Grain boundary conductivity of high purity neodymium-doped ceria nanosystem with and without the doping of molybdenum oxide

Solid solutions of Ce1-xNdxO2-x/2 (0.05 <= x <= 0.2) and (Ce1-xNdx)(0.95)MO0.05O2-delta (0.05 <= x <= 0.2) have been synthesized by a modified sol-gel method. Both materials have very low content of SiO2 (similar to 27 ppm). Their structures and ionic conductivities were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (M). The XRD patterns indicate that these materials are single phases with a cubic fluorite structure. The powders calcined at 300 degrees C with a crystal size of 5.7 nm have good sinterability, and the relative density could reach above 96% after being sintered at 1450 degrees C. With the addition Of MoO3, the sintering temperature could be decreased to 1250 degrees C. Impedance spectroscopy measurement in the temperature range of 250-800 degrees C indicates that a sharp increase of conductivity is observed when a small amount of Nd2O3 is added into ceria, of which Ce0.85Nd0.15O1.925 (15NDC) shows the highest conductivity. With the addition of a small amount Of MoO3, the grain boundary conductivity of 15NDC at 600 degrees C increases from 2.56 S m(-1) to 5.62 S m(-1).

Electric-field-induced molecular alignment of side-chain liquid-crystalline polyacetylenes containing biphenyl mesogens

Electric-field-induced molecular alignments of side-chain liquid-crystalline polyacetylenes [-{HC=C[(CH2)(m)OCO-biph-OC7H15]}-, where biph is 4,4'-biphenylyl and m is 3 (PA3EO7) or 9 (PA9EO7)] were studied with X-ray diffraction and polarized optical microscopy. An orientation as high as 0.84 was obtained for PA9EO7. Furthermore, the molecular orientation of]PA9EO7 was achieved within a temperature range between the isotropic-to-smectic A transition temperature and 115 degreesC, and this suggested that the orientational packing was affected by the thermal fluctuation of the isotropic liquid and the mobility of the mesogenic moieties. The maximum achievable orientation for PA9EO7 was much greater than that for PA3EO7. This was the first time that the electric-field-induced molecular orientation of a side-chain liquid-crystalline polymer with a stiff backbone was studied.

Fabrication, characterization and conductivity of organic-inorganic hybrid Langmuir-Blodgett films based on polyquinoline and rare earth-substituted heteropolymolybdate

The organic/inorganic hybrid Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films were obtained by the compact organization of poly(1,2-dihydro-2,2,4-trimethyl)quinoline (PQ), octadecylamine (ODA) and rare earth-substituted heteropolymolybdates. They were characterized by surface pressure-area (pi-A) isotherms, absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The atomic force microscope revealed a granular surface texture of nanosized rare earth-substituted heteropolymolybdate. The scanning tunneling microscopy indicated that the hybrid LB films containing rare earth-substituted heteropolymolybdates had the better electrical conductivity than LB film of PQ/ODA.

Fabrication, structure and conductivity of hybrid organic/inorganic Langmuir-Blodgett films of polyquinoline/octadecylamine/rare earth-substituted heteropolyanion

Three kinds of hybrid organic/inorganic Langmuir-Blodgett films are obtained by the compact organization of poly (1, 2-dihydro-2,2,4-trimethyl)quinoline (abridged as PQ), octadecylamine(abridged as OA) and rare earth-substituted heteropolyanions [abridged as RE(PW11,)(2), RE=Ce-II, Eu-II, Gd-II] using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. They are characterized by the pi-A isotherms, the absorption spectra, the fluorescence spectra and the atomic force microscope. The scanning tunneling microscopy shows that the conductivity of the hybrid LB films is much better after heteropolyanions having been incorporated in the films.

Electrical conductivity of a single Au/polyaniline microfiber

We report the measurements of conductivity, I-V curve, and magnetoresistance of a single Au/polyaniline microfiber with a core-shell structure, on which a pair of platinum microleads was attached by focused ion beam. The Au/polyaniline microfiber shows a much higher conductivity (similar to 110 S/cm at 300 K) and a much weaker temperature dependence of resistance [R(4 K)/R(300 K)=5.1] as compared with those of a single polyaniline microtube [sigma(RT)=30-40 S/cm and R(4 K)/R(300 K)=16.2]. The power-law dependence of R(T)proportional to T-beta, with beta=0.38, indicates that the measured Au/polyaniline microfiber is lying in the critical regime of the metal-insulator transition. In addition, the microfiber shows a H-2 dependent positive magnetoresistance at 2, 4, and 6 K.

