Photoluminescence of crystalline and disordered BTO : Mn powder: Experimental and theoretical modeling

Disordered and crystalline Mn-doped BaTiO3 (BTO:Mn) powders were synthesized by the polymeric precursor method. After heat treatment, the nature of visible photoluminescence (PL) at room temperature in amorphous BTO:Mn was discussed, considering results of experimental and theoretical studies. X-ray diffraction (XRD), PL, and UV-vis were used to characterize this material. Rietveld refinement of the BTO:Mn from XRD data was used to built two models, which represent the crystalline BTO:Mn (BTO:Mn,) and disordered BTO:Mn (BTO:Mn-d) structures. Theses models were analyzed by the periodic ab initio quantum mechanical calculations using the CRYSTAL98 package within the framework of density functional theory at the B3LYP level. The experimental and theoretical results indicated that PL is related with the degree of disorder in the BTO:Mn powders and also suggests the presence of localized states in the disordered structure. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of soil moisture and cabbage amendment on the thermoinactivation of Phytophthora nicotianae

The analysis of the effect of soil water matric potential and temperature regimes on the inactivation of chlamydospores of Phytophthora nicotianae in cabbage amended soils was evaluated using three matric potentials (0, -10, and -30 kPa), temperature regimes of 1.5 h at 44 degreesC, 5 h at 41 degreesC and 8 h at 35 degreesC, or 3 h at 47 degreesC, 5 h at 44 degreesC and 8 h at 35 degreesC, with a baseline temperature of 25 degreesC during the rest of the day. The results indicated that survival of P. nicotianae was lowest in saturated soil; and as temperature increased, survival of the pathogen decreased at all soil water matric potentials evaluated. Cabbage amendments can enhance the effect of the heat treatment, further decreasing the pathogen population. The soil water matric potentials evaluated represent optimum levels for the study of thermal inactivation. However, under field conditions lower potentials may be found. Extending the range of soil water matric potentials and the treatment time would allow better comparisons with the field data. There is a clear indication that one irrigation period prior to solarization would provide enough moisture to inactivate the primary inoculum of P. nicotianae in the top soil under field conditions; however, other factors may affect the effectiveness of solarization, reducing or enhancing its potential.

The effect of timing of thermal conditioning during incubation on embryo physiological parameters and its relationship to thermotolerance in adult broiler chickens

Previously, we reported that thermal conditioning at 39degreesC on days 13-17 of incubation of broiler eggs enabled thermotolerance during post-hatch growth (J. Therm. Biol. 28 (2003) 133). Tolerance to a temperature of 30degreesC was accompanied by changes in thyroid hormones and metabolic parameters. In the current study, we determined the mechanism of epigenetic heat adaptation during embryonic age by measuring blood physiological parameters that may be associated with the ultimate effects of thermal conditioning. Hatching eggs from Ross breeders were subjected to heat treatment of 39degreesC at days 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 of incubation for 2 h per day. Control eggs were incubated at 37.6degreesC. Samples of eggs were withdrawn on each day of thermal conditioning and at internal pipping (IP) to obtain blood samples from embryos. The remaining eggs were weighed at day 18 and transferred to hatchers. The timing of IP, external pipping (EP) and hatching were monitored every 2 h. At hatch, chicks were weighed and hatchability was determined. Blood samples were obtained from samples of day-old chicks. T3, T4, corticosterone, pCO(2), pO(2) levels were determined in the blood. Blood pH was measured and T3/T4 ratios were calculated. Heat conditioning significantly increased corticosterone and pO(2) levels and blood pH but depressed pCO(2) at day 14. These were followed by a significant depression of T4 level on day 15. Remarkably, at day 16, all these parameters were back to normal as in the control embryos. Hatching was delayed by thermal conditioning probably as a result of the depressed corticosterone levels at IP. Hatchability was also lower in the heat-treated group but 1-day old chick weights were comparable to those of the controls. The result suggests that epigenetic thermal conditioning involves changes in these physiological parameters and probably serve as a method for epigenetic temperature adaptation since the same mechanisms are employed for coping with heat during post-embryonic growth. It also suggests that days 14-15 may be the optimal and most sensitive timing for evoking this mechanism during embryonic development. The adverse effects of heat treatment observed in this study may have been due to the continued exposure to heat until day 17. Fine-tuning thermal conditioning to days 14-15 only may improve these production parameters. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Qualitative evaluation of active potential barriers in SnO2-based polycrystalline devices by electrostatic force microscopy

