Spin-glass state in nanoparticulate (La0.7Sr0.3MnO3)(1-x) (BaTiO3)(x) solid solutions: Experimental and density-functional studies

We report the transition from robust ferromagnetism to a spin- glass state in nanoparticulate La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 through solid solution with BaTiO3. The field- and temperature-dependent magnetization and the frequency-dependent ac magnetic susceptibility measurements strongly indicate the existence of a spin- glass state in the system, which is further confirmed from memory effect measurements. The breaking of long-range ordering into short-range magnetic domains is further investigated using density-functional calculations. We show that Ti ions remain magnetically inactive due to insufficient electron leakage from La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 to the otherwise unoccupied Ti-d states. This results in the absence of a Mn-Ti-Mn spin exchange interaction and hence the breaking of the long-range ordering. Total-energy calculations suggest that the segregation of nonmagnetic Ti ions leads to the formation of short-range ferromagnetic Mn domains.

Stable p-type conductivity in B and N co-doped ZnO epitaxial thin film

We report on the observation of stable p-type conductivity in B and N co-doped epitaxial ZnO thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. Films grown at higher oxygen partial pressure (similar to 10(-1) Torr) shows p-type conductivity with a carrier concentration of similar to 3 x 10(16) cm(-3). This p-type conductivity is associated with the significant decrease in defect emission peaks due to the vacancy oxygen (V-O) and Schottky type-I native defects compared to films grown at low oxygen partial pressure (similar to 10(-5) Torr). The p-type conductivity is explained with the help of density functional theory (DFT) calculation considering off-stoichiometric BN1+x in the ZnO lattice. (C) 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

The influence of current density on the morphology and corrosion properties of MAO coatings on AZ31B magnesium alloy

Micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coatings were prepared on AZ31B magnesium alloy using alkaline silicate electrolyte at different current densities (0.026, 0.046 and 0.067 A/cm(2)). Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis of the coating revealed an irregular porous structure with cracked morphology. Compositional analysis carried out for MAO coating showed the presence of almost an equal amount of Mg and 0 (34 wt.%) apart from other elements such as F, Si and AI. The cross-sectional FESEM images clearly portrayed that the MAO coating was dense along with the presence of very few fine pores. The surface roughness (R-a) of the coatings increased with an increase in the current density. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) studies were carried out for both the bare and MAO coated AZ31B Mg alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution. The corrosion potential (E-corr) and corrosion current density (i(corr)) values obtained for the bare substrate were -1.49 V and 46 mu A/cm(2), respectively. The coating prepared at 0.046 A/cm(2) exhibited the lowest i(corr) value of 7.79 x 10(-10) A/cm(2) and highest polarization resistance (41.6 M Omega cm(2)) attesting to the better corrosion resistance of the coating compared to other samples. EIS results also indicated almost similar corrosion behavior for the MAO coatings. Mott-Schottky analysis showed n-type and p-type semiconductor behavior for the oxide layer present on the bare magnesium alloy and MAO coatings respectively. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Simultaneous enhancement of electrical conductivity and thermopower in Bi2S3 under hydrostatic pressure

The inverse coupled dependence of electrical conductivity and thermopower on carrier concentration presents a big challenge in achieving a high figure of merit. However, the simultaneous enhancement of electrical conductivity and thermopower can be realized in practice by carefully engineering the electronic band structure. Here by taking the example of Bi2S3, we report a simultaneous increase in both electrical conductivity and thermopower under hydrostatic pressure. Application of hydrostatic pressure enables tuning of electronic structure in such a way that the conductivity effective mass decreases and the density of states effective mass increases. This dependence of effective masses leads to simultaneous enhancement in electrical conductivity and thermopower under n-type doping leading to a huge improvement in the power factor. Also lattice thermal conductivity exhibits very weak pressure dependence in the low pressure range. The large power factor together with low lattice thermal conductivity results in a high ZT value of 1.1 under n-type doping, which is nearly two times higher than the previously reported value. Hence, this pressure-tuned behaviour can enable the development of efficient thermoelectric devices in the moderate to high temperature range. We further demonstrate that similar enhancement can be observed by generating chemical pressure by doping Bi2S3 with smaller iso-electronic elements such as Sb at Bi sites, which can be achieved experimentally.

Localized Charge Carrier Transport Properties of Zn1-x Ni (x) O/NiO Two-Phase Composites

We report the localized charge carrier transport of two-phase composite Zn1-x Ni (x) O/NiO (0 a parts per thousand currency sign x a parts per thousand currency sign 1) using the temperature dependence of ac-resistivity rho (ac)(T) across the N,el temperature T (N) (= 523 K) of nickel oxide. Our results provide strong evidence to the variable range hopping of charge carriers between the localized states through a mechanism involving spin-dependent activation energies. The temperature variation of carrier hopping energy epsilon (h)(T) and nearest-neighbor exchange-coupling parameter J (ij)(T) evaluated from the small poleron model exhibits a well-defined anomaly across T (N). For all the composite systems, the average exchange-coupling parameter (J (ij))(AVG) nearly equals to 70 meV which is slightly greater than the 60-meV exciton binding energy of pure zinc oxide. The magnitudes of epsilon (h) (similar to 0.17 eV) and J (ij) (similar to 11 meV) of pure NiO synthesized under oxygen-rich conditions are consistent with the previously reported theoretical estimation based on Green's function analysis. A systematic correlation between the oxygen stoichiometry and, epsilon (h)(T) and J (ij)(T) is discussed.

