Observation of oxygen pyramid tilting induced polarization rotation in strained BiFeO3 thin film

Oxygen octahedral tilting has been recognized to strongly interact with spin, charge, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom in perovskite oxides. Here, we observe a strain-driven stripe-like morphology of two supertetragonal (monoclinic Cc and Cm ) phases in the strained BiFeO₃/LaAlO₃ thin films. The two supertetragonal phases have a similar giant axial ratio but differences in oxygen pyramid tilting mode. Especially, the competition between polar instability and oxygen pyramid tilting is identified using atomically resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy, leading to the polarization rotation across the phase boundary. In addition, microtwins are observed in the Cc phase. Our findings provide new insights of the coupling between ferroelectric polarization and oxygen pyramid tilting in oxide thin films and will help to design novel phase morphology with desirable ferroelectric polarization and properties for new applications in perovskite oxides.     

Preparation of near net size porous alumina-calcium aluminate ceramics by gelcasting-pore-forming agent processs

In the processing of porous ceramics, shrinkage from green body to sintered compact during drying and sintering is one of the key concerns which affect microstructure and properties of porous ceramics. Through releasing gases from the burning of the pore forming agents, and volume expansion from the formation of low density resultants during sintering, the sintering shrinkage can be effectively compensated and near net size preparation can be achieved. Herein, near net size porous alumina-calcium aluminate ceramics with controllable shrinkage have been prepared using a combination of gelcasting and pore-forming agent process by adjusting the amount of CaCO₃ and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) microspheres added. Al₂O₃ and CaCO₃ were used as raw materials, PMMA microspheres were used as pore-forming agent, isobutylene/maleic anhydride copolymer (Isobam104) was used as gelling agent and dispersing agent. The effects of the addition amounts of CaCO₃ and PMMA in the slurry on the phase composition, shrinkage, porosity, and strength of porous alumina-calcium aluminate ceramics were investigated. The results show that as the CaCO₃ addition amount increases from 0 to 20 wt%, the shrinkage of the samples gradually decreases from 7.3% to −1.4%, and the consequent porosity increases from 58% to 66%, while the compressive strength increases from 5.9 to 15.5 MPa. When PMMA content increases from 10 to 50 wt%, the shrinkage of the samples decreases first and then increases, the porosity increases from 51% to 74%, and the compressive strength decreases from 12.5 to 5.3 MPa. The mechanisms for controlling shrinkages during preparation of porous alumina-calcium aluminate ceramics can be attributed to the following aspects: on one hand, gas release from burning of PMMA and decomposition of CaCO₃ during sintering; on the other hand, volume expansion due to the formation of lower density calcium aluminates which come from the reactions between CaO and Al₂O₃. The near net size preparation technique is of great significance for the manufacture of porous ceramics since the subsequent machining cost can be effectively reduced.     

Time dependent relaxation of photoexcited states in polyacetylene

We present the results obtained by numerical simulation of the time behaviour, in the long time regime, of the transient photoinduced bleaching. The polymeric chain is assumed to be formed by conjugated segments of different length, whose distribution is derived by the resonant Raman scattering spectra interpretation. The kinetics of the photoinduced carriers is simulated through a random walk over a sequence of conjugated segments, separated by temperature dependent barriers with randomly distributed heights. The numerical simulation is able to determine a power law behaviour t^−α as observed experimentally in the picosecond regime (50–1000 ps) with α decreasing as function of temperature.     

Effect of oscillatory pressure on the sintering behavior of ZrO2 ceramic

Zirconia ceramics were prepared by oscillatory pressure sintering (OPS) and hot pressing (HP). The result revealed that OPS could enhance densification compared to HP when sintering temperature was higher than a critical value. The onset temperature for rapid grain growth was found to be same for both techniques. However, rate of grain growth in OPS was lower than that in HP. Furthermore, the result also showed that samples prepared by OPS exhibited higher hardness than those prepared by HP when sintering temperature was higher than the critical value. The improved hardness was solely due to the higher density of the samples prepared by OPS.     

陶瓷基光子晶体的研究进展

采用以陶瓷材料为母体制备光子晶体是光子晶体制备的一个重要研究发展方向.本文介绍了陶瓷基光子晶体的几种主要的制备方法以及光子晶体在微波和红外、可见光频段中的应用.基于功能陶瓷所具有丰富的光/电功能可以制备陶瓷基光子晶体,文中介绍了可调带隙光子晶体和光子晶体中自发辐射方面的一些研究成果.陶瓷基光子晶体由于具有折射率高,功能广泛,制备手段多样等特点,因而具有广泛的应用前景,如用作电场调节的光开关和在显示领域中基于光子晶体各向异性发光特点的具有定向光发射性能的光源.     

