Effect of pH on structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Y3Fe5O12 by aqueous co-precipitation method

The Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) nanopowders were synthesised at different pH using co-precipitation method. The effect of pH on the phase formation of YIG is characterised using XRD, TEM, FTIR and TG/DTA. From the Scherer formula, the particle sizes of the powders were found to be 13, 19 and 28 nm for pH=10, 11 and 12 respectively. It is found that as the pH of the solution increase the particle size is also increases. It is also clear from the TG/DTA curves that as the pH is increasing the weight losses were found to be small. The nanopowders were sintered at 600, 700, 800 and 900 degrees C for 5 h using conventional sintering method. The phase formation is completed at 800 degrees C/5 h which is correlated with TG/DTA. The average grain size of the samples is found to be similar to 161 nm. The high values of M-s=23 emu g(-1) and H-c=22 Oe were recorded for the sample sintered at 900 degrees C.

Magnetic field induced delocalization in multi-wall carbon nanotube-polystyrene composite at high fields

In well dispersed multi-wall carbon nanotube-polystyrene composite of 15 wt%, with room temperature conductivity of similar to 5 S/cm and resistivity ratio R-2K/R-200K] of similar to 1.4, the temperature dependence of conductivity follows a power-law behavior. The conductivity increases with magnetic field for a wide range of temperature (2-200 K), and power-law fits to conductivity data show that localization length (xi) increases with magnetic field, resulting in a large negative magnetoresistance (MR). At 50T, the negative MR at 8 K is similar to 13% and it shows a maximum at 90K (similar to 25%). This unusually large negative MR indicates that the field is delocalizing the charge carriers even at higher temperatures, apart from the smaller weak localization contribution at T < 20 K. This field-induced delocalization mechanism of MR can provide insight into the intra and inter tube transport. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Size Control and Magnetic Property Trends in Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles Synthesized Using an Aqueous Chemical Route

Cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) is an engineering material which is used for applications such as magnetic cores, magnetic switches, hyperthermia based tumor treatment, and as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. Utility of ferrites nanoparticles hinges on its size, dispersibility in solutions, and synthetic control over its coercivity. In this work, we establish correlations between room temperature co-precipitation conditions, and these crucial materials parameters. Furthermore, post-synthesis annealing conditions are correlated with morphology, changes in crystal structure and magnetic properties. We disclose the synthesis and process conditions helpful in obtaining easily sinterable CoFe2O4 nanoparticles with coercive magnetic flux density (H-c) in the range 5.5-31.9 kA/m and M-s in the range 47.9-84.9 A.m(2)Kg(-1). At a grain size of similar to 54 +/- 2 nm (corresponding to 1073 K sintering temperature), multi-domain behavior sets in, which is indicated by a decrease in H-c. In addition, we observe an increase in lattice constant with respect to grain size, which is the inverse of what is expected of in ferrites. Our results suggest that oxygen deficiency plays a crucial role in explaining this inverse trend. We expect the method disclosed here to be a viable and scalable alternative to thermal decomposition based CoFe2O4 synthesis. The magnetic trends reported will aid in the optimization of functional CoFe2O4 nanoparticles

A rapid, efficient, and economical inverse polymerase chain reaction-based method for generating a site saturation mutant library

With the development of deep sequencing methodologies, it has become important to construct site saturation mutant (SSM) libraries in which every nucleotide/codon in a gene is individually randomized. We describe methodologies for the rapid, efficient, and economical construction of such libraries using inverse polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We show that if the degenerate codon is in the middle of the mutagenic primer, there is an inherent PCR bias due to the thermodynamic mismatch penalty, which decreases the proportion of unique mutants. Introducing a nucleotide bias in the primer can alleviate the problem. Alternatively, if the degenerate codon is placed at the 5' end, there is no PCR bias, which results in a higher proportion of unique mutants. This also facilitates detection of deletion mutants resulting from errors during primer synthesis. This method can be used to rapidly generate SSM libraries for any gene or nucleotide sequence, which can subsequently be screened and analyzed by deep sequencing. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Temperature dependent magnetic, dielectric and Raman studies of partially disordered La2NiMnO6

We report a detailed magnetic, dielectric and Raman studies on partially disordered and biphasic double perovskite La2NiMnO6. DC and AC magnetic susceptibility measurements show two magnetic anomalies at T-C1 similar to 270 K and T-C2 similar to 240 K, which may indicate the ferromagnetic ordering of the monoclinic and rhombohedral phases, respectively. A broad peak at a lower temperature (T-sg similar to 70 K) is also observed indicating a spin-glass transition due to partial anti-site disorder of Ni2+ and Mn4+ ions. Unlike the pure monoclinic phase, the biphasic compound exhibits a broad but a clear dielectric anomaly around 270 K which is a signature of magneto-dielectric effect. Temperature-dependent Raman studies between the temperature range 12-300 K in a wide spectral range from 220 cm(-1) to 1530 cm(-1) reveal a strong renormalization of the first as well as second-order Raman modes associated with the (Ni/Mn)O-6 octahedra near T-C1 implying a strong spin-phonon coupling. In addition, an anomaly is seen in the vicinity of spin-glass transition temperature in the temperature dependence of the frequency of the anti-symmetric stretching vibration of the octahedra. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural, Electrical and Magnetic Behaviour of FeTe0.5Se0.5 Superconductor

