Structure and permanent magnetic properties of SmFex （x=3-8） melt spun ribbons during heat treatment

Compounds with the composition SmFex（x=3–8） were prepared by melt spun method at a velocity of 40 m/s and subsequent annealing at temperature between 600–1000 ℃. The crystal structures of the as-quenched and as annealed powders were investigated by XRD methods with following Rietveld analysis. The glass forming ability could be enhanced by the increase of Sm content to x≤5.Metastable Sm5Fe17-type structure existed when 3≤x≤5 and temperature was lower than 800 ℃. SmFe2-type structure could be stable up to 1000 ℃ when x〉3 and temperature was under 800 ℃. The content of SmFe2-type decreased with the increase of x value and increased with temperature lower than 800 ℃, from which SmFe2-type started to bring the transition to SmFe3-type. As for Sm5Fe17-type compounds with x=3.4, the highest coercivity of 33.6 kOe could be obtained under a velocity of 30 m/s and heat treated under 700 ℃×1h.     

Magnetic Properties of La1-xSrxCoO3 （0 ≤ x ≤ 0. 5）

The measurements of temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility of La1-xSrxCoO3 perovskite oxides at different Sr doping （0 ≤x ≤0.5） and annealing temperature were presented. For the sample with x = 0.1, a shoulder was observed around 150 K, and a peak which is one feature of spin glass appeared around 50 K in the curve of susceptibility versus temperature. The high-temperature （250 - 420 K）susceptibility fits well with Curie-Weiss law for all samples. Weiss constant and effective magnetic moment were determined and their variations with Sr doping and oxygen annealing condition were obtained. The Weiss constant increases monotonously with Sr content for x 〉 0.2. The values of effective moments were interpreted with the spin state of cobalt ions. Studies on the susceptibilities of the samples with x = 0.2 under different preparation temperatures and annealing temperatures show that the rising of sintering temperature and annealing temperature will increase the para-ferromagnetic transition temperature, and reduce the effective moment to normal value. Our result shows that both Co^3＋ and Co^4＋ ions should be in IS state after annealing and the oxygen annealing causes the transition of Co^3＋ spin state from HS to IS.     

Stability of phases in （Ba,Gd）MnO3 solid solution system

The existing phases in BaxGd1-xMnO3 solid solution system （0≤x≤ 1） were studied by analyzing the detailed crystal structure of each composition from the results of the Rietveld method using powder X-ray diffraction data. For a small substitution of Ba for Gd （0≤x〈0. 1）, the orthorhombic phase with a perovskite type structure （Pnma space group） was stably formed and this fact was supported by the electron diffraction data. There existed an intermediate phase of Ba0.33Gd0.67MnO3, which was characterized as the tetragonal phase with perovskite structure. The composition range of this phase was narrow and almost line compound. Between the regions of these phases, there existed two-phase region. There was also a two-phase region between the intermediate tetragonal phase and BaMnO3. Measurement of electrical conductivities of these orthorhombic solid solutions and tetragonal phases showed semiconducting behaviors for both phases and the existence of the phase transition at high temperature for the orthorhombic phase, The transition temperature decreased as the Ba content increased.     

Influence of iron on phase and magnetic property of the LaFe_（11.6）Si_（1.4） compound

The phase relation, microstructure, Curie temperatures, hysteresis, and magnetocaloric effects of LaFex*11.6Si1.4 (x=0.96, 0.98, 1.0, and 1.02) compounds prepared by arc-melting and then annealed at 1423 K (1.5 h)+1523 K (4.5 h) were investigated. The main phase was NaZn13-type phase, the impurity phases included a small amount of α-Fe and LaFeSi phase in four samples. The crystal cell parameters of 1:13 phase increased from 1.1433(5) to 1.1454(4) nm with x increasing from 0.96 to 1.02, respectively. All samples kept the typical first-order magnetic transition. The increase of Fe strengthened IEM behavior, and led to the remarkable enhancement of MCE effect and negative slopes in Arrott plots around TC. The maximum ΔSM (T, H) under a low magnetic field (0-2 T) was 15.3, 16.8, 17.9, and 24.7 J/kg K with increasing of Fe content from x=0.96 to 1.02, respectively.     

