Synthesis and structure of BiFeO3:RE (RE=Gd3+, Dy3+, Nd3+) ceramics

In the present work the influence of rare earth elements concentration (0-10at-%) on BiFeO3:RE (RE=Gd3+, Dy3+, Nd3+) ceramics were studied. All ceramic powders were synthesized by conventional ceramic method using high purity raw materials (>99,9%), and subsequently sintered by free sintering and cold pressing method. To analyze the powders and ceramics more the XRD, EDS, SEM, and DTA were performed

Fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis using the whole biofilm as a sensitive tool to evaluate the physiological state of immobilized bacterial cells

Due to the increasing interest and the use of immobilized biocatalysts in bioremediation studies, there is a need for the development of an assay for quick and reliable measurements of their overall enzymatic activity. Fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis is a widely used assay for measuring total enzymatic activity (TEA) in various environmental samples or in monoculture researches. However, standard FDA assays for TEA measurements in immobilized samples include performing an assay on cells detached from the carrier. This causes an error, because it is not possible to release all cells from the carrier without affecting their metabolic activity. In this study, we developed and optimized a procedure for TEA quantification in the whole biofilm formed on the carrier without disturbing it. The optimized method involves pre-incubation of immobilized carrier in phosphate buffer (pH 7.6) on the orbital shaker for 15 min, slow injection of FDA directly into the middle of the immobilized carrier, and incubation on the orbital shaker (130 rpm, 30◦C) for 1 h. Biofilm dry mass was obtained by comparing the dried weight of the immobilized carrier with that of the unimmobilized carrier. The improved protocol provides a simple, quick, and more reliable quantification of TEA during the development of immobilized biocatalysts compared to the original method

Study of phase and chemical composition of Bi1-xNdxFeO3 powders derived by pressureless sintering

In the present paper studies on Bi1-xNdxFeO 3 for x =0.1-0.4 are reported. The mixed oxide method followed with pressureless sintering was employed for ceramics fabrication. Thermal behavior of stoichiometric mixtures of simple oxide powders, viz. Bi2O 3, Nd2O3 and Fe2 O3 was studied by simultaneous thermal analysis. It was found that with an increase in neodymium content the weight loss increased from 0.75% to 3.16% for x =0.1 and x =0.4, respectively. It was found that weight loss took place mainly within two temperature ranges, namely △T1 ≈(300-400)°C and △T2 ≈600-800)°C. Bi 1-xNdxFeO3 ceramics was studied in terms of its phase composition (X-ray phase analysis) and chemical composition (EDS method) at room temperature. It was found that Bi1-xNdxFeO 3 suffered structural phase transition from rhombohedral to orthorhombic symmetry with an increase in neodymium concentration x within the range x =(0.2-0.3)

Influence of Dy doping on the properties of BiFeO3

The aim of this research was to fabricate and study the properties of Bi1-x DyxFeO3 (for x = 0, 0.05, 0.07, 0.1) ceramics materials. Simple oxide powders Bi2O3, Dy2O3 and Fe2O3 were used to fabricate Bi1-xDyxFeO3 ceramics by mixed oxide method followed by free sintering. The study presents changes in microstructure and crystal structure as well as in dielectric properties and magnetic properties caused by modification of BiFeO3 with dysprosium dopant

Fabrication and characterization of BST 60/40/PVDF ceramic-polymer composite

In this paper BST//PVDF composites with 0-3 connectivity were prepared from (Ba0:6Sr0:4)O3 (BST60/40) ceramic powder and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) powder by a hot pressing method, for different concentration of the ceramic phase (cV ). Morphology of BST//PVDF composites was observed by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, whereas the crystalline structure was studied by the X-ray diffraction method. The temperature dependence of dielectric permittivity of BST//PVDF composites was measured in the frequency range of f =10kHz-1MHz. The split-post dielectric resonator (SPDR) was used for the measurements of the real and imaginary part of dielectric permittivity of BST//PVDF composites in the microwave frequency range of f =3-10GHz. It was found, that the dielectric properties of the ceramic-polymer composite for cV >20% change significantly for both small ( f =10kHz-1MHz) and high ( f =3-10GHz) frequencies. The abrupt increase in permittivity may indicate an excess of the percolation threshold, so the ceramic-polymer composite for the concentrations of the active ceramic phase cV >20% cannot be indexed as composites with 0-3 connectivity

X-Ray diffraction, mossbauer spectroscopy, and magnetoelectric effect studies of multiferroic Bi5Ti3FeO15 ceramics

