551 research outputs found
Fe/Co Alloys for the Catalytic Chemical Vapor Deposition Synthesis of Single- and Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs). 2. The CNT−Fe/Co−MgAl2O4 System
A detailed 57Fe Mössbauer study of the Mg(0.8)Fe(0.2-y)Co(y)Al2O4 (y = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2) solid solutions and of the CNT-Fe/Co-MgAl2O4 nanocomposite powders prepared by reduction in H2-CH4 has allowed characterization of the different iron phases involved in the catalytic process of carbon nanotube (CNT) formation and to correlate these results with the carbon and CNT contents. The oxide precursors consist of defective spinels of general formulas (Mg(1-x-y)(2+)Fe(x-3alpha)(2+)Fe(2alpha)(3+)[symbol: see text](alpha)Co(y)(2+)Al2(3+))O4(2-) . The metallic phase in the CNT-Fe/Co-MgAl2O4 nanocomposite powders is mostly in the form of the ferromagnetic alpha-Fe/Co alloy with the desired composition. For high iron initial proportions, the additional formation of Fe3C and gamma-Fe-C is observed while for high cobalt initial proportions, the additional formation of a gamma-Fe/Co-C phase is favored. The higher yield of CNTs is observed for postreaction alpha-Fe(0.50)Co(0.50) catalytic particles, which form no carbide and have a narrow size distribution. Alloying is beneficial for this system with respect to the formation of CNTs
ILEEMS of thin α-Fe2O3 films prepared by RF sputtering
Thin α-Fe2O3 films on semi-quartz substrates have been prepared by radio frequency (RF) sputtering of a magnetite target in a pure argon gas flow with a bias power applied. The films were studied by X-ray diffraction and Integral Low-Energy Electron Mössbauer Spectroscopy (ILEEMS), the latter in the temperature range of 80 to 330 K. In ILEEMS electrons of ∼10 eV are detected and therefore it is an ideal instrument to study thin films with thicknesses below 500 nm. The first ILEEMS measurements on α-Fe2O3 films are reported and focus on the behaviour of the Morin transition, i.e., the reorientation of Fe3+ spins from the [111] crystallographic direction at low temperature, to the (111) basal plane at high temperature. Some films (∼400 nm) show the presence of both a weak- and antiferromagnetic hematite phase for all temperatures between 140 and 330 K. Others of about ∼100 nm thick only have a weak ferromagnetic phase for temperatures between 140 and 330 K of which the hyperfine field distribution shows two maxima, related to two distinct phases. Both phases stay in some films almost equal in intensity in the spectrum for the whole measured temperature range. In others a significant evolution in the spectral areas of both weak ferromagnetic phases as function of the temperature is observed
Misjudging where you felt a light switch in a dark room.
Previous research has shown that subjects systematically misperceive the location of visual and haptic stimuli presented briefly around the time of a movement of the sensory organ (eye or hand movements) due to errors in the combination of visual or tactile information with proprioception. These briefly presented stimuli (a flash or a tap on the finger) are quite different from what one encounters in daily life. In this study, we tested whether subjects also mislocalize real (static) objects that are felt briefly while moving ones hand across them, like when searching for a light switch in the dark. We found that subjects systematically mislocalized a real bar in a similar manner as has been shown with artificial haptic stimuli. This demonstrates that movement-related mislocalization is a real world property of human perception
From ceramic–matrix nanocomposites to the synthesis of carbon nanotubes
The selective reduction in H2 of oxide solid solutions produces nanocomposite powders in which transition metal nanoparticles are dispersed inside and on the surface of the oxide matrix grains. When using a H2/CH4 reducing atmosphere, the metal nanoparticles that form on the surface of the oxide grains act as catalysts for the CH4 decomposition and, because of their small size at high temperatures (>800○C), favor the in-situ nucleation and growth of single-wall and thin multiwall carbon nanotubes. This article reviews our results on the synthesis and characterization of M-MgAl2O4 (M=Fe, Fe/Co, Fe/Ni) nanocomposite powders, without and with carbon nanotubes, emphasizing the information that can be derived from Mössbauer spectroscopy as a complement to other characterization techniques
The spin temperature of high-redshift damped Lyman- systems
We report results from a programme aimed at investigating the temperature of
neutral gas in high-redshift damped Lyman- absorbers (DLAs). This
involved (1) HI 21cm absorption studies of a large DLA sample, (2) VLBI studies
to measure the low-frequency quasar core fractions, and (3) optical/ultraviolet
spectroscopy to determine DLA metallicities and velocity widths.