Phase structure and magnetocaloric effect of （Tb1-xDyx）Co2 alloys

Phase structure and magnetocaloric effect of （Tb1-xDyx）Co2 alloys with x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 were investigated using X-ray diffraction analysis, differential thermal analysis, and magnetization measurement. The samples were single phase with cubic MgCu2- type structure; with the increase of Dy content, Tc decreased from 240 K （TbCo2） to 130 K （DyCo2）, and the maximum magnetic entropy change ｜ △SM,max｜ increased from 3.133 to 8.176 J/kg-K under low magnetic field of 0-2 T. The Arrott plot and the change of ｜△SM,max｜ showed that magnetic phase transition from second order to first order occured with the increase of Dy content between x=-0.6 and 0.8.     

Oxygen Storage Capacity of Pt-, Pd-, Rh/CeO2-Based Oxide Catalyst

CZO （CeO2-ZrO2） and CZYO （CeO2-ZrO2-Y2O3） series of mixed oxides were prepared by coprecipitaion, and a part of these oxides were loaded with precious metals （PM）. XRD, BET, and oxygen storage capacity （OSC） investigations were performed on samples aged at 750, 900, and 1050 ℃. It was observed that BET surface area and OSC showed a marked decrease in CeO2 aged at high temperature, and the erystallite size showed an obvious increase. The CZO samples consist of cubic- and tetragonal crvstal phases, and their crystallite size increase rapidly when aged at high temperature. The CZYO samples consist of single crystal phase when the content of Y exceeds 0.15 mol, and their erystallite size increases slowly during high-temperature aging. It is concluded that additive Y can stabilize the performance of CZYO oxides. In the aged CZO and CZYO mixed-oxide systems, addition of a small amount of precious metals （Pt, Pd, Rh） increased the rate of reduction and led to an obvious improvement in OSC. OSC of CZO and CZYO with precious metals are related to their composition and the type of precious metal.     

Influence of partial substitution of cerium for lanthanum on magnetocaloric properties of La_(1–x)Ce_xFe_(11.44)Si_(1.56) and their hydrides

The structure and magnetocaloric properties of La1–xCexFe11.44Si1.56 and their hydrides La1–xCexFe11.44Si1.56Hy（x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4） were investigated.The samples crystallized mainly in the cubic Na Zn13-type structure with a small amount of α-Fe phase as impurity.The lattice constants and Curie temperature presented the same change tendency with increasing of Ce content.For the hydrides, the influence of Ce content on lattice constants was weakened and the values of H concentration y were approximate to be 1.56.The La1–xCexFe11.44Si1.56 compounds exhibited large values of isothermal entropy change –ΔSm around the Curie temperature TC under a low magnetic field change of 1.5 T.The value of –ΔSm increased and then decreased with increasing Ce content, reached the maximum, 26.07 J/kg·K for x=0.3.TC increased up to the vicinity of room temperature by hydrogen absorption for the Ce substituted compounds, but TC only slightly decreased with increasing Ce content.The first-order metamagnetic transition was still kept in the hydrides and the maximum values of –ΔSm were lower than those of the La1–xCexFe11.44Si1.56 compounds, but still remained large values, about 10.5 J/kg K under a magnetic field change of 1.5 T.The values of –ΔSm were nearly independent of the Ce content and did not increase with increasing x for the hydrides.The La1–xCexFe11.44Si1.56Hy（x=0–0.4） hydrides exhibited large magnetic entropy changes, small hysteresis loss and effective refrigerant capacity covered the room temperature range from 305 to 317 K.These hydrides are very useful for the magnetic refrigeration applications near room temperature under low magnetic field change.     

High-temperature thermal properties of yttria fully stabilized zirconia ceramics

In this study,the dependences of yttria content,porosity and grain size on the thermal properties of Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ) ceramics were investigated.YSZ ceramics were synthesized by the solid state reaction method.The phase,microstructure and thermal properties of YSZ ceramics were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD),scanning electron microscopy (SEM),differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and laser-flash apparatus (LFA),respectively.The results indicated that the specific heat capacity of YSZ increased with the increase of temperature and decreased with the increase of yttria content.As the temperature increased,the thermal diffusivity and conductivity of YSZ ceramics were decreased,whereas their variations for 16YSZ,18YSZ and 20YSZ were much less pronounced than those for 12YSZ and 14YSZ.At a given temperature,the thermal conductivity of YSZ was opposite to yttria content.The thermal conductivity of YSZ ceramics almost linearly decreased with the increase of porosity.In addition,the grain size also had a great influence on the thermal conductivity.     