This paper discuss the qualitative use of electrostatic force microscopy to study the grain boundary active potential barrier present in dense SnO2-based polycrystalline semiconductors. The effect of heat treatment under rich- and poor-oxygen atmospheres was evaluated while especially considering the number of active barriers at grain boundary regions. The results show that the number of active barriers decrease after heat treatment in an oxygen-poor atmosphere and increase after heat treatment in oxygen-rich atmospheres. The observed effect was explained by considering the presence of oxidized transition metal elements segregated at grain boundary regions which leads to the p-type character of this region, in agreement with the atomic barrier formation mechanism in metal oxide varistor systems.

An investigation of metal oxides which are photoluminiscent at room temperature

Amorphous thin films, based on different network formers, were processed by a soft chemical process called the polymeric precursor method. The resultant amorphous metal oxides, displayed intense photoluminescence (PL) at room temperature. Heat treatment increases the PL intensity of these materials. Theoretical ab initio calculations are correlated with the observed experimental trends. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design, manufacturing, and testing of a Nb3Sn coil employing Ti alloy as structural material

We describe the design, manufacturing, and testing results of a Nb3Sn superconducting coil in which TiAIV alloys were used instead of stainless steel to reduce the magnetization contribution caused by the heat treatment for the A-15 Nb-3 Sn phase formation that affects the magnetic field homogeneity. Prior to the coil manufacturing several structural materials were studied and evaluated in terms of their mechanical and magnetic properties in as-worked, welded, and heat-treated conditions. The manufacturing process employed the wind-and-react technique followed by vacuum-pressure impregnation(VPI) at 1 MPa atm. The critical steps of the manufacturing process, besides the heat treatment and impregnation, are the wire splicing and joint manufacturing in which copper posts supported by Si3N4 ceramic were used. The coil was tested with and without a background NbTi coil and the results have shown performance exceeding the design quench current confirming the successful coil construction.

Molecular dynamics simulations on devitrification: the PbF2 case

In this work molecular dynamics simulations were performed to reproduce the kinetic and thermodynamic transformations occurring during melt crystallization, vitrification, and glass crystallization (devitrification) of PbF2. Two potential parameters were analyzed in order to access the possibility of modeling these properties. These interionic potentials are models developed to describe specific characteristic of PbF2, and thermodynamic properties were well reproduced by one of them, while the other proved well adapted to simulate the crystalline structure of this fluoride. By a modeled nonisothermal heat treatment of the glass, it was shown that the devitrification of a cubic structure in which the Pb-Pb distances are in good agreement with theory and experiment. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Rare earth doped synthetic opals and inverse opals

Monodisperse spheres of silica and latex were obtained by a surfactant free styrene polimerization and the Stober method respectively. Controlling settling either by centrifugation or by dip-coating colloidal crystals could be obtained. Silica inverse opals were prepared by using the latex colloidal crystals as templates and TEOS/ethanol solution. Eu3+ containing silica spheres were obtained dispersing silica spheres in Eu(NO3)(3) isopropanol solutions. Emission spectra suggest the formation of an amorphous Eu3+ containing phase well adhered at the spheres surface. The utilization of solutions of trifluoroacetates salts of Pb2+ and Eu3+ was observed to destroy the silica spherical pattern when samples are treated at 1000degreesC. In that case nanocrystals of PbF2 and amorphous silica were obtained after heat treatment.