Effect of current density on the microstructure and corrosion properties of plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coatings on AM50 Mg alloy produced in an electrolyte containing clay additives

Plasma electrolytic oxidation coatings were produced on AM50 Mg alloy in alkaline phosphate based electrolyte with montmorillonite clay additives employing current densities of 30, 60, and 120 mA/cm(2). The effect of current density on the microstructure and corrosion properties of the coating was investigated. The clay additives got melted and reactively incorporated into the coating forming an amorphous phase, at all the current densities. However, the coating was predominantly amorphous only at 30 mA/cm(2) and with increasing current density, increasing fractions of crystalline phases were formed. Higher current densities resulted in increased thickness of the coating, but reduced the compactness of the coatings. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests in 0.5 wt.% (0.08 M) and 3.5 wt.% (0.6 M) NaCl solution revealed that the coatings processed at 30 mA/cm(2) exhibited a relatively better initial corrosion resistance owing to its relatively defect-free barrier layer and compactness of the coating. However, the presence of amorphous phases in significant amounts and lack of MgO in the coating resulted in increased rate of dissolution of the coatings and degradation of corrosion resistance. Coatings produced at higher current densities exhibited initial inferior corrosion resistance due to a more defective barrier layer and increased porosity in pore band and outer porous layer. However, the increased amount of crystalline phases and an increased amount of MgO, which resisted dissolution, counterbalanced the negative effects of defective barrier and increased porosity resulting in a relatively lower rate of the degradation of the corrosion resistance. Thus, the corrosion resistance of all the coatings continuously decreased with time and became similar after prolonged immersion in NaCl solution. Increasing current density, therefore, did not prove to be beneficial for the improvement of the corrosion performance of the PEO coatings. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Density functional theory based study of chlorine doped WS2-metal interface

Investigation of a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD)-metal interface is essential for the effective functioning of monolayer TMD based field effect transistors. In this work, we employ the Density Functional Theory calculations to analyze the modulation of the electronic structure of monolayer WS2 with chlorine doping and the relative changes in the contact properties when interfaced with gold and palladium. We initially examine the atomic and electronic structures of pure and doped monolayer WS2 supercell and explore the formation of midgap states with band splitting near the conduction band edge. Further, we analyze the contact nature of the pure supercell with Au and Pd. We find that while Au is physiosorbed and forms n-type contact, Pd is chemisorped and forms p-type contact with a higher valence electron density. Next, we study the interface formed between the Cl-doped supercell and metals and observe a reduction in the Schottky barrier height (SBH) in comparison to the pure supercell. This reduction found is higher for Pd in comparison to Au, which is further validated by examining the charge transfer occurring at the interface. Our study confirms that Cl doping is an efficient mechanism to reduce the n-SBH for both Au and Pd, which form different types of contact with WS2. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.

Nickel Electrode for Improving Current Density in Organic Electronic Device

In this work, polymer diode performance was analyzed by using nickel as anode electrode from two kinds of nickel as starting materials, namely nickel wire Ni{B} and nickel nano-particle Ni{N}. Metal electrode surface roughness and grain morphology were investigated by atomic force microscope and scanning electron microscope, respectively. Current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics were measured for the fabricated device at room temperature. Obtained result from the current-voltage characteristics shows an increment in the current density for nickel nano-particle top electrode device. The increase in the current density could be due to a reduction in built-in voltage at P3HT/Ni{N} interface.

Theoretical insights on the electro-thermal transport properties of monolayer MoS2 with line defects

Two dimensional (2D) materials demonstrate several novel electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties which are quite distinctive to those of their bulk form. Among many others, one important potential application of the 2D material is its use in the field of energy harvesting. Owing to that, here we present a detailed study on electrical as well as thermal transport of monolayer MoS2, in quasi ballistic regime. Besides the perfect monolayer in its pristine form, we also consider various line defects which have been experimentally observed in mechanically exfoliated MoS2 samples. For calculating various parameters related to the electrical transmission, we employ the non-equilibrium Green's function-density functional theory combination. However, to obtain the phonon transmission, we take help of the parametrized Stillinger-Weber potential which can accurately delineate the inter-atomic interactions for the monolayer MoS2. Due to the presence of line defects, we observed significant reductions in both the charge carrier and the phonon transmissions through a monolayer MoS2 flake. Moreover, we also report a comparative analysis showing the temperature dependency of the thermoelectric figure of merit values, as obtained for the perfect as well as the other defective 2D samples. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.