Suchergebnisse

Single phase barium titanate–bismuth ferrite ((1-x)BaTiO3-(x)BiFeO3, BTO-BFO) solid solutions were prepared using citric acid and ethylene glycol assisted sol-gel synthesis method. Depending on the dopant content the samples are characterized by tetragonal, tetragonal-pseudocubic, pseudocubic and rhombohedral structure as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and XRD measurements. An increase of the BFO content leads to a reduction in the cell parameters accompanied by a decrease in polar distortion of the unit cell wherein an average particle size increases from 60 up to 350 nm. Non zero piezoresponse was observed in the compounds with pseudocubic structure while no polar distortion was detected in their crystal structure using X-ray diffraction method. The origin of the observed non-negligible piezoresponse was discussed assuming a coexistence of nanoscale polar and non-polar phases attributed to the solid solutions with high BFO content. A coexistence of the nanoscale regions having polar and non-polar character is considered as a key factor to increase macroscopic piezoresponse in the related compounds due to increased mobility of the domain walls and phase boundaries. © 2020 Elsevier B.V. ; The work has been done in frame of the project TransFerr. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 778070 . The scanning probe microscopy study was funded by RFBR (grant No. 19-52-04015 ) and BRFFR (grant No. F19RM-008 ). The equipment of the Ural Center for Shared Use "Modern nanotechnology" UrFU was used. Sample structural characterization was funded by RFBR (grant № 18-38-20020 mol_a_ved). M.S. also acknowledges Russian academic excellence project "5–100″ for Sechenov University. This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, refs. UIDB/50011/2020 & UIDP/50011/2020, financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC .

Nanocrystalline La0.9A0.1MnO3 (where A is Li, Na, K) powders were synthesized by a combustion method. The powders used to prepare nanoceramics were fabricated via a high-temperature sintering method. The structure and morphology of all compounds were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the size of the crystallites depended on the type of alkali ions used. The high-pressure sintering method kept the nanosized character of the grains in the ceramics, which had a significant impact on their physical properties. Magnetization studies were performed for both powder and ceramic samples in order to check the impact of the alkali ion dopants as well as the sintering pressure on the magnetization of the compounds. It was found that, by using different dopants, it was possible to strongly change the magnetic characteristics of the manganites. © 2020 by the authors. ; H2020 Marie SkÅ odowska-Curie Actions, MSCA: 778070 – TransFerr – H2020-MSCA-RISE-2017 ; Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, H2020 ; UIDP/50011/2020 ; Funding: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 778070 – TransFerr – H2020-MSCA-RISE-2017. The work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, refs.UIDB/50011/2020 & UIDP/50011/2020, financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC.

Samarium substituted bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) ceramics prepared by sol-gel synthesis method were studied using both local scale and microscopic measurement techniques in order to clarify an evolution of the crystal structure of the compounds across the morphotropic phase boundary region. X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission and scanning electron microscopies, XPS, EDS/EDX experiments and piezoresponse force microscopy were used to study the structural transitions from the polar active rhombohedral phase to the anti-polar orthorhombic phase and then to the non-polar orthorhombic phase, observed in the Bi1−xSmxFeO3 compounds within the concentration range of 0.08 ≤ x ≤ 0.2. The results obtained by microscopic techniques testify that the compounds in the range of 0.12 ≤ x ≤ 0.15 are characterized by two phase structural state formed by a coexistence of the rhombohedral and the anti-polar orthorhombic phases; two phase structural state observed in the compounds with 0.15