Synthesis, structural and electrical characterizations of Sr2Fe1-xMxNbO6 (M = Zn and Cu) with double perovskite structure

Sr2Fe1-xZnxNbO6-x/2 (0 <= x <= 0.5) and Sr2Fe1-xCuxNbO6-x/2 (0.01 <= x <= 0.05) with the double perovskite structure have been synthesized. The crystal structures at room temperature were determined from Rietveld refinements of X-ray powder diffraction data. The plots of the imaginary parts of the impedance spectrum, Z '', and the electric modulus, M '', versus log (frequency), possess maxima for both curves separated by less than a half decade in frequency with associated capacities of 2 nF. The enhancement of the overall conductivity Of Sr2Fe1-xMxNbO6-x/2 (M = Cu and Zn) is observed, as increases from 2.48 (3) x 10(-4) S/cm for Sr2FeNbO6 to 3.82 (5) x 10(-3) S/cm for Sr2Fe0.8Zn0.2NbO5.9 at 673 K. Sr2Fe0.8Zn0.2NbO5.9 is chemically stable under the oxygen partial pressure from 1 atm to 10(-22) atm at 873 K. The p and n-type electronic conductions are dominant under oxidizing and reducing conditions, respectively, suggesting a small-polaron hopping mechanism of electronic conduction.

Study on structure and oxide ionic conductivity for new compound Ce(6-x)Ln(x)MoO(15-delta)

A new compound Ce(6-x)Ln(x)MoO(15-delta) has been synthesized by wet-chemistry method. Their crystal structure and oxide ionic conductivity were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Raman, IR spectrum and A.C. impedance technique. The XRD results showed that Ce6MO15-delta, Ce(5)LnMoO(15-delta) have cubic symmetry with Fm3m space group. The refined lattice parameters showed that their lattice constants decrease with the decrease of the ionic radius of Ln(3+). The electrochemical measurements showed that the ionic conductivity of resulting oxides Ce(6-x)Ln(x)MoO(15-delta) have an enhance, which may be a kind of promising material for SOFCs.

Synthesis, structure and ionic conductivity of La2/3-xLi3xMoO4

A series of compounds, La2/3 - xLi3xMoO4, were first prepared. Their structures are tetragonal scheelites with the cationic defects. The cell parameters a, c and values of c/a decrease with the increasing of the substitution amount (3x) of lithium ion. Cationic vacancies are getting more as Li+ concentration is lower. The diffusion of lithium ion is predominant. The concentration of charge carriers increases with increasing the substitution amount (3x) of lithium ion, meanwhile, the concentration of cationic vacancies decreases. The conductivity approaches the best when the substitution amount (3x) of lithium ion is about 0.3. The conductivity of La0.567Li0.3MoO4 is 6.5 x 10(-6) S . cm(-1) at room temperature.

Effect of alkyl group length on the conductivity in the 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octakis(alkyl-thio)tetraazaporphyrins and redox properties of the metallooctakis(hexyl-thio)tetraazaporphyrins

A series of 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octakis(alkyl-thio)tetraazaporphyrins (H(2)OATTAP) with different alkyl chain lengths have been synthesized. Cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry have been used to investigate the effect of the controlled lengths of the eight peripheral thioether tails on the redox behavior of the molecules. The electrochemical reduction of octakis(hexyl-thio)tetraazaporphyrins, MOHTTAP (where M = Cu, Ni), was studied in 1,2-dichloroethane at a platinum electrode. The Cu derivative was oxidized in one single-electron-transfer step to yield a pi-cation radical and reduced in three single-electron-transfer steps to yield a pi-anion radical, dianion and trianion, respectively. For the Ni derivative, electron transfer reactions involving both the central metal atom and the macrocyclic ring were observed. Electron transfer pathways are proposed based upon voltammetric and in situ spectroelectrochemical results.

Study of the ionic conductivity of polymer electrolyte using imaginary impedance spectroscopy

Polymeric electrolytes of (PEO1)(10) LiClO4-Al2O3 (PEO: poly (ethyleneoxide)) and (PEO2)(16)LiClO4-EC (EC: ethylene carbonate) were prepared. We proposed an equivalent circuit and gave the meaning of the concerned circuit elements. When the impedance spectrum deformed severely, the ionic conductivity of polymer electrolyte was determined by using the maximum of imaginary impedance, which is a convenient method.

Conformational and orientational analyses of 2,2 '-bithiophene under interaction of external electric field constructed by point charges

The fully relaxed single-bond torsional potentials and orientation-related rotational potentials of 2,2'-bithiophene (BT) under the interaction of an external electric field (EF) constructed by point charges have been evaluated with semi-empirical AMI and PM3 calculations. The torsional potentials are sensitive to both EF strength and direction. While the EF is parallel to the molecular long axis, the torsional barrier around C-x-C-x' bond obviously rises with increasing the EF strength, whereas the relative energies of syn and anti minima show a slight change. The interaction between the EF and the induced dipole moment has been proposed to elucidate this observation. On the other hand, the relative energy difference between the syn and anti minima shows an obvious change, while the EF is perpendicular to the molecular long axis. This feature has been ascribed to the interaction between the EF and the permanent dipole moment of BT. Furthermore, conformational and orientational analyses in two dimensions have been carried out by changing the torsional and rotational angles in the different EF. The conformation and orientation of a gas-phase BT in the EF are governed by both the above factors.