Influence of Mg on the structural and optical properties of LiNbO3 thin films grown by polymeric precursor method

A polymeric precursor solution was used to deposit pure and Mg doped LiNbO3 thin films on sapphire substrates by spin-coating. The effects of magnesium addition on crystallinity, morphology and optical properties of the annealed films were investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate the oriented growth of the films. Phi-scan diffraction evidenced the epitaxial growth with two in-plane variants. AFM studies show that the films are very homogeneous, dense and present smooth surfaces. The refractive index and optical losses obtained by the prism coupling method were influenced by the magnesium addition.

Very Intense Distinct Blue and Red Photoluminescence Emission in MgTiO3 Thin Films Prepared by the Polymeric Precursor Method: An Experimental and Theoretical Approach

MgTiO3 (MTO) thin films were prepared by the polymeric precursor method with posterior spin-coating deposition. The films were deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates and heat treated at 350 degrees C for 2 h and then heat treated at 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650 and 700 C for 2 h. The degree of structural order disorder, optical properties, and morphology of the MTO thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman spectroscopy (MR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) measurements, and field-emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) to investigate the morphology. XRD revealed that an increase in the annealing temperature resulted in a structural organization of MTO thin films. First-principles quantum mechanical calculations based on density functional theory (B3LYP level) were employed to study the electronic structure of ordered and disordered asymmetric models. The electronic properties were analyzed, and the relevance of the present theoretical and experimental results was discussed in the light of PL behavior. The presence of localized electronic levels and a charge gradient in the band gap due to a break in the symmetry are responsible for the PL in disordered MTO lattice.

Síntese, sinterização e caracterização de ferritas à base de Ni-Zn

Were synthesized different ferrites NixZn1-xFe2O4 (0,4 ≤ x ≤ 0,6) compositions by using citrate precursor method. Initially, the precursors citrates of iron, nickel and zinc were mixed and homogenized. The stoichiometric compositions were calcined at 350°C without atmosphere control and the calcined powders were pressed in pellets and toroids. The pressed material was sintered from 1100º up to 1200ºC in argon atmosphere. The calcined powders were characterized by XRD, TGA/DTG, FTIR, SEM and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). All sintered samples were characterized using XRD, SEM, VSM and measurements of magnetic permeability and loss factor were obtained. It was formed pure ferromagnetic phase at all used temperatures. The Rietveld analyses allowed to calculate the cations level occupation and the crystallite size. The analyses obtained nanometric crystals (12-20 nm) to the calcined powder. By SEM, the sintered samples shows grains sizes from 1 to 10 μm. Sintered densities (ρ) were measured by the Archimedes method and with increasing Zn content, the bulk density decrease. The better magnetization results (105-110 emu/g) were obtained for x=0,6 at all sintering temperatures. The hysteresis shows characteristics of soft magnetic material. Two magnetization processes were considered, superparamagnetism at low temperature and the magnetic domains formation at high temperatures. The sintered toroids presents relative magnetic permeability (μr) from 7 to 32 and loss factor (tanδ) of about 1. The frequency response of toroids range from 0,3 kHz to 0,2 GHz. The composition x=0,5 presents both greater μr and tanδ values and x=0,6 the most broad range of frequency response. Various microstructural factors show influence on the behavior of μr and tanδ, such as: grain size, porosity across grain boundary and inside the grain, grain boundary content and domain walls movement during the process of magnetization at high frequency studies (0,3kKz 0,2 GHz)

Síntese análise das propriedades magnéticas da ferrita de NiMg e características de absorção de radiação