Influence of the Erbium Substitution for Gd in Gd5Si1.8Ge2.2Alloys on the Magnetocaloric Effect in Low-Field

The phases and magnetocaloric effect in the alloys (Gd1-xErx)5Si1.8Ge2.2 with x=0,0.1,0.2 and 0.3 were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis and magnetization measurement. The samples were single phase with the monoclinic Gd5Si2Ge2-type structure. With the increase of Er content, the Curie temperature (Tc) decreased obviously from 253K of the alloy with x=0 to 114K with x=0.3. The maximum magnetic entropy changed in the samples of (Gd1-xErx)5Si1.8Ge2.2 with x=0.0,0.1,0.2 and 0.3 were 6.88,8.32,9.59 and 10.24 J·kg-1·K-1 respectively in the applied field change of 0~2.0T.     

Effects of Yb-doping on flux pinning properties in YBa2Cu3O7-δ

The effects of Yb-doping on the critical current density(Jc) and the critical temperature(Tc) in YBa2Cu3O7-δ(YBCO) were investigated.Rietveld refinements of X-ray diffraction showed that Yb3+ ions had partly substituted Y sites in YBCO and the unit cell volume V decreased monotonically as x increasing.Although Tc almost had no change with increasing Yb-concentration,the increase of Jc occurred as a field was applied and displayed a maximum at x=0.08.We argued that the formation of nanometric inhomogeneity may lead to the enhancement of pinning force.     

Structure and Transport Properties in CMR Materials of La（1-x）2/3Ca1/3MnO3 with Rare Earth Vacancies

Samples of manganese oxides La（1-x）2/3Ca1/3MnO3（x 〈 0.10） with Lavacancy were prepared by standard solid-state reaction method. All the samples are single phase, with orthorhombic symmetry （Pnma ）, analyzed by XRD and with Rietveld Refinement. The effect of different La-site vacancies concentration on electronic transport of La（1-x）2/3Ca1/3MnO3 was investigated. The insulator-metal transition temperature （about 267 K） nearly remains unchanged with the increase of vacancy concentration, which indicates that small La-vacancy does not destroy the double exchange interaction. But the electronic resistance increases and MR value decreases with La-vacancy content x 〉 0.04. The maximum of the MR value （8 T） is about 220% at transition temperature （TMI）.     

Improvement in structure and superconductivity of YBa_2Cu_3O_(6+δ) ceramics superconductors by optimizing sintering processing

Polycrystalline YBa_2Cu_3O_(6+δ) bulks were synthesized by sol-gel method. Sintering processing played a vital role in the evolution of phase structure and microstructure, and thus significantly influenced their superconducting properties. The influence of calcination temperature, sintering temperature, on the bulks structure, morphology and superconducting behaviors were investigated. The results showed that the oxygen content drastically increased with calcination temperature and sintering temperature. The SEM images revealed that the grains grew up monotonously with increase of calcination temperature. With increased calcination and sintering temperature, the resistivity was reduced gradually and the superconducting properties increased. Moreover, it was found that the optimal superconducting properties(with the highest superconducting transition temperature T_c~(onset) and the narrowest transition width ΔT) were obtained at calcination temperature of 900 °C and sintering temperature of 950 °C.     

Structural Analysis and Magnetic Properties of Gd-Doped Li-Ni Ferrites Prepared Using Rheological Phase Reaction Method

A series of Gd-doped Li-Ni ferrites with the formula of LiNi0.5GdxFe2-xO4 where x = 0.00 - 0.08 in steps of 0.02, were prepared by thermolysis of oxalate precursors obtained by rheological phase reaction. The structure, morphology, and the magnetic properties of the samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction （XRD）, atomic force microscopy （AFM） and a vibrating sample magnetometer （VSM）. A single spinel phase was obtained in the range of x = 0.00 - 0.04. The lattice parameters of the Gd-doped samples were larger than that of pure Li-Ni ferrite, and increased in the range of 0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.04, then decreased up to x = 0.08, because of the formation of the secondary phase （Gd- FeO3）. All samples were spheric particles with an average size of about 100 nm, but agglomerated to some extent. The hysteresis loops indicated that the saturation magnetization decreased gradually with increasing Gd content, while the variation of coercivity was related to the microstructure of the Gd-doped samples.     

