A new combustion route to γ-Fe2O3 synthesis

A new combustion route for the synthesis of γ-Fe ₂ O ₃ is reported by employing purified a-Fe ₂ O ₃ as a precursor in the present investigation. This synthesis which is similar to a self propagation combustion reaction, involves fewer steps, a shorter overall processing time, is a low energy reaction without the need of any explosives, and also the reaction is completed in a single step yielding magnetic iron oxide i.e. γ-Fe ₂ O ₃ .The as synthesized γ-Fe ₂ O ₃ is characterized employing thermal, XRD, SEM, magnetic hysteresis, and density measurements. The effect of ball-milling on magnetic properties is also presented.     

Grain orientation and anisotropy in the physical properties of SrBi2(Nb1 − x V x )2O9 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3) ceramics

SrBi₂(Nb_{1 – x} V _x )₂O₉ (0 x 0.3 in molar ratio) ceramics have been fabricated via conventional sintering at elevated temperatures. Interestingly sintering the pellets in the 1320–1470 K temperature range yielded partially grain oriented ceramics. The orientation factor (f) monitored via X-ray powder diffraction studies was found to increase with increasing V₂O₅ content and reached 83% for x = 0.3. The increment in (f) was not that significant with increase in sintering temperature and its duration. The microstructural studies suggest that V₂O₅ has a truncating effect on the abnormal platy growth of SBN grains. The dielectric constant (_r) and loss (D) measurements as functions of both temperature and V₂O₅ content have been carried out along the directions parallel (_rp) and perpendicular (_rn) to the cold pressing axis of the pellet. The anisotropy (_rn/_rp) associated with _r was found to be 1.11 at 300 K and 2.1 at the Curie temperature, (T _c) respectively. Different dielectric mixture formulae that were employed to analyze the effective dielectric constants of these samples with varying porosity confirmed that the experimental value of _r was comparable with that obtained using Wiener's formula. Impedance spectroscopy was employed to rationalize the electrical behavior of these ceramics. The pyroelectric coefficients along the directions parallel and perpendicular to the pressing axis of the grain oriented (83%) SBN ceramic at 300 K were 0.13145 mC/m²K and 0.26291 mC/m²K respectively. The ferroelectric properties of these grain-oriented ceramics were better in the direction perpendicular to the pressing axis than those in the parallel direction.     

Effect of water absorption on erosive wear behaviour of polyamides

Two polyamides (PAs) viz. PA 6 and PA 12 were selected for investigating the influence of water absorption on some physical, mechanical and tribological properties. Erosive wear studies on water treated and untreated samples were carried out at two impact angles viz. 30° and 90°. Tests on tensile strength of untreated and treated polyamides revealed that the water treatment resulted in enhancement for PA12 and reduction for PA 6. Exactly similar trends were reflected in their erosive wear performance also. The water absorption deteriorated the wear performance of PA 6 at both the angles, whereas the erosion wear behaviour of PA 12 improved at both the angles due to water absorption. The improvement was more significant at the angle of 30° rather than 90°. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) investigations were done to study the topography of worn surfaces and to understand the wear mechanisms.     

Machinable mica-based glass-ceramic

A glass-ceramic in the K₂O-MgO-Al₂O₃-MgF₂-SiO₂ system was prepared through the sol-gel and alkaline precipitation routes. The powders were hot pressed into workable discs. The glass-ceramic was found to be machinable with conventional tools. Its physical and mechanical properties compare favourably with commercial macor. A dependence of flexure strength on microstructure is also indicated.     

Microstructural,dielectric, impedance and electric modulus studies on vanadium—doped and pure strontium bismuth niobate (SrBi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Nb<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>9</Subscript>) ceramics

SrBi₂Nb₂O₉ (SBN) and SrBi₂(Nb_0.9V_0.1)₂O₉ (SBVN) ceramics were fabricated from the powders consisting of μm sized grains, obtained via the solid state reaction route. V₂O₅ was found to be an effective microstructure modifier and grain growth truncator for SBN ceramics. X-ray structural studies carried out on SBVN ceramics confirmed the existence of preferential orientation (c-planes) of the grains. V₂O₅ addition has substantially improved the sinterability of SBN and enabled to achieve high density (95%) which was otherwise difficult in the case of pure SBN. The dielectric properties of SBN ceramics were significantly enhanced by the partial replacement of Nb ions by pentavalent vanadium ions. The complex impedance diagrams of dense SBVN ceramics exhibited only one semicircle indicating a significant contribution from the grains. In contrast, the impedance plots for the porous (density 88%) SBN ceramics show an additional low-frequency semicircle which was attributed to the blocker (pore) size effects. The dielectric behavior of SBN and SBVN ceramics was rationalized using the impedance and modulus data.     

Strip Yield Model Numerical Application to Different Geometries and Loading Conditions

A new numerical method based on the strip yield analysis approach was developed for calculating the Crack Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD). This approach can be applied to any crack geometry, of either infinite or finite extent, with arbitrary applied loading conditions. The technique is an adaptation of the dislocation-density based boundary element method to obtain crack-face opening displacements at any point on a crack, and succeeds in obtaining the requisite values as a series of definite integrals, the functional parts of each of which are evaluated exactly in closed form. The power of the technique is demonstrated by obtaining solutions to several crack configurations of practical interest.     

A single-molecule potentiometer

Controlling electron transport through a single-molecule device is key to the realization of nanoscale electronic components. A design requirement for single molecule electrical devices is that the molecule must be both structurally and electrically connected to the metallic electrodes. Typically, the mechanical and electrical contacts are achieved by the same chemical moiety. In this study, we demonstrate that the structural role may be played by one group (for example, a sulfide) while the electrical role may be played by another (a conjugated chain of C═C π-bonds). We can specify the electrical conductance through the molecule by modulating to which particular site on the oligoene chain the electrode binds. The result is a device that functions as a potentiometer at the single-molecule level.     

Random parameter models of interstate crash frequencies by severity,number of vehicles involved,collision and location type

A nine-year (1999–2007) continuous panel of crash histories on interstates in Washington State, USA, was used to estimate random parameter negative binomial (RPNB) models for various aggregations of crashes.     

Single-molecule circuits with well-defined molecular conductance

We measure the conductance of amine-terminated molecules by breaking Au point contacts in a molecular solution at room temperature. We find that the variability of the observed conductance for the diamine molecule-Au junctions is much less than the variability for diisonitrile- and dithiol-Au junctions. This narrow distribution enables unambiguous conductance measurements of single molecules. For an alkane diamine series with 2-8 carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon chain, our results show a systematic trend in the conductance from which we extract a tunneling decay constant of 0.91 +/- 0.03 per methylene group. We hypothesize that the diamine link binds preferentially to undercoordinated Au atoms in the junction. This is supported by density functional theory-based calculations that show the amine binding to a gold adatom with sufficient angular flexibility for easy junction formation but well-defined electronic coupling of the N lone pair to the Au. Therefore, the amine linkage leads to well-defined conductance measurements of a single molecule junction in a statistical study.