It was synthesized different Ni1-xMgxFe2O4 (0,2 ≤ x ≤ 0,7) compositions by use of citrate precursor method. Initially, the precursory citrates of iron, nickel and magnesium were mixed and homogenized. The stoichiometric compositions were calcined from 350°C to 1200°C at ambient atmosphere or in argon atmosphere. The calcined powders were characterized by XRD, TGA/DTG, FTIR, magnetic measures and reflectivity using the wave guide method. I was observed pure magnetic phase formation between 350°C and 500°C, with formation of ferrite and hematite after 600°C at ambient atmosphere. The calcined powder at argon atmosphere formed pure ferromagnetic phase at 1100°C and 1200°C. The Rietveld analyses calculated the cations level occupation and the crystallite size. The analyses obtained nanometric crystals (11-66 nm), that at 900°C/3h presents micrometric sizes (0,45 - 0,70 Om). The better magnetization results were 54 Am2/Kg for x= 0,2 composition, calcined at 350°C/3h and 30 min, and 55,6 Am2/Kg for x= 0,2 1200°C, calcined in argon. The hysteresis shows characteristics of soft magnetic material. Two magnetization processes were considered, superparamagnetism at low temperature and the magnetic domains formation at high temperatures. The materials presented absorption less or equal the 50 % in ranges specific frequency. As for the 2,0 and 3,0 thickness (in 11,0 - 11,8 GHz), the reflectivity of the x= 0,3, 0,5 and 0,4 compositions, all calcined at 900°C/3h showed agreement with MS and O. Various factors contribute for the final radiation absortion effect, such as, the particle size, the magnetization and the polymer characteristics in the MARE composition. The samples that presented better magnetization does not obtaining high radiation absorption. It is not clear the interrelaction between the magnetization and the radiation absorption in the strip of frequencies studied (8,2 - 12,4 GHz)

Otimização da síntese de nanoferritas de nizn dopada com cobre e cobalto

Different compositions of Ni0,5-xCuxZn0,5Fe2O4 and Ni0,5-xCoxZn0,5Fe2O4 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3 were synthesized ferrite y the citrate precursor method. The stoichiometric compositions were calcined in air at 350°C and then pressed into pellets and toroids. The pressed samples were sintered at temperatures of 1000, 1050 and 1100°C/3h in air control at the speed of heating and cooling. The calcined powders were characterized by XRD, TGA / DTG, FTIR, SEM and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and the sintered samples by XRD, SEM, MAV, density and measurements of permeability and magnetic losses. There was pure phase formation ferrimagnetism applied at all temperatures except for A-I composition at all sintering temperatures and A-II only at a temperature of 1100°C. Crystallite sizes were obtained by Rietveld analysis, nanometer size from 11 to 20 nm for the calcined powders. For SEM, the sintered samples showed grain size between 1 and 10 micrometers. Bulk density (ρ) of sintered material presented to the Families almost linear behavior with increasing temperature and a tendency to decrease with increasing concentration of copper, different behavior of the B Family, where the increase in temperature decreased the density. The magnetic measurements revealed the powder characteristics of a soft ferrimagnetic material. Two processes of magnetization were considered, the superparamagnetism at low temperatures (350°C) and the formation of magnetic domains at higher temperatures. Obtaining the best parameters for P and B-II magnetic ferrites at high temperatures. The sintered material at 1000°C showed a relative permeability (μ) from 50 to 800 for the A Family and from 10 to 600 for the B Family. The samples sintered at 1100°C, B Family showed a variation from 10 to 1000 and the magnetic loss (tan δ) of A and B Families, around of 1. The frequency response of the toroidal core is in the range of 0.3 kHz. Several factors contribute to the behavior of microstructure considering the quantities μ and tan δ, such as the grain size, inter-and intragranular porosity, amount of grain boundary and the aspects of the dynamics of domain walls at high frequencies.