Effect of Ag substitution on structural,magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Pr_(0.6)Sr_(0.4–x)Ag_xMnO_3 manganites

A systematic investigation on the structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Pr_(0.6)Sr_(0.4-x)Ag_xMnO_3(x=0.05 and 0.1) manganites was reported. Rietveld refinements of the X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that all samples were single phase and crystallized in the orthorhombic structure with Pnma space group. Magnetic measurements in a magnetic applied field of 0.01T revealed that the ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition temperature T_C decreased from about 293 to 290 K with increasing silver content from x=0.05 to 0.1. The reported magnetocaloric entropy change and relative cooling power for both samples were considerably remarkable with a △S_(max) value of 1.9 J/(kg·K)and maximum RCP values of 100 J/kg, under a magnetic field change(?μ0H) equal to 1.8T. The analysis of the universal curves gave an evidence of a second order magnetic transition for the studied samples. The magnetic field influence on both the magnetic entropy change and the relative cooling power was also studied and discussed.     

Variation of optimum yttrium doping concentrations of perovskite type proton conductors BaZrl_xYxO3-~ （0~~~_0.3） with temperature

A solid state reaction method was used to prepare the perovskite-structured compounds BaZrl-xYxO3-a （x=0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3）. The X-ray diffraction （XRD） pattern indicated that the target perovsldte phases were obtained. With increasing Y con- centration the unit cell parameters of BaZrl-xYxO3-a samples were expanded, and Y doping became more difficult. However, high synthesis temperature is helpful to promote Y doping. The SEM results showed that the samples exhibited poor sinterability with in- creasing Y-doping content. Thermal gravimetric （TG） curves analysis showed the more mass decreasing of BaZrl-xYxO3-a （0≤x≤0.3） samples at high temperature with more Y doping and more proton introducing. The electrochemical impedance spectra （EIS） of specimens showed that conductivities of BaZrl_xYxO3（0≤x≤0.3） increased with increasing temperature from 300 to 900 ℃ in wet air. At 900 ℃, the conductivity of BaZrl-xYxO3-a （0≤x≤0.3） first increased with increasing doped amount of Y, and reached the high- est value of 1.07x 104 S/cm when x was 0.2, then decreased gradually with further increasing Y content. At 600 ℃, BaZr0.75Y0.2503-a displayed the highest conductivity, while the conductivity of BaZro.rYo.303-a was the highest at 300 ℃. The results indicated that there should be an optimum Y doping concentration yielding the highest conductivity at a constant temperature, and the optimum Y doping concentration should increase in the humidity atmosphere as the temperature decreases. So increasing the Y-doping concen- tration is helpful to improve the conductivities of BaZrl-xYxO3-a materials at low temperature.     

Phase structure and electrochemical properties of non-stoichiometric La0.7Ce0.3(Ni3.65Cu0.75Mn0.35Al0.15(Fe0.43B0.57)0.10)x hydrogen storage alloys

Phase structure and electrochemical characteristics of Co-free La0.7Ce0.3(Ni3.65Cu0.75Mn0.35Al0.15(Fe0.43B0.57)0.10)x (0.90≤x≤1.10) al-loys were investigated. When x was 0.90, the alloy was composed of LaNi5, La3Ni13B2 and Ce2Ni7 phases. The Ce2Ni7 phase disappeared, and the abundant of La3Ni13B2 phase decreased when x increased to 0.95. When x was 1.00 or higher the alloys consisted of LaNi5 phase. The lat-tice parameter a and the cell volume V of the LaNi5 phase decreased, and the c/a ratio of the LaNi5 phase increased with x value increasing. Maximum discharge capacity of the alloy electrodes first increased and then decreased with x value increasing from 0.90 to 1.10, and the highest value was obtained when x was 1.00. High-rate dischargeability at the discharge current density of 1200 mA/g increased from 50.7% (x= 0.90) to 64.1% (x=1.10). Both the charge-transfer reaction at the electrode/electrolyte interface and the hydrogen diffusion in the alloy were responsible for the high-rate dischargeability. Cycling capacity retention rate at 100th cycle (S100) gradually increased from 77.3% (x= 0.90) to 84.6% (x=1.10), which resulted from the increase in Ni content and the c/a ratio of the LaNi5 phase with x value increasing.     