We report the synthesis as well as structural and physical properties of the bulk polycrystalline FeTe and FeTe0.5Se0.5 compounds. These samples are synthesised by the solid state-reaction method via vacuum encapsulation. Both studied compounds are crystallized in a tetragonal phase with space group P4/nmm. The parent FeTe compound shows an anomaly in resistivity measurement at around 78 K, which is due to the structural change along with a magnetic phase transition. The superconductivity in the FeTe0.5Se0.5 sample at 13 K is confirmed by the resistivity measurements. DC magnetisation along with an isothermal (M-H) loop shows that FeTe0.5Se0.5 possesses bulk superconductivity. The upper critical field is estimated through resistivity rho (T,H) measurements using Gingzburg-Landau (GL) theory and is above 50 T with 50 % resistivity drop criterion. The origin of the resistive transition broadening under magnetic field is investigated by thermally activated flux flow. The magnetic field dependence of the activation energy of the flux motion is discussed.

Steady mixed convection flow of Maxwell fluid over an exponentially stretching vertical surface with magnetic field and viscous dissipation

The steady mixed convection flow and heat transfer from an exponentially stretching vertical surface in a quiescent Maxwell fluid in the presence of magnetic field, viscous dissipation and Joule heating have been studied. The stretching velocity, surface temperature and magnetic field are assumed to have specific exponential function forms for the existence of the local similarity solution. The coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations governing the local similarity flow and heat transfer have been solved numerically by Chebyshev finite difference method. The influence of the buoyancy parameter, viscous dissipation, relaxation parameter of Maxwell fluid, magnetic field and Prandtl number on the flow and heat transfer has been considered in detail. The Nusselt number increases significantly with the Prandtl number, but the skin friction coefficient decreases. The Nusselt number slightly decreases with increasing viscous dissipation parameter, but the skin friction coefficient slightly increases. Maxwell fluid reduces both skin friction coefficient and Nusselt number, whereas buoyancy force enhances them.

Residue specific contributions to stability and activity inferred from saturation mutagenesis and deep sequencing

Multiple methods currently exist for rapid construction and screening of single-site saturation mutagenesis (SSM) libraries in which every codon or nucleotide in a DNA fragment is individually randomized. Nucleotide sequences of each library member before and after screening or selection can be obtained through deep sequencing. The relative enrichment of each mutant at each position provides information on its contribution to protein activity or ligand-binding under the conditions of the screen. Such saturation scans have been applied to diverse proteins to delineate hot-spot residues, stability determinants, and for comprehensive fitness estimates. The data have been used to design proteins with enhanced stability, activity and altered specificity relative to wild-type, to test computational predictions of binding affinity, and for protein model discrimination. Future improvements in deep sequencing read lengths and accuracy should allow comprehensive studies of epistatic effects, of combinational variation at multiple sites, and identification of spatially proximate residues.

Effect of size reduction on magnetic ordering in Bi0.2Sr0.8MnO3

We present a comparative study of the temperature dependent magnetic properties and electron paramagnetic resonance parameters of nano and bulk samples of Bi0.2Sr0.8MnO3 (BSMO). Bulk BSMO is known to have a high T-N similar to 260K and robust charge ordering (T-CO similar to 360 K). We confirm that the bulk sample shows an antiferromagnetic transition around similar to 260K and a spin-glass transition similar to 40 K. For the nano sample, we see a clear ferromagnetic transition at around similar to 120 K. We conclude that spin glass state, which is present due to the co-existence of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic states in the bulk sample, is suppressed in the nano sample and ferromagnetism is induced instead. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Tuning nuclearity of clusters by positional change of functional group: Synthesis of polynuclear clusters, crystal structures and magnetic properties

Four neutral polynuclear magnetic clusters, (Mn6Mn2Na2I)-Mn-III-Na-II(N-3)(8)(mu(1)-O)(2)(L-1)(6)(CH3OH)(2)] (1), (Mn6Na2I)-Na-III(N-3)(4)(mu(4)-O)(2)(L-2)(4)(CH3COO)(4)] (2), Ni-5(II)(N-3)(4)(HL1)(4)(HCOO)(2)(CH3OH)(2)(H2O)(2)]center dot 2CH(3)OH (3) and (Ni4Na2I)-Na-II(N-3)(4)(HL2)(6)]center dot 2CH(3)OH (4) have been synthesized using tetradentate ligands H2L1-2 along with azide as a co-ligand. H2L1-2 are the products formed in situ upon condensation of 2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde with 1-aminopropan-2-ol and 1-aminopropan-3-ol, respectively. Single crystal X-ray diffraction and bond valence sum calculation showed that complex 1 is composed of both Mn-III and Mn-II. Complex 3 contains coordinated formate, which was formed upon in situ oxidation of methanol. The magnetic study over a wide range of temperatures of all the complexes (1-4) showed that 1 and 2 are antiferromagnetic whereas other two (3-4) are predominantly ferromagnetic. The estimated ground states of the complexes are S approximate to 3(1), S = 4(2), S = 5(3) and S approximate to 4(4), respectively. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Construction of Bis-pyrazole Based Co(II) Metal-Organic Frameworks and Exploration of Their Chirality and Magnetic Properties

