Influence of heterostructure on structure, electric and magnetic properties of Bi_0.5(Na_0.80,K_0.20)_0.5TiO₃/BaZrO₃ films prepared by the sol-gel method

This study reports on the structure, electric, and magnetic properties of Bi0.5(Na0.80,K0.20)0.5TiO3/BaZrO3 (BNKT/BZO) heterolayered films synthesized via chemical solution deposition on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates. The influence of different heterolayered configurations on the microstructure, electric and magnetic properties of the films was investigated thoroughly. The heterostructures are expected to generate strongly correlated electron systems in the BNKT and BZO layers that cause a magnetic interface effect in the BNKT/BZO conjunction layer. The BZO layer also prevents metal ion evaporation, resulting in a decline in oxygen vacancies and an enhancement in the electric and magnetic properties. The obtained results show that magnetic properties and leakage current density (J) of BNKT/BZO heterolayered films were greatly improved thanks to the heterolayered structure. Heterolayered 4BNKT/2BZO films (M42) yield the highest M s and M r values of 14.4 emu cm−3 and 1.7 emu cm−3, respectively, about three times higher than multilayered BNKT. Thanks to heterolayered structure, J decreases strongly from 16.0 × 10−4 A cm−2 for BNKT films to 1.4 × 10−4 A cm−2 for heterolayered M42 films. It has been verified that the leakage current in BNKT/BZO heterolayered films follows the Schottky barrier mechanism, with the barrier height fluctuating between 0.80 eV and 0.92 eV. The results of the study show that BNKT/BZO heterolayered films may be suitable for use in environmentally friendly multifunction devices.</p

UHPLC-UV method validation for simultaneous quantification of vitexin and isovitexin from Santalum album L. leaves

Santalum album L. is a precious medicinal herb with high economic value and has been extensively cultivated in Vietnam in recent years. Studies have revealed that the leaves contain two main active ingredients vitexin and isovitexin, which have demonstrated significant potential in treating diabetes, cancer, and inflammation. To contribute to the standardization of the title medicinal herb and its formula, a simple, fast precise and selective method for the simultaneous quantification of vitexin and isovitexin using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) has been developed and validated. The quantification procedure was performed on a Hypersil GOLD aQ Column (3 μm; 150 × 2.1 mm) at 35°C, with a mobile phase of acetonitrile (A) and and water with 0.1% formic acid (B), a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min, a detection wavelength of 336 nm, and an injection volume of 3 µL. The gradient program was set to 0.0-15.0 minutes, transitioning from 5% to 35% A, and 15.0-20.0 minutes, transitioning from 35% to 5% A. Validation of the quantification procedure, following ICH Q2 (R2) guidelines, demonstrated that the method achieved specificity, accuracy, precision, and linearity, with a high correlation between the peak area and the concentrations of vitexin and isovitexin (R2 values of 0.9998, respectively). Thus, the developed method can be utilized to determine the content of vitexin and isovitexin in Santalum album L. leaves, contributing to the standardization of medicinal herbs

Current Development in Lead-Free Bi

The lead-free piezoelectric ceramics display good piezoelectric properties which are comparable with Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) and these materials overcome the hazard to the environment and human health. The Bi0.5(Na,K)0.5TiO3 (BNKT) is rapidly developed because of good piezoelectric, ferroelectric, and dielectric properties compared to PZT. The origin of giant strain of BNKT piezoelectric materials was found at morphotropic phase boundary due to crystal change from tetragonal to orthorhombic and/or precipitation of cubic phases, in addition to domain switching mechanism. The dopants or secondary phases with ABO3 structure as solid solution are expected to change the crystal structure and create the vacancies which results in enhancement of the piezoelectric properties. In this work, we reviewed the current development of BNKT by dopants and secondary phase as solid solution. Our discussion will focus on role of dopants and secondary phase to piezoelectric properties of BNKT. This result will open the direction to control the properties of lead-free piezoelectric materials