Síntese, caracterização de ferritas espinélio com propriedades magnéticas e absorvedoras de microondas

Were synthesized spinel-type ferrites with general formula Ni0,8Mg0.2-xMxFe2O4, where M represents the doping Mn, Co or Mn + Co simultaneously, x ranges for the values 0.02, 0.05 and 0.1. The value of x was divided by 2 in cases where M equals Mn and Co conjugates. We used the citrate precursor method and heat treatment to obtain the phases at 1100°C. The materials were characterized by XRD, TGA/ DTGA, SEM, MAV and reflectivity measurements by the method of waveguide. Powders to 350°C/3.5 h were crystalline and nanosized. According to the results this temperature all powders have a percentage of ferrite phase over 90%. The composition had the addition of Mn and Co simultaneously showed a higher percentage of secondary phase NiO, 5.8%. The TGA/DTGA curves indicate that this sample reached phase (s) crystalline (s) at lowest temperatures. The X-ray diffractograms of the samples calcined at 350°C and 1100°C were treated with the Rietveld refinament technique. The powders calcined at 1100 °C/3h in air show to be 100% except spinel phase composition with 0.02 doping. The micrographs show clusters of particles with sizes smaller than 1 μm in calcination temperature of 1100°C which agreed with the result of Rietveld refinement. In the compositions doped with Mn were higher values of magnetization (45.90 and 53.20 Am2/kg), which did not cause high microwave absorption. The theoretical calculation of magnetization (MT) was consistent with the results, considering that there was agreement between the increase of magnetization experimental and theoretical. It was observed that there was the interrelation of the final effect of absorption with the thickness of MARE, the composition of ferrimagnetic materials and in particular the specific values of frequency. The analysis shows that the reflectivity increases in the concentration of cobalt increased the frequency range and also for absorption 10.17 GHz and 84%, respectively. The best result of chemical homogeneity and the value of 2.96 x 10-2 tesla coercive field were crucial for high performance ferrite absorber with 0.1 cobalt. The Cobalt has high magnetocrystalline anisotropy, it is associated with an increased coercive field, Hc. Therefore, this property improves the results of reflectivity of spinel ferrites

Síntese e caracterização da ferrita de MnZn obtida pelo método dos citratos precursores

It was synthesized MnZn ferrite with general formulae Mn1-xZnxFe2O4 (mol%), 0,3 ≤ x ≤ 0,7 by using the citrate precursor method. The precursors decomposition was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTG), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) of powder calcined at 350ºC/3,5h. X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) of samples was done from 350 to 1200ºC/2h using various atmospheres. The power calcined at 350ºC/3,5h formed spinel phase. It is necessary atmosphere control to avoid secondary phase such as hematite. From 900 to 1200ºC was obtained 90,66 and 100% of MnZn spinel ferrite phase, respectively. Analysis by dispersive energy scanning (EDS) at 350ºC shows high Mn and Zn dispersion, indicating that the diffusion process was homogeneous. Semi-quantitative analysis by EDS verified that despite the atmosphere control during calcinations at high temperatures (< 800ºC) occurred ZnO evaporation causing stoichiometric deviation. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) measures show soft ferrite material characteristics with Hc from 6,5 x 10-3 to 11,1 x 10-2 T. Saturation magnetization (Ms) and initial permeability (µi) of MnZn spinel phase obtained, respectively, from 14,3 to 83,8 Am2/kg and 14,1 to 62,7 (Am2/kg)T

Luminescent nanoparticles of MgAl(2)O(4):Eu, Dy prepared by citrate sol-gel method

