Abstract: Pure and Nb-doped TiO2 thick-films were prepared by screen-printing, starting from nanosized powders. Grain growth and crystalline phase modification occurred as consequence of firing at high temperature. It has been shown that niobium addition inhibits grain coarsening and hinders anatase-to-rutile phase transition. These semiconducting films exhibited n-type behavior, while Nb acted as donor-dopant. Gas measurements demonstrated that the films are suitable for CO or NO2 sensing. Microstructural characterization by electron microscopy and differential thermal analysis (DTA) highlights the dependence of gas-sensing behavior on film's properties. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Abstract: The structure and defect structure of Bi2-xPbxSr3.5Cu2 (CO3)O8-delta compounds with 0 less-than-or-equal-to x less-than-or-equal-to 0.75 are carefully investigated by electron diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy. All compounds have an orthorhombic structure with a almost-equal-to b almost-equal-to 5.4 angstrom and c almost-equal-to 39.5 angstrom. The length of the b-axis decreases monotonically with increasing x. The space group for the basic structure is Abm2. The structure can be considered as an intergrowth of Bi2Sr2CuO6 lamellae with Sr2CuO2 (CO3) lamellae along the c-axis. CO3 groups behave as bridges connecting the CuO6 octahedra. In the x = 0 compound the carbon atoms are shifted away from their symmetry positions; the orientational ordering of the CO3 groups (or the carbon shift) in successive CO planes alternates along +b and -b. Typical Bi-type and Pb-type modulations are found along the b-axis up to a Pb content x = 0.5. Electron beam irradiation destroys the ordering of the CO3 groups and alters the modulated structure. (C) 1994 Academic press, inc.

Abstract: Polycrystalline samples of A(2)LaFe(2)SbO(9) (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) perovskites appeared monophasic to X-ray or neutron powder diffraction but a single-crystal study utilising transmission electron microscopy revealed a greater level of complexity. Although local charge balance is maintained, compositional and structural variations are present among and within the submicron-sized crystals. Despite the inhomogeneity, A = Ca is monophasic with a partially-ordered distribution of Fe3+ and Sb5+ cations across two crystallographically-distinct octahedral sites, i.e. Ca2La(Fe1.25Sb0.25)(2d) (Fe0.75Sb0.75)(2c)O-9. For A = Sr or Ba, the inhomogeneities result in differences in the filling patterns of the octahedra and the ordering of the B cations. Particles of A = Sr contain a phase (Fe:Sb similar to 2:1) without B cation ordering and one (Fe:Sb similar to 1:1) with B cation ordering. Monophasic A = Ba lacks long-range cation order although ordered nanodomains are present within the disordered phase. The temperature dependence of the magnetic properties of each sample is discussed.

Abstract: We report on a first-principles study of the structural and electronic properties of a Sigma3 (112) grain boundary model in CuInSe2. The study focuses on a coherent, stoichiometry preserving, cation–Se terminated grain boundary, addressing the properties of the grain boundary as such, as well as the effect
of well known defects in CuInSe2. We show that in spite of its apparent simplicity, such a grain boundary exhibits a very rich phenomenology, providing an explanation for several of the experimentally observed properties of grain boundaries in CuInSe2 thin films. In particular, we show that the combined effect of Cu vacancies and cation antisites can result in the observed Cu depletion with no In enrichment at the grain boundaries. Furthermore, Cu vacancies are unlikely to produce a hole barrier at the grain boundaries, but Na may indeed have such an effect. We find that Na-on-Cu defects will tend to form abundantly at
the grain boundaries, and can provide a mechanism for the carrier depletion and/or type inversion experimentally reported.

Abstract: The recent revival of the Na-ion battery concept has prompted intense activities in the search for new Na-based layered oxide positive electrodes. The largest capacity to date was obtained for a Na-deficient layered oxide that relies on cationic redox processes only. To go beyond this limit, we decided to chemically manipulate these Na-based layered compounds in a way to trigger the participation of the anionic network. We herein report the electrochemical properties of a Na-rich phase Na2IrO3, which can reversibly cycle 1.5 Na+ per formula unit while not suffering from oxygen release nor cationic migrations. Such large capacities, as deduced by complementary XPS, X-ray/neutron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy measurements, arise from cumulative cationic and anionic redox processes occurring simultaneously at potentials as low as 3.0 V. The inability to remove more than 1.5 Na+ is rooted in the formation of an O1-type phase having highly stabilized Na sites as confirmed by DFT calculations, which could rationalize as well the competing metal/oxygen redox processes in Na2IrO3. This work will help to define the most fertile directions in the search for novel high energy Na-rich materials based on more sustainable elements than Ir.