Including literature data, our sample consists of 37 DLAs with estimates of
the spin temperature and the covering factor. We find a strong )
difference between the distributions in high-z (z>2.4) and low-z (z<2.4)
DLA samples. The high-z sample contains more systems with high values,
K. The distributions in DLAs and the Galaxy are also
clearly (~) different, with more high- sightlines in DLAs than in
the Milky Way. The high values in the high-z DLAs of our sample arise due
to low fractions of the cold neutral medium.
For 29 DLAs with metallicity [Z/H] estimates, we confirm the presence of an
anti-correlation between and [Z/H], at significance via a
non-parametric Kendall-tau test. This result was obtained with the assumption
that the DLA covering factor is equal to the core fraction. Monte Carlo
simulations show that the significance of the result is only marginally
decreased if the covering factor and the core fraction are uncorrelated, or if
there is a random error in the inferred covering factor.
We also find evidence for redshift evolution in DLA values even for the
z>1 sub-sample. Since z>1 DLAs have angular diameter distances comparable to or
larger than those of the background quasars, they have similar efficiency in
covering the quasars. Low covering factors in high-z DLAs thus cannot account
for the observed redshift evolution in spin temperatures. (Abstract abridged.)Comment: 37 pages, 22 figures. Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of
the Royal Astronomical Societ
Elaboration and characterization of Fe1–xO thin films sputter deposited from magnetite target
Majority of the authors report elaboration of iron oxide thin films by reactive magnetron sputtering from an iron target with Ar–O2 gas mixture. Instead of using the reactive sputtering of a metallic target we report here the preparation of Fe1–xOthin films, directly sputtered froma magnetite target in a pure argon gas flow with a bias power applied. This oxide is generally obtained at very low partial oxygen pressure and high temperature.We showed that bias sputtering which can be controlled very easily can lead to reducing conditions during deposition of oxide thin film on simple glass substrates. The proportion of wustite was directly adjusted bymodifying the power of the substrate polarization. Atomic force microscopy was used to observe these nanostructured layers. Mössbauer measurements and electrical properties versus bias polarization and annealing temperature are also reported
Mössbauer spectroscopy study of MgAl2O4-matrix nanocomposite powders containing carbon nanotubes and iron-based nanoparticles
Materials involved in the catalytic formation of carbon nanotubes are for the first time systematically studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy between 11 K and room temperature. Mg1−xFexAl2O4 (x=0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) solid solutions are transformed into carbon nanotubes–Fe/Fe3C–MgAl2O4 composite powders by reduction in a H2–CH4 gas mixture. The oxides are defective spinels of general formulae (Mg1−x2+Fex−3α2+Fe2α3+□αAl23+)O42−. Ferromagnetic α-Fe, ferromagnetic Fe3C and a γ-Fe form, the latter possibly corresponding to a γ-Fe–C alloy, are detected in the composite powders. An attempt is made to correlate these results with the microstructure of the powder. It seems that the nanoparticles, which catalyze the formation of the carbon nanotubes, are detected as Fe3C in the post-reaction Mössbauer spectroscopy analysis
Magnetic states at the surface of alpha Fe2O3 thin films doped with Ti, Zn, or Sn
The spin states at the surface of epitaxial thin films of hematite, both
undoped and doped with 1% Ti, Sn or Zn, respectively, were probed with x-ray
magnetic linear dichroism (XMLD) spectroscopy. Morin transitions were observed
for the undoped (T_M~200 K) and Sn-doped (T_M~300 K) cases, while Zn and
Ti-doped samples were always in the high and low temperature phases,
respectively. In contrast to what has been reported for bulk hematite doped
with the tetravalent ions Sn4+ and Ti4+, for which T_M dramatically decreases,
these dopants substantially increase T_M in thin films, far exceeding the bulk
values. The normalized Fe LII-edge dichroism for T<T_M does not strongly depend
on doping or temperature, except for an apparent increase of the peak
amplitudes for T<100 K. We observed magnetic field-induced inversions of the
dichroism peaks. By applying a magnetic field of 6.5 T on the Ti-doped sample,
a transition into the T>T_M state was achieved. The temperature dependence of
the critical field for the Sn-doped sample was characterized in detail. It was
demonstrated the sample-to-sample variations of the Fe LIII-edge spectra were,
for the most part, determined solely by the spin orientation state.
Calculations of the polarization-depedent spectra based on a spin-multiplet
model were in reasonable agreement with the experiment and showed a mixed
excitation character of the peak structures.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
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