MgAl(2)O(4):Eu, Dy nanoparticles were prepared by citrate sol-gel method and thermally treated at 600, 700, 800 and 900 degrees C. The trivalent europium ion is partially reduced to the divalent state at 700 and 800 degrees C. Infrared spectra of the phosphors showed bands around 700 and 520 cm(-1) corresponding to the AlO(6) groups. X-ray diffraction patterns present sharp reflections of samples heated from 700 to 900 degrees C indicating the MgAl(2)O(4) spinel phase. Grain size in the range 20-30 nm were observed by measurement of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The emission spectra of the phosphors show a broadened band at 480 nm assigned to the 4f(G)5d -> 4f(7) ((8)S(7/2)) transition of Eu(2+) ion overlapped to the (4)F(9/2) -> (6)H(15/2) transition of the Dy(3+) ion. Besides, the (4)F(9/2) -> (6)H(13/2) transition (579 nm) of Dy(3+) ion is overlapped with the (5)D(0) -> (7)F(0) (578 nm) and (5)D(0) -> (7)F(1) (595 nm) transitions from the Eu(3+) ion. Excitation spectra of the sample heated at 900 degrees C monitoring the excitation at 615 nm of (5)D(0) -> (7)F(2) transition of Eu(3+) ion exhibit a broad band assigned to the O -> Eu(3+) ligand-to-metal charge-transfer states (LMCT) around 280 nm. The samples present green persistent luminescence after exposure to UV radiation. The chromaticity coordinates were obtained from the luminescence emission spectrum. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling of formation of gold nanoparticles by citrate method

Properties of nanoparticles are size dependent, and a model to predict particle size is of importance. Gold nanoparticles are commonly synthesized by reducing tetrachloroauric acid with trisodium citrate, a method pioneered by Turkevich et al (Discuss. Faraday Soc. 1951, 11, 55). Data from several investigators that used this method show that when the ratio of initial concentrations of citrate to gold is varied from 0.4 to similar to 2, the final mean size of the particles formed varies by a factor of 7, while subsequent increases in the ratio hardly have any effect on the size. In this paper, a model is developed to explain this widely varying dependence. The steps that lead to the formation of particles are as follows: reduction of Au3+ in solution, disproportionation of Au+ to gold atoms and their nucleation, growth by disproportionation on particle surface, and coagulation. Oxidation of citrate results in the formation of dicarboxy acetone, which aids nucleation but also decomposes into side products. A detailed kinetic model is developed on the basis of these steps and is combined with population balance to predict particle-size distribution. The model shows that, unlike the usual balance between nucleation and growth that determines the particle size, it is the balance between rate of nucleation and degradation of dicarboxy acetone that determines the particle size in the citrate process. It is this feature that is able to explain the unusual dependence of the mean particle size on the ratio of citrate to gold salt concentration. It is also found that coagulation plays an important role in determining the particle size at high concentrations of citrate.

Effect of Nb on barium titanate prepared from citrate solutions

The influence of the addition of dopants on the microstructure development and electrical properties of BaTiO3 doped with 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 mol% of Nb and 0.01 mol% of Mn based compounds was studied. Doped barium titanate was prepared using the polymeric precursor method from citrate solutions. The powders calcined at 700°C for 4 hours were analysed by infrared (IR) spectroscopy to verify the presence of carbonates, and by X-ray diffraction (XRD) for phase formation. The phase composition, microstructure and dielectric properties show a strong dependence on the amount of added niobium.

Silylation of layered double hydroxides via an induced hydrolysis method

A series of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) based composites were synthesized by using induced hydrolysis silylation method (IHS), surfactant precursor method, in-situ coprecipitation method, and direct silylation method. Their structures, morphologies, bonding modes and thermal stabilities can be readily adjusted by changing the parameters during preparation and drying processing of the LDHs. The characterization results show that the direct silylation reaction cannot occur between the dried LDHs and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) in an ethanol medium. However, the condensation reaction can proceed with heating process between adsorbed APS and LDHs plates. While using wet state substrates with and without surfactant and ethanol as the solvent, the silylation process can be induced by hydrolysis of APS on the surface of LDHs plates. Surfactants improve the hydrophobicity of the LDHs during the process of nucleation and crystallization, resulting in fluffy shaped crystals; meanwhile, they occupy the surface –OH positions and leave less “free –OH” available for the silylation reaction, favoring formation of silylated products with a higher population in the hydrolyzed bidentate (T2) and tridentate (T3) bonding forms. These bonding characteristics lead to spherical aggregates and tightly bonded particles. All silylated products show higher thermal stability than those of pristine LDHs.