Sol-gel entrapped cobalt complex

This work describes optimized conditions for preparation of a cobalt complex entrapped in alumina amorphous materials in the form of powder. The hybrid materials, CoNHG, were obtained by a nonhydrolytic sol-gel route through condensation of aluminum chloride with diisopropylether in the presence of cobalt chloride. The materials were calcined at various temperatures. The presence of cobalt entrapped in the alumina matrix is confirmed by ultraviolet visible spectroscopy. The materials have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analyses (DTA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The prepared alumina matrix materials are amorphous, even after heat treatment up to 750 degreesC. The XRD, TGA/DTA and TEM data support the increase of sample crystallization with increasing temperature. The specific surface area, pore size and pore diameter changed as a function of the heat treatment temperature employed. Different heat treatment temperatures result in materials with different compositions and structures, and influence their catalytic activity. The entrapped cobalt materials calcined at 750 degreesC efficiently catalyzed the epoxidation of (Z)-cyclooctene using iodozylbenzene as the oxygen donor. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gamma phases in Cu-Al alloys and the influence of a square shaped phase in the electrochemical behavior of a Cu-13.6wt% Al alloy

The electrochemical behavior of Cu-xAl alloys, with 11 wt%less than or equal to x less than or equal to 15wt%, in 0.5 M H2SO4 was studied by means of open-circuit potential decay measurements, quasi-stationary and fast cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Some of the alloys (x less than or equal to 14%), when quenched formed martensitic structures. Alloys with greater than or equal to 13% showed a little square-shaped phase when quenched from temperatures around 800 degrees C. It was observed that in sulfuric medium, these formations were dealuminized differently than the martensitic phase. The values of the rest potentials are more influenced by the heat treatment rather than by the alloy composition. An anodic Tafel slope of ca. 60 mV/decade was observed for all the alloys, independently of the heat treatment. This is explained in terms of a competition between two processes: copper oxidation and copper(I) deproportionation. In the cyclic voltammetric experiments it was observed an anodic current peak, related with copper oxidation with a possible formation of some interfacial species, and a cathodic current peak during the reverse potential scan, associated with the reduction of soluble species and/or of the film. The AC Impedance data were interpreted in terms of electric equivalent circuits.

Preparation, microstructural and electrical characterization of SrTiO3 thin films prepared by chemical route

Polycrystalline SrTiO3 thin films having a cubic perovskite structure were prepared at different temperatures by the polymeric precursor method on platinum-coated silicon substrate. Crystalline films with uniform composition and thickness were prepared by spin-coating and the post-deposition heat treatment was carried out at different temperatures. The film showed good structural, dielectric, and insulating properties, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs showed no occurrence of interdiffusion between the bottom electrode (platinum) and the film during post-annealing, indicating a stable interface between the SrTiO3 and the bottom electrode. The dielectric constant and dissipation factor at a frequency of 100 kHz were 250 and 0.01, respectively, for a 360 nm thick film annealed at 600 degreesC. The capacitance versus applied voltage characteristics showed that the capacitance was almost independent of the applied voltage. The I-V characteristics were ohmic in low fields and a Schottky emission and/or Poole-Frenkel emission were postulated in high fields. Room temperature leakage current density was found to be in the order of 10(-7) A/cm(2) for a 360 nm thick film in an applied electric field of about 100 kV/cm. The charge storage density of 36 fC/mum(2) was obtained in an applied electric field of about 100 kV/cm. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Low-temperature synthesis of single-phase Co7Sb2O12

Polycrystalline Co7Sb2O12 compounds have been synthesized by a chemical route, which is based on a modified polymeric precursor method. In order to study the physical properties of the samples, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analyses (TG and DSC), infrared spectroscopy (IR), specific surface area (BET), and magnetization measurements were performed on these materials. Characterization through XRD revealed that the samples are single-phase after a heat-treatment at 1100degreesC for 2h, while the X-ray patterns of the samples heat-treated at lower temperatures revealed the presence of additional Bragg reflections belonging to the Co6Sb2O6 phase. These data were analyzed by means of Rietveld refinement and further analyze showed that Co7Sb2O12 displays an inverse spinel crystalline structure. In this structure, the Co2+ ions occupy the eight tetrahedral positions, and the sixteen octahedral positions are randomly occupied by the Sb5+ and Co2+ ions. IR studies disclosed two strong absorption bands, v(1) and v(2), in the expected spectral range for a spinel-type binary oxide with space group Fd3m. Exploratory studies concerning the magnetic properties indicated that this sample presents a spin-glass transition at T-f similar to 64 K. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural and ferroelectric properties of Pb1-xSrxTiO3 thin films