Abstract: A packed bed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is widely used for plasma catalysis applications, but the exact plasma characteristics in between the packing beads are far from understood. Therefore, we study here these plasma characteristics by means of fluid modelling and experimental observations using ICCD imaging, for packing materials with different dielectric constants. Our study reveals that a packed bed DBD reactor in dry air at atmospheric pressure may show three types of discharges, i.e. positive restrikes, filamentary microdischarges, which can also be localized between two packing beads, and surface discharges (so-called surface ionization
waves). Restrikes between the dielectric surfaces result in the formation of filamentary microdischarges, while surface charging creates electric field components parallel to the dielectric surfaces, leading to the formation of surface discharges. A transition in discharge mode occurs from surface discharges to local filamentary discharges between the packing beads when the dielectric constant of the packing rises from 5 to 1000. This may have implications for the efficiency of plasma catalytic gas treatment, because the catalyst activation may be limited by constraining the discharge to the contact points of the beads. The production of reactive species occurs most in the positive restrikes, the surface discharges and the local microdischarges in between the beads, and is less significant in the longer filamentary microdischarges. The faster streamer propagation and discharge development with higher dielectric constant of the packing beads leads to a faster production of reactive species. This study is of great interest for plasma catalysis, where packing beads with different dielectric constants are often used as supports for the catalytic materials. It allows us to better understand how different packing materials can influence the performance of packed bed plasma reactors for environmental applications.

Abstract: By means of density functional theory based first-principles calculations, the structural, vibrational, and electronic properties of 1H- and 1T-phases of single-layer CaX2 (X = F, Cl, Br, or I) structures are investigated. Our results reveal that both the 1H- and 1T-phases are dynamically stable in terms of their phonon band dispersions with the latter being the energetically favorable phase for all single-layers. In both phases of single-layer CaX2 structures, significant phonon softening occurs as the atomic radius increases. In addition, each structural phase exhibits distinctive Raman active modes that enable one to characterize either the phase or the structure via Raman spectroscopy. The electronic band dispersions of single-layer CaX2 structures reveal that all structures are indirect bandgap insulators with a decrease in bandgaps from fluorite to iodide crystals. Furthermore, the calculated linear elastic constants, in-plane stiffness, and Poisson ratio indicate the ultra-soft nature of CaX2 single-layers, which is quite important for their nanoelastic applications. Overall, our study reveals that with their dynamically stable 1T- and 1H-phases, single-layers of CaX2 crystals can be alternative ultra-thin insulators.

Abstract: Modeling the oxidation process of silicon nanowires through reactive force field based molecular dynamics simulations suggests that the formation of Si epoxide defects occurs both at the Si/SiOx interface and at the nanowire surface, whereas for flat surfaces, this defect is experimentally observed to occur only at the interface as a result of stress. In this paper, we argue that the increasing curvature stabilizes the defect at the nanowire surface, as suggested by our density functional theory calculations. The latter can have important consequences for the opto-electronic properties of thin silicon nanowires, since the epoxide induces an electronic state within the band gap. Removing the epoxide defect by hydrogenation is expected to be possible but becomes increasingly difficult with a reduction of the diameter of the nanowires.