Thermal conductivities and mechanical properties of AlN ceramics fabricated by three dimensional printing

AlN ceramics were successfully fabricated through a joint process of digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing technology and heat treatment at 1780 °C∼1845 °C. DLP is an addictive manufacturing process, enabling the near net shape fabrication. The AlN grains in this work developed well and there were small amounts of grain-boundary phases at the three-grain junctions. The particle size of AlN became larger and the densification increased with increasing sintering temperature. The pores of AlN ceramics also decreased, which led to the increase of thermal conductivity and flexural strength. The optimal thermal conductivity and flexural strength of AlN ceramic reached 155 W/(m·K) and 265 ± 20 MPa when sintered at 1845 °C.     

In Situ Synthesis of Yttria-Stabilized Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystal Powder Containing Dispersed Titanium Carbide by Selective Carbonization

Reaction thermodynamics was utilized to analyze the selective carbonization conditions of ZrO₂-TiO₂-Y₂O₃ ultrafine powder and to define the temperature range of the selective carbonization. The ZrO₂-TiO₂-Y₂O₃ powder was prepared by coprecipitation from a solution containing Zr⁴⁺, Ti⁴⁺, and Y³⁺. The powder was selectively carbonized at 1350°, 1450°, 1550°, and 1650°C, respectively, for 2 h under argon atmosphere with sucrose as the carbon source. The resulting product was analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The experimental results indicated that the ZrO₂-TiO₂-Y₂O₃ powder could be selectively carbonized in situ at 1450°C to form a carbonized powder which was composed of TiC and t -ZrO₂. It was also found that zirconium carbide could be formed at 1550°C, which is much lower than the carbonization temperature of ZrO₂ defined by thermodynamics.     

The role of amorphous phase content on the electrical properties of atmospheric plasma sprayed (Ba,Sr)TiO3 coatings

(Ba,Sr)TiO₃ coatings deposited on carbon steel substrates were successfully prepared by an atmospheric plasma spray system. Three sets of samples containing different amount of both crystalline and amorphous phases were deposited and consequently studied in order to determine their electrical properties. The results show a clear correlation existing between the amorphous phase content and coating´s electrical properties. The resistivity increases with increase of amorphous phase content. Relative permittivity for low frequencies decreases and become more stable with frequency tuning when amorphous phase content increased. The maximum relative permittivity value is in the range 75–200 for frequency 1 kHz. The loss factor varies between 0.23 and 0.03 for all studied samples. The loss factor is at the lower limit of these values and frequency much less dependent when the coating contains 15 wt% of amorphous phase and more. The band gap of all samples is between 2.75 eV and 2.90 eV. Microstructure and hardness were evaluated in order to determine basic mechanical properties of deposits.     

One-step synthesis of Li-doped NiO as high-performance anode material for lithium ion batteries

The poor electronic conductivity and huge volume expansion of NiO are the vital barriers when used as anode for lithium ion batteries. In order to solve above issues, Li-doped NiO are prepared by a facile one-step ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method. The effects of Li doping on the morphology, structure and chemical composition of the Li-doped NiO powders are extensively studied. When used as lithium ion batteries anode, it is demonstrated that the doping of Li has significant positive effect on improving the electrochemical performance. After 100 cycles at 400 mA g⁻¹, The Li-doped NiO samples deliver a discharge capacity of 907 mAh g⁻¹, much more than that of un-doped sample (736 mAh g⁻¹). The improved electrochemical performances can be ascribed to the improved p-type conductivity and lower impedance, which are confirmed by Rietveld refinement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron impedance spectroscopy.     

Enhancement of Thermoelectric Performance in Hierarchical Mesoscopic Oxide Composites of Ca3Co4O9 and La0.8Sr0.2CoO3

The natural contradiction in enhancing electrical conductivity and thermopower in thermoelectric oxides makes it hard to improve the performance of a single thermoelectric oxide material. We report a facile method to construct a unique architecture of thermoelectric oxides that is promising to realize a simultaneous improvement of overall electrical conductivity and thermopower. Here, a series of two‐phase nanocomposites comprising of Ca₃Co₄O₉ (CCO) and La_0.8Sr_0.2CoO₃ (LSCO) has been synthesized through ball milling followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. The electron microscope images reveal that the two constituents form the unique composites while retaining their individual crystalline and morphological identities. Owing to the hierarchical mesoscopic structure with nanoscale particles and submicrometer scale grain boundaries, an external strain is induced into the CCO grains by the LSCO nanoparticles to enhance the thermopower. The mesoscopic structure is also favorable for improving the electrical conductivity. Moreover, the long‐wavelength phonons can be scattered effectively from LSCO nanoparticles and the thermal conductivity is further suppressed. With compromises between power factor and thermal conductivity, the largest ZT achieved is up to 0.41 at 1000 K for the composites with 25 wt% of LSCO.