Strontium-modified lead titanate (PST) thin films with composition Pb1-xSrxTiO3 (0.10 < x &LE; 0.60) were grown on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates using a soft chemical process. The crystallization of the PST thin films was achieved by heat treatment at 600&DEG;C. The structural and microstructural modifications in the films were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The XRD study shows that the lattice parameters of polycrystalline PST thin films calculated from X-ray data indicate a decrease in lattice tetragonality with the increase in strontium content in these films. This indicates a gradual change from tetragonal to cubic structure. By atomic force microscopy analysis, the average grain size of the thin films was systematically reduced with the increase in Sr content. The dielectric property of the thin films was found to be strongly dependent on the Sr concentration. With 60 at.% Sr content, a ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transition was observed at room temperature.

Sol-gel Eu3+/Tm3+ doped transparent glass-ceramic waveguides

Eu3+ and Tm3+ doped lanthanum fluoride and lanthanum oxyfluoride are obtained from Eu3+, Tm3+ containing lanthanum fluoracetate solutions. The nature of the crystal phase obtained could be controlled by the temperature of heat treatment. Spectral characteristics of Eu3+ doped crystal phases were sufficiently different to allow utilization of Eu3+ as structural probes. Tm3+ emission at the technologically important spectral region of 1450nm could be observed for the fluoride and oxyfluoride crystal phases. The large bandwidth obtained (around 120nm) suggests potential applications in optical amplification. SiO2-LaF3-LaOF composite materials were also prepared. It is observed that for heat treatments above 800degreesC, fluorine loss, probably in the form of SiF4 hinder the observation of Tm3+ emission. Eu3+ spectroscopic characteristics clearly show the evolution of a fluoride like environment to an amorphous oxide one as the temperature of heat treatment increased. Thin films obtained by dip-coating on V-SiO2 substrates and treated at 300degreesC, 500degreesC and 800degreesC display guided modes in the visible and infrared regions. Optical characteristics (refractive index and films thickness) were obtained at 543.5, 632.8 and 1550nm. Attenuation as low as 1.8dB/cm was measured at 632.8nm. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effects of ion beam on nanoindentation characteristics of glassy polymeric carbon surface

Glassy polymeric carbon (GPC) is a useful material for medical applications due to its chemical inertness and biocompatible characteristics. Mitral and aortic and hydrocephalic valves are examples of GPC prosthetic devices that have been fabricated and commercialized in Brazil. In this work, ion beam was used to improve the mechanical characteristics of GPC surface and therefore to avoid the propagation of microcracks where the cardiac valves are more fragile. A control group of phenolic resin samples heat-treated at 300, 400, 700, 1000, 1500, and 2500 degrees C was characterized by measuring their hardness and Young's reduced elastic modulus with the depth of indentation. The control group was compared to results obtained with samples heat-treated at 700, 1000, and 1500 degrees C and bombarded with energetic ions of silicon, carbon, oxygen, and gold at energies of 5, 6, 8, and 10 MeV, respectively, with fluences between 10x10(13) and 10x10(16) ions/cm(2). GPC nonbombarded samples showed that hardness depends on the heat treatment temperature (HTT), with a maximum hardness for heat treatment at 1000 degrees C. The comparison between the control group and bombarded group also showed that hardness, after bombardment, had a greater increase for samples prepared at 700 degrees C than for samples prepared at higher temperatures. The Young's elastic modulus presents an exponential relationship with depth. The parameters obtained by fitting depend on the HTT and on the ion used in the bombardment more than on energy and fluence. The hardness results show clearly that bombardment can promote carbonization, increase the linkage between the chains of the polymeric material, and promote recombination of broken bonds in lateral groups that are more numerous for samples heat-treated at 700 degrees C. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.