Abstract: Two-dimensional materials composed of transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) are poised to revolutionize energy conversion and storage. In this work, we used density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the adsorption of Mg and Na adatoms on five M2CS2 monolayers (where M = Mo, Nb, Ti, V, and Zr) for battery applications. We assessed the stability of the adatom (i.e. Na and Mg)-monolayer systems by calculating adsorption and formation energies, as well as voltages as a function of surface coverage. For instance, we found that Mo2CS2 cannot support a full layer of Na nor even a single Mg atom. Na and Mg exhibit the strongest binding on Zr2CS2, followed by Ti2CS2, Nb2CS2 and V2CS2. Using the nudged elastic band method (NEB), we computed promising diffusion barriers for both dilute and nearly full ion surface coverage cases. In the dilute ion adsorption case, a single Mg and Na atom on Ti2CS2 experience similar to 0.47 eV and similar to 0.10 eV diffusion barriers between the lowest energy sites, respectively. For a nearly full surface coverage, a Na ion moving on Ti2CS2 experiences a similar to 0.33 eV energy barrier, implying a concentration-dependent diffusion barrier. Our molecular dynamics results indicate that the three (one) layers (layer) of the Mg (Na) ion on both surfaces of Ti2CS2 remain stable at T = 300 K. While, according to voltage calculations, Zr2CS2 can store Na up to three atomic layers, our MD simulations predict that the outermost layers detach from the Zr2CS2 monolayer due to the weak interaction between Na ions and the monolayer. This suggests that MD simulations are essential to confirm the stability of an ion-electrode system – an insight that is mostly absent in previous studies.

Abstract: La3Ni2-xCuxB'O-9 (x = 0.25; B' = Sb, Ta, Nb: x = 0.5; B' = Nb) have been synthesized and characterised by transmission electron microscopy, neutron diffraction and magnetometry. Each adopts a perovskite-like structure (space group P2(1)/n) with two crystallographically-distinct six-coordinate sites, one occupied by a disordered arrangement of Ni2+ and Cu2+ and the other by a disordered similar to 1:2 distribution of Ni2+ and B'(5+), although some Cu2+ is found on the latter site when x = 0.5. Each composition undergoes a magnetic transition in the range 90 <= T/K <= 130 and shows a spontaneous magnetisation at 5 K; the transition temperature always exceeds that of the x = 0 composition by >= 30 K. A long-range ordered G-type ferrimagnetic structure is present in each composition, but small relaxor domains are also present. This contrasts with the pure relaxor and spin-glass behaviour of x = 0, B' = Ta, Nb, respectively.

Abstract: Chiral ligands are considered a required ingredient during the synthesis of dissymmetric plasmonic metal nanocrystals. The mechanism behind the generation of chiral structures involves the formation of high Miller index chiral facets, induced by the adsorption of such chiral ligands. We found however that, chirality can also evolve spontaneously, without the involvement of any chiral ligands, during the co-deposition of Au and Ag on Au nanorods. When using a specific Au/Ag ratio, phase segregation of the two metals leads to an interface within the obtained AuAg shell, which can be exposed by removing the Ag component via oxidative etching. Although a close-to-racemic mixture of chiral Au nanorods with right and left handedness is found in solution, electron tomography analysis evidences left- and righthanded helicities, both at the Au-Ag interface and at the exposed surface of Au NRs after Ag etching. The helicity profile of the NRs indicates dominating inclination angles in a range from 30° to 60°. Single-particle optical characterization also reveals random handedness in the plasmonic response of individual nanorods. We hypothesize that, the origin of chirality is related with symmetry breaking during the co-deposition of Au and Ag, through an initial perturbation in a small region on the Au-Ag interface that eventually leads to chiral segregation throughout the nanocrystal.

Abstract: We used atom probe tomography to complement electron microscopy for the investigation of spinodal decomposition in alkali feldspar. To this end, gem-quality alkali feldspar of intermediate composition with a mole fraction of a(K) = 0.43 of the K end-member was prepared from Madagascar orthoclase by ion-exchange with (NaK)Cl molten salt. During subsequent annealing at 550 degrees C and close to ambient pressure the ion-exchanged orthoclase unmixed producing a coherent lamellar intergrowth of Na-rich and K-rich lamellae. The chemical separation was completed, and equilibrium Na-K partitioning between the different lamellae was attained within four days, which was followed by microstructural coarsening. After annealing for 4 days, the wavelength of the lamellar microstructure was approximate to 17 nm and it increased to approximate to 30 nm after annealing for 16 days. The observed equilibrium compositions of the Na-rich and K-rich lamellae are in reasonable agreement with an earlier experimental determination of the coherent solvus. The excess energy associated with compositional gradients at the lamellar interfaces was quantified from the initial wavelength of the lamellar microstructure and the lamellar compositions as obtained from atom probe tomography using the Cahn-Hilliard theory. The capability of atom probe tomography to deliver quantitative chemical compositions at nm resolution opens new perspectives for studying the early stages of exsolution. In particular, it helps to shed light on the phase relations in nm scaled coherent intergrowth.