Bi5Ti3FeO15 ceramics belongs to multiferroic class of materials. In this work it was prepared by solidstate sintering method and investigated by X-ray di raction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and magnetoelectric effect measurements. As it was proved by X-ray di raction studies the single-phase Bi5Ti3FeO15 compound was obtained. The Mössbauer investigations revealed paramagnetic character of the compound at room temperature as well as at 80 K. Magnetoelectric measurements were carried out at room temperature using lock-in dynamic method and they proved presence of magnetoelectric coupling in this material. Additional magnetoelectric studies were carried out after subsequent electric poling of the sample. It was found that the maximum value of the coupling coe cient was almost twice bigger than in the case without the initial poling and reached a value of ME 20.7 mV cm1 Oe1

Fabrication, structural and AC impedance studies of layer-structural Bi4Ti3O12 ceramics

In the present research bismuth titanate Bi4Ti3O12 (BiT) ceramics was synthesized by the standard solid-state reaction method from the mixture of oxides, followed by free sintering at temperature T=1000 C. BiT ceramics was studied in terms of its chemical composition (EDS), crystalline structure (X-ray), microstructure (SEM) and dielectric properties (ac technique of complex impedance spectroscopy) over a range of frequency ( f =100Hz to f =1MHz) and temperature (T=200-500 C). Experimental results confirmed the phase formation. It was found that BiT ceramics crystallized in orthorhombic symmetry, best described with Fmmm space group and the following elementary cell parameters: a=5.409(6)°A, b=5.449(2)°A and c=32.816(2)°A. It was also found that BiT ceramics exhibited the plate–like microstructure and stoichiometric chemical composition. Impedance spectroscopy measurements showed contribution of three overlapping relaxation processes (three semicircles in the complex impedance diagrams were observed) ascribed to bulk, grain boundary and electrode/interface polarization phenomena. Impedance data were fitted to the corresponding equivalent circuit using the complex nonlinear least squares (CNLS) method. The ac conductivity for grains, grain boundaries and electrode processes was calculated from CNLS fit of the impedance data and thus the activation energy of ac conductivity ( AC) and relaxation ( ) was calculated for the three revealed components of the impedance spectra from the slopes of AC and versus 1000/T plots (semi log scale) in the range of T=200–500 C

Magnetoelectric Effect in Ceramics Based on Bismuth Ferrite

Solid-state sintering method was used to prepare ceramic materials based on bismuth ferrite, i.e., (BiFeO3)1 − x–(BaTiO3)x and Bi1 − xNdxFeO3 solid solutions and the Aurivillius Bi5Ti3FeO15 compound. The structure of the materials was examined using X-ray diffraction, and the Rietveld method was applied to phase analysis and structure refinement. Magnetoelectric coupling was registered in all the materials using dynamic lock-in technique. The highest value of magnetoelectric coupling coefficient αME was obtained for the Bi5Ti3FeO15 compound (αME ~ 10 mVcm−1 Oe−1). In the case of (BiFeO3)1 − x–(BaTiO3)x and Bi1 − xNdxFeO3 solid solutions, the maximum αME is of the order of 1 and 2.7 mVcm−1 Oe−1, respectively. The magnitude of magnetoelectric coupling is accompanied with structural transformation in the studied solid solutions. The relatively high magnetoelectric effect in the Aurivillius Bi5Ti3FeO15 compound is surprising, especially since the material is paramagnetic at room temperature. When the materials were subjected to a preliminary electrical poling, the magnitude of the magnetoelectric coupling increased 2–3 times

Influence of calcium doping on microstructure, dielectric and electric properties of BaBi2Nb2O9 ceramics

Barium bismuth niobiate (BaBi2Nb2O9) ceramics modified by calcium were prepared by solid state synthesis and two-step sintering process. An impact of calcium substitution on the A site of perovskite block is presented. The investigations are focused on dielectric as well as electric aspects of the modification. The presented results reveal that the concentration of a space charge is not preserved, what is surprising due to the homovalent nature of the dopant and no reason for creating additional lattice defects and charges connected. However, not only the valence of ions, but also the calcium-oxygen and barium–oxygen bond strength should be taken into consideration. Since the calcium–oxygen bond is probably weaker the loss of the bismuth oxide is expected to increase with an increase in the calcium content. Such a scenario results in appearance of a large number of negative charge carriers connected with unsaturated oxygen ions