Surface and Texture Properties of Tb-Doped Ceria-Zirconia Solid Solution Prepared by Sol-Gel Method

The three-way catalysts （TWCs） promoters Ce0.6Zr0.4- x TbxO2-y were prepared by sol-gel method. BET surface areas analysis indicated that an increase of the dopant Tb content from x = 0.05 to x = 0.15 favors an increase of surface area from 66.8 to 80.4 m^2· g^-1 compared with the undoped sample Ce0 .6oZr0.40O2 65.1 m^2·g^- 1 after calcination at 650℃. Transmission electron microscopy （TEM） observation indicated that the doped samples have a higher thermal stability. The XRD and Raman spectra confirmed that the Ce0.6Zr0.4-xTbxO2-y cubic solid solution is formed. XPS analysis revealed that Ce and Tb mainly existed in the form of Ce^4＋ and Tb^3 ＋ , and Zr existed in the form of Zr^4＋ on the surface of the samples. The doped samples were homogenous in composition ; the introduction of Tb into the CeO2-ZrO2 promoters resuited in the formation of a solid solution, and the concentration of surface lattice oxygen was increased.     

Influence of Cr-doping on the magnetic and electrical transport properties of Nd_（0.75）Na_（0.25）MnO_3

Polycrystalline Nd0.75Na0.25Mn1-xCrxO3(0≤x≤0.1) samples were prepared by sol-gel method and their magnetic and electrical transport properties were investigated experimentally.The parent compound with x=0 was a charge ordered manganite and the charge ordering transition occurred at 170 K.For lower Cr concentration(x<0.03),the samples preserved the charge ordering features of the parent compound,but the charge ordering transition temperature decreased with increasing x,in particular from 170 K for x=0 to 154...     

Synthesis and characterization of calcium and manganese-doped rare earth oxide La_(1-x)Ca_xFe_(0.9)Mn_(0.1)O_(3-δ) for cathode material in IT-SOFC

In order to develop novel cathode materials with high performance for intermediate temperature SOFC(IT-SOFC),Ca and Mn doped rare earth oxides La1-xCaxFe0.9Mn0.1O3-δ(x=0.1,0.3 and 0.5,denoted as LCFM9191,LCFM7391 and LCFM5591) were synthesized by solid state reaction(SSR) method.The formation process,phase structure and microstructure of the synthesized samples were characterized using thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry(TG/DSC),X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The thermal expansion coefficients(TEC) of the samples were analyzed at 100-900 oC by thermal dilatometry.The electrical conductivities of the samples were measured with direct current(DC) four-terminal method from 300 to 850 oC.The results indicated that the samples(x=0.1 and 0.3) exhibited a single phase with orthorhombic and cubic perovskite structure,respectively after being sintered at 1200 oC for 3 h.The electrical conductivity of the samples increased with temperature up to a maximum value,and then decreased.The small polaron hopping was regarded as the conducting mechanism for synthesized samples at T≤600 oC.The negative temperature dependence occurring at higher temperature was due to the creation of oxygen vacancies for charge balance.LCFM7391 had higher mixed conductivity(>100 S/cm) at intermediate temperature and could meet the demand of cathode material for IT-SOFC.In addition,the average TECs of LCFM9191 and LCFM7391 were 11.9×10-6 and 13.1×10-6 K-1,respectively,which had good thermal match to the common electrolytes.     

Synthesis and characterization of Co_(1-2x)Ni_xMn_xCe_yFe_(2-y)O_4 nanoparticles

Spinel ferrite Co_(1-2 x)Ni_xMn_xFe_(2-y)Ce_yO_4(0.0≤x=y≤0.3) nanoparticles(NPs) were prepared by sol-gel auto-combustion method.The synthesized NPs were examined using several techniques such as X-ray diffraction(XRD),field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM) coupled with EDX and elemental mapping,transmission electron microscopy(TEM),Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR),and a vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM).The analysis of the crystal structure and the phase identification of samples indicates the formation of spinel cubic phase with the occurrence of CeO_2 as secondary phase when the content of Ce substitution element increases.In addition,all produced samples exhibit cubic symmetry with space group Fd3m.TEM confirms the presence of two phases,i.e.,the cubic spinel ferrite and the cubic cerium oxide(CeO_2).The characteristics of hysteresis loops reveal the soft ferrimagnetic nature of the different synthesized samples.The saturation(M_s) and remanent(M_r) magnetizations fall on increasing the content of substituting elements.Compared with pure CoFe_2O_4 NPs,the value of coercive field(H_c) slightly increases for x=y=0.1 and x=y=0,2 NPs.Then,H_c reduces with further increasing the x and y contents.The squareness ratio is found to be in the 0.528-0.400 interval,indicating the single domain NPs with uniaxial anisotropy for the different produced NPs.The magneto crystalline anisotropy constant(K_(eff)),anisotropy field(H_a),magneton number(n_B) and the demagnetizing field(N) were also determined and discussed.