesized by the conventional melt quenching technique at a low melting temperature. The samples were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-vis-NIR scanning spectrophotometry, and fluorescence spectrometry. The results show that the main crystalline phase of glass-ceramics is nepheline.The best heat-treatment process is at 520 °C for 2 h. Because the up-conversion luminescence and near infrared luminescence properties of glass doped with Eu³⁺ are studied in detail.     

Transition of Y<Subscript>2</Subscript>BaCuO<Subscript>5</Subscript> phase in powder melting processed YBa<Subscript>2</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>7−x</Subscript> superconductors

The morphology and the formation of Y2BaCuO5 phase in powder melting processed YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductors were investigated. The experimental results show the heat treatment can not change the shape of Y2BaCuO5 particles in powder melting processed samples. The formation of round Y2BaCuO5 phase is due to relative content of each constitution of precursor powders in powder melting process. For powder melting process, the excessive liquid phase is eliminated, which restrains the preferred growth of Y2BaCuO5 ...     

Fabrication of High-purity Ternary Carbide Ti3AlC2 by Spark Plasma Sintering （SPS） Technique

The effect of silicon on synthesis of Ti3AlC2 by spark plasma sintering （SPS） from TiC/Ti/Al powders was investigated. X-ray diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscope （SEM） were used for phase identification and microstructure evaluation. The results show that addition of silicon can considerably accelerate the synthesis reaction of Ti3AlC2 and fully dense, essentially single-phase （purity 〉98%） polycrystalline Ti3AlC2 could be successfully obtained by sintering 2TiC/lTi/lAl/0.2Si powders at 1 200- 1 250 ℃ under a pressure of 30 MPa. SEM photographs show that the obtained Ti3AlC2 samples from mixtures powders are in plane-shape with a size of about 2-5 μm and 10-25 μm in the thickness dimension and elongated dimension, respectively.     

Solvothermal synthesis and photocatalytic performance of Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>S<Subscript>3</Subscript> hierarchical nanostructure

The synthesis of Bi₂S₃ hierarchical nanostructure was reported by a solvothermal reaction using ethylene disulfhydrate as the sulfur source and chelating reagent. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoluminescence (PL). The XRD, Raman, and XPS data confirmed that the as-synthesized sample belongs to orthorhombic phase Bi₂S₃. The SEM observations displayed that Bi₂S₃ hierarchical nanostructure assembled from nanorods. A 410 nm ultraviolet photoluminescence (PL) emission of as-synthesized Bi₂S₃ was observed when the sample was excited with wavelength of 320-330 nm. The Bi₂S₃ hierarchical nanostructure also shows a significant enhancement of photocatalytic capability toward degrading methyl orange (MO) under UV light, the photodegradation of MO reaches 95% within 180 min.     

Synthesis and characterization of a new Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> pillared triple-layered perovskite KSr<Subscript>2</Subscript>Nb<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>10</Subscript>

A n-Hexyl NH₃Sr₂Nb₃O₁₀ is obtained by the stepwise ion-exchange reaction, then is dispersed in aqueous solution of trinuclear acetato-hydroxo iron (III) nitrate, [Fe₃(OCOCH₃)₇OH·2H₂O]NO₃, and the interlayer potassium cations of the perovskite niobate are exchanged with the partially hydrolyzed trinuclear acetato complex ions. On heating, the exchanged complex ions are converted into iron oxide pillars which keep the perovskite sheets apart. The product is characterized by XRD, SEM, EDAX and surface area measurement respectively. Zhang Hui: Born in 1970 Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50002007), Major Program of Ministry of Education (No. 0201) and Open Foundation of State Key Lab of Advanced Tech. for Materials Synthesis and Processing.     

Synthesis and Dielectric Properties of New Niobate BiTi3Nb7O30

A new niobate Ba5 BiTi3Nb7O30 was synthesized by the solid-state reaction. It was characterized by X-ray diffraction and dielectric constant measurements. The results show that Ba5BiTi3Nb7O30 is paraelectric at room temperature and belongs to tetragonal 4/ mmm symmetry with unit cell parameters a = 1.25020 nm, c =0.39704 nm. Ba5BiTi3Nb7O30 has only one phase transition, paraelectric to ferroelectric, below 0℃.     

Effect of aluminum addition on microstructure and properties of SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-B<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-CaO vitrified bond

Influence of aluminum addition on the structures and properties of SiO₂-B₂O₃-Al₂O₃-CaO vitrified bond at low sintering temperature and high strength was discussed. FTIR and XRD analyses were used to characterize the structures of the basic vitrified bond with different contents of aluminum. The bending strength and the thermal expansion coefficients were also tested. Meanwhile, the microstructures of composite specimens at sintering temperature of 660 °C were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The experimental results showed that the properties of vitrified bond with 1wt% aluminum were improved significantly, where the bending strength, Rockwell hardness, and thermal expansion coefficient of the vitrified bond reached 132 MPa, 63 HRB, and 6.73×10^-6 °C^-1, respectively.     

Effects of Electroless Plating with Cu Content on Thermoelectric and Mechanical Properties of p-type Bi<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Sb<Subscript>1.5</Subscript>Te<Subscript>3</Subscript> Bulk Alloys

Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃/Cu core/shell powders were prepared by electroless plating and hydrogen reduction, and then sintered into bulk by spark plasma sintering. After electroless plating, with increasing the Cu content, the electrical conductivity keeps enhancing significantly. The highest electrical conductivity reaches 3341S/cm at room temperature in Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ with 0.67wt% Cu bulk sample. Moreover, the lowest lattice thermal conductivity reaches 0.32 W/m·K at 572.2 K in Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ with 0.67wt% Cu bulk sample, which is caused by the scattering of the rich-copper particles with different dimensions and massive grain boundaries. According to the results, the ZT values of all Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃/Cu bulk samples have improved in a high temperature range. In Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ with 0.15wt% Cu bulk sample, the highest ZT value at 573.4 K is 0.81. When the Cu content increases to 0.67wt%, the highest ZT value reaches 0.85 at 622.2 K. Meanwhile, the microhardness increases with increasing the Cu content.     

Improved Breakdown Strength in (Ba<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.4</Subscript>)<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>Bi<Subscript>0.1</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> Ceramics with Addition of CaZrO<Subscript>3</Subscript> for Energy Storage Application

(Ba_0.6Sr_0.4)_0.85Bi_0.1TiO₃ ceramics doped with x wt%CaZrO₃ (x= 0-10) were synthesized by solid-state reaction method. The effects of CaZrO₃ amount on the dielectric properties and structure of (Ba_0.6Sr_0.4)_0.85Bi_0.1TiO₃ ceramics were investigated. X-ray diffraction results indicated a pure cubic perovskite structure for all samples and that the lattice parameter increased till x=5 and then slightly decreased. A homogenous microstructure was observed with the addition of CaZrO₃. Dielectric measurements revealed a relaxor-like characteristic for all samples and that the diffusivity γ reached the maximum value of 1.78 at x=5. With the addition of CaZrO₃, the dielectric constant dependence on electric field was weakened, insulation resistivity enhanced and dielectric breakdown strength improved obviously and reached 19.9 kV/mm at x=7.5. In virtue of low dielectric loss (tan δ<0.001 5), moderate dielectric constant (ε_r >1 500) and high breakdown strength (E_b >17.5 kV/mm), the CaZrO₃ doped (Ba_0.6Sr_0.4)_0.85Bi_0.1TiO₃ ceramic is a potential candidate material for high power electric applications.