In continuation of our interest in pyrazole based multifunctional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), we report herein the construction of a series of Co(II) MOFs using a bis-pyrazole ligand and various benzene polycarboxylic acids. Employment of different acids has resulted in different architectures ranging from a two-dimensional grid network, porous nanochannels with interesting double helical features such as supramolecular chicken wire, to three-dimensional diamondoid networks. One of the distinguishing features of the network is their larger dimensions which can be directly linked to a relatively larger size of the ligand molecule. Conformational flexibility of the ligand also plays a decisive role in determining both the dimensionality and topology of the final structure. Furthermore, chirality associated with helical networks and magnetic properties of two MOFs have also been investigated.

Magnetic skin layer of NiO(100) probed by polarization-dependent spectromicroscopy

Using polarization-dependent x-ray photoemission electron microscopy, we have investigated the surface effects on antiferromagnetic (AFM) domain formation. Depth-resolved information obtained from our study indicates the presence of strain-induced surface AFM domains on some of the cleaved NiO(100) crystals, which are unusually thinner than bulk AFM domain wall widths (similar to 150 nm). Existence of such magnetic skin layer is substantiated by exchange-coupled ferromagnetic Fe domains in Fe/NiO(100), thereby evidencing the influence of this surface AFM domains on interfacial magnetic coupling. Our observations demonstrate a depth evolution of AFM structure in presence of induced surface strain, while the surface symmetry-breaking in absence of induced strain does not modify the bulk AFM domain structure. Realization of such thin surface AFM layer will provide better microscopic understanding of the exchange bias phenomena. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Phase transformation, improved ferroelectric and magnetic properties of (1-x) BiFeO3-xPb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3 solid solutions

The authors prepared (1 - x) BiFeO3 - (x)Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3 for x <= 0.30 by sol-gel method and investigated the material's structures, magnetic and electrical properties. Detailed Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction data revealed that the system retains distorted rhombohedral R3c structure for x <= 0.10 but transforms to monoclinic (Cc) structure for x > 0.10. Disappearance of some Raman modes corresponding to A1 modes and the decrease in the intensities of the remaining A1 modes with increasing x in the Raman spectra, which is a clear indication of structural modification and symmetry changes brought about by PZT doping. Enhanced magnetization with PZT doping content may be attributed to the gradual change and destruction in the spin cycloid structure of BiFeO3. The leakage current density at 3.5 kV/cm was reduced by approximately three orders of magnitude by doping PZT (x = 0.30), compared with BFO ceramics. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Confining Dirac electrons on a topological insulator surface using potentials and a magnetic field

We study the effects of extended and localized potentials and a magnetic field on the Dirac electrons residing at the surface of a three-dimensional topological insulator like Bi2Se3. We use a lattice model to numerically study the various states; we show how the potentials can be chosen in a way which effectively avoids the problem of fermion doubling on a lattice. We show that extended potentials of different shapes can give rise to states which propagate freely along the potential but decay exponentially away from it. For an infinitely long potential barrier, the dispersion and spin structure of these states are unusual and these can be varied continuously by changing the barrier strength. In the presence of a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the surface, these states become separated from the gapless surface states by a gap, thereby giving rise to a quasi-one-dimensional system. Similarly, a magnetic field along with a localized potential can give rise to exponentially localized states which are separated from the surface states by a gap and thereby form a zero-dimensional system. Finally, we show that a long barrier and an impurity potential can produce bound states which are localized at the impurity, and an ``L''-shaped potential can have both bound states at the corner of the L and extended states which travel along the arms of the potential. Our work opens the way to constructing wave guides for Dirac electrons.

Magnetic field induced tailoring of mechanical behavior of fluid filled micro porous carbon nanotube foam

Compressive loading of the carbon nanotube (CNT) has attracted much attention due to its entangled cellular like structure (CNT foam). This report investigates the mechanical behavior of magnetorheological fluid impregnated micro porous CNT foam that has not been realized before at this scale. Compressive behavior of CNT foam is found to greatly depend on the variation in both fluid viscosity as well as magnetic field intensity. Moreover, maximum achieved stress and energy absorption in CNT foam followed a power law behavior with the magnetic field intensity. Magnetic field induced movement of both CNT and iron oxide particles along the field direction is shown to dominate compressive behavior of CNT foam over highly attractive van der Waals forces between individual CNT. Therefore, this study demonstrates a method for tailoring the mechanical behavior of the fluid impregnated CNT foam. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.