Solid-State Mechanochemical Syntheses of Perovskites

The chapter presents the possibility of applying high-energy ball milling techniques to carry out the synthesis of ceramics with perovskite structure, thereby eliminating prolonged use of high temperatures in their preparation

Influence of cation order on the dielectric properties of (1 - x)Pb(Sc0:5Nb0:5)O3-xPb(Yb0:5Nb0:5)O3ceramics

Ceramic lead niobates and their solid solutions (1 - x)Pb(Sc0:5Nb0:5)O3 - xPb(Yb0:5Nb0:5)O3 were synthesized by solid state reactions from oxides. The structure of investigated samples was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Dielectric studies of the ceramics were performed by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy at the temperature ranging from 600 K to 140 K. For all ceramic samples a diffuse phase transition as well as relaxor ferroelectric behavior were observed. © 2020 Barbara Garbarz-Glos et al., published by Sciendo 2020. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

Effect of titanium source and sol-gel TiO2 thin film formation parameters on its morphology and photocatalytic activity

TiO2 thin films with different surface structure have been prepared from alkoxide solutions by the sol-gel method using different cationic precursors and heat treatment techniques. The effect of using titanium isopropoxide as well as titanium butoxide as a titanium source on the surface structure and photocatalytic activity of the resultant thin films was studied. Significant differences in the rate of hydrolysis and condensation reactions during the sol-gel synthesis were observed for these titanium precursors. This had a direct influence on the morphology of the as-prepared TiO2 films. Higher quality oxide coatings were obtained from titanium isopropoxide. They were characterized by a smaller grain size, improved surface roughness and uniform coverage of the glass substrate. A beneficial effect of calcination process after each sol application cycle in contrast to single step calcination after all dip-coating cycles was observed. Photocatalytic degradation tests showed that methyl orange was decolorized in the presence of all prepared TiO2 films by exposing their aqueous solutions to UV light (λ = 254 nm). The highest photocatalytic activity had the TiO2 layer produced using titanium isopropoxide

Scattering Phenomena in Porous Sol-Gel-Derived Silica Films

This paper presents the results of investigations of optical scattering phenomena in porous silica films. SiO(2)films were prepared by the sol-gel method and deposited on polished silicon wafers by the dip-coating technique. Fabricated films were studied using integrating sphere reflectometry, spectroscopic ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and angular resolve scattering. The spectral characteristics of the refractive and extinction indices and scattering extinction coefficients are presented. Additionally, the depolarization of reflected beam from samples was measured. The tested films were characterized by a thickness of 500 to 900 nm, a porosity of 50%, and refractive indices of less than 1.24. The observed depolarization of light reflected from SiO(2)films resulted from surface and bulk scattering. This phenomenon resulted from the presence of surface and closed pores located in the bulk of SiO(2)film

The Optical and Thermo-Optical Properties of Non-Stoichiometric Silicon Nitride Layers Obtained by the PECVD Method with Varying Levels of Nitrogen Content

In this paper, we investigated the optical and thermo-optical properties of a-SiNx:H layers obtained using the PECVD technique. SiNx:H layers with different refractive indices were obtained from silane and ammonia as precursor gases. Surface morphology and chemical composition studies were investigated using atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry methods. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to determine the optical indexes, thicknesses and optical bandgap of the films. The main purpose was to identify the thermo-optical characteristics of layers with different refractive indexes. Thermo-optical studies were performed to determine the temperature hysteresis of optical parameters. These measurements showed that after annealing up to 300 °C and subsequent cooling, the value of optical parameters returned to the initial values

Mg²⁺ Doping Effects on the Structural and Dielectric Properties of CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ Ceramics Obtained by Mechanochemical Synthesis

In this study, ceramic CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) and CaCu3−xMgxTi4O12 solid solutions in which 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.5 were prepared by the mechanochemical method, realized by a high-energy ball milling technique. The effects of the Mg2+ ion concentration and sintering time on the dielectric response in the prepared ceramics were investigated and discussed. It was demonstrated that, by the use of a sufficiently high energy of mechanochemical treatment, it is possible to produce a crystalline product after only 2 h of milling the mixture of the oxide substrates. Both the addition of magnesium ions and the longer sintering time of the mechanochemically-produced ceramics cause excessive grain growth and significantly affect the dielectric properties of the materials. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that all of the as-prepared solid solutions, CaCu3−xMgxTi4O12 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5), regardless of the sintering time, exhibit a cubic perovskite single phase. The dielectric study showed two major contributions associated with the grains and the grain boundaries. The analysis of the electric modules of these ceramics confirmed the occurrence of Maxwell–Wagner type relaxation, which is dependent on the temperature

Mg2+ Doping Effects on the Structural and Dielectric Properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 Ceramics Obtained by Mechanochemical Synthesis

In this study, ceramic CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) and CaCu3−xMgxTi4O12 solid solutions in which 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.5 were prepared by the mechanochemical method, realized by a high-energy ball milling technique. The effects of the Mg2+ ion concentration and sintering time on the dielectric response in the prepared ceramics were investigated and discussed. It was demonstrated that, by the use of a sufficiently high energy of mechanochemical treatment, it is possible to produce a crystalline product after only 2 h of milling the mixture of the oxide substrates. Both the addition of magnesium ions and the longer sintering time of the mechanochemically-produced ceramics cause excessive grain growth and significantly affect the dielectric properties of the materials. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that all of the as-prepared solid solutions, CaCu3−xMgxTi4O12 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5), regardless of the sintering time, exhibit a cubic perovskite single phase. The dielectric study showed two major contributions associated with the grains and the grain boundaries. The analysis of the electric modules of these ceramics confirmed the occurrence of Maxwell–Wagner type relaxation, which is dependent on the temperature