Grain and the concomitant ferroelectric domain size dependent physical properties of Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 ceramics fabricated using powders derived from oxalate precursor route

Fine powders comprising nanocrystallites of Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 (BCZT) were synthesized via oxalate precursor method, which facilitated to obtain homogenous and large grain sized ceramics at a lower sintering temperature. The compacted powders were sintered at various temperatures in the range of 1200 degrees C-1500 degrees C for an optimized duration of 10 h. Interestingly the one that was sintered at 1450 degrees C/10 h exhibited well resolved Morphotrophic Phase Boundary. The average grain size associated with this sample was 30 mu m accompanied by higher domain density mostly with 90 degrees twinning. These were believed to have significant contribution towards obtaining large strain of about 0.2% and piezoelectric coefficient as high as 563 pC/N. The maximum force that was generated by BCZT ceramic (having 30 mu m grain size) was found to be 161 MPa, which is much higher than that of known actuator materials such as PZT (40MPa) and NKN-5-LT (7 MPa). (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Preparation of Y3Al5O12 : Eu phosphors by citric-gel method and their luminescent properties

By using metal nitrates as starting materials and citric acid as complexing agent, Y3Al5O12 (YAG) and Y3Al5O12:Eu (1 mol%) (YAG:Eu) powder phosphors were prepared by a citrate-gel method. The formation process of YAG and YAG:Eu were investigated by means of XRD, TG-DTA and FT-IR spectra. The purified crystalline phases of YAG and YAG:Eu were obtained at 800 degreesC. The crystalline YAG:Eu phosphors showed an orange-red emission with D-5(0)-F-7(1) (591 nm) as the most prominent group, whose intensity was dependent on the pH value of the starting solution, citric acid content and firing temperature. It has been found that the suitable pH and citric acid/metal ratio are 3 and 2 for obtaining the highest emission intensity, respectively. The emission intensity increases steadily with increasing the annealing temperature from 800 to 1200 degreesC, and nearly remains constant after 1200 degreesC. Furthermore, great differences were observed for the lifetimes and the charge transfer band of Eu3+ in crystalline and amorphous states of YAG.

Synthesis of YAP phase by a polymeric method and phase progression mechanisms

The phase formation kinetics of YAP (YAlO(3)) synthesized through the polymeric precursor method was investigated by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy. We demonstrated that the YAP synthesis is highly dependent on the heat and mass transport during all stages of the synthesis route. In the first stages, during the preparation of amorphous precursor, ""hot spots"" need to be suppressed to avoid the occurrence of chemical inhomogeneities. Very high heating rates combined with small amorphous particles are advantageous in the last stage during the formation of crystalline phase. We were able to synthesize nanosized particles of YAP single phase at temperatures around 1100 A degrees C for future preparation of phosphors or ceramics for optics.

Pt film electrodes prepared by the Pechini method for electrochemical decolourisation of Reactive Orange 16

Electrochemical decolourisation of Reactive Orange 16 was carried out in an electrochemical flow-cell, using as working electrodes a Pt thin film deposited on a Ti substrate (Pt/Ti) prepared by the Pechini method and a pure platinum (Pt) foil. Using the Pt/Ti electrodes better results for dye decolourisation were obtained under milder conditions than those used for pure Pt. For the Pt electrode, colour removal of 93 % (lambda = 493 nm) was obtained after 60 min, at 2.2 V vs. RHE, using 0.017 mol L(-1) NaCl + 0.5 mol L(-1) H(2)SO(4) solution. For the Pt/Ti electrode there was better colour removal, 98%, than for the Pt electrode. Moreover, we used 0.017 mol L(-1) NaCl solution and the applied potential was 1.8 V. Under this condition after 15 min of electrolysis, more than 80% of colour was removed. The rate reaction constant, assuming a first order reaction, was 0.024 min(-1) and 0.069 min(-1), for Pt and Pt/Ti electrodes, respectively.