TiO 3 -Based Piezoelectric Materials

The lead-free piezoelectric ceramics display good piezoelectric properties which are comparable with Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PZT) and these materials overcome the hazard to the environment and human health. The Bi 0.5 (Na,K) 0.5 TiO 3 (BNKT) is rapidly developed because of good piezoelectric, ferroelectric, and dielectric properties compared to PZT. The origin of giant strain of BNKT piezoelectric materials was found at morphotropic phase boundary due to crystal change from tetragonal to orthorhombic and/or precipitation of cubic phases, in addition to domain switching mechanism. The dopants or secondary phases with ABO 3 structure as solid solution are expected to change the crystal structure and create the vacancies which results in enhancement of the piezoelectric properties. In this work, we reviewed the current development of BNKT by dopants and secondary phase as solid solution. Our discussion will focus on role of dopants and secondary phase to piezoelectric properties of BNKT. This result will open the direction to control the properties of lead-free piezoelectric materials

Panta Rhei benchmark dataset: socio-hydrological data of paired events of floods and droughts

As the adverse impacts of hydrological extremes increase in many regions of the world, a better understanding of the drivers of changes in risk and impacts is essential for effective flood and drought risk management and climate adaptation. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive, empirical data about the processes, interactions and feedbacks in complex human-water systems leading to flood and drought impacts. Here we present a benchmark dataset containing socio-hydrological data of paired events, i.e., two floods or two droughts that occurred in the same area. The 45 paired events occurred in 42 different study areas and cover a wide range of socio-economic and hydro-climatic conditions. The dataset is unique in covering both floods and droughts, in the number of cases assessed, and in the quantity of socio-hydrological data. The benchmark dataset comprises: 1) detailed review style reports about the events and key processes between the two events of a pair; 2) the key data table containing variables that assess the indicators which characterise management shortcomings, hazard, exposure, vulnerability and impacts of all events; 3) a table of the indicators-of-change that indicate the differences between the first and second event of a pair. The advantages of the dataset are that it enables comparative analyses across all the paired events based on the indicators-of-change and allows for detailed context- and location-specific assessments based on the extensive data and reports of the individual study areas. The dataset can be used by the scientific community for exploratory data analyses e.g. focused on causal links between risk management, changes in hazard, exposure and vulnerability and flood or drought impacts. The data can also be used for the development, calibration and validation of socio-hydrological models. The dataset is available to the public through the GFZ Data Services (Kreibich et al. 2023, link for review: https://dataservices.gfz-potsdam.de/panmetaworks/review/923c14519deb04f83815ce108b48dd2581d57b90ce069bec9c948361028b8c85/).</p

Panta Rhei benchmark dataset: socio-hydrological data of paired events of floods and droughts

As the adverse impacts of hydrological extremes increase in many regions of the world, a better understanding of the drivers of changes in risk and impacts is essential for effective flood and drought risk management and climate adaptation. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive, empirical data about the processes, interactions, and feedbacks in complex human–water systems leading to flood and drought impacts. Here we present a benchmark dataset containing socio-hydrological data of paired events, i.e. two floods or two droughts that occurred in the same area. The 45 paired events occurred in 42 different study areas and cover a wide range of socio-economic and hydro-climatic conditions. The dataset is unique in covering both floods and droughts, in the number of cases assessed and in the quantity of socio-hydrological data. The benchmark dataset comprises (1) detailed review-style reports about the events and key processes between the two events of a pair; (2) the key data table containing variables that assess the indicators which characterize management shortcomings, hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and impacts of all events; and (3) a table of the indicators of change that indicate the differences between the first and second event of a pair. The advantages of the dataset are that it enables comparative analyses across all the paired events based on the indicators of change and allows for detailed context- and location-specific assessments based on the extensive data and reports of the individual study areas. The dataset can be used by the scientific community for exploratory data analyses, e.g. focused on causal links between risk management; changes in hazard, exposure and vulnerability; and flood or drought impacts. The data can also be used for the development, calibration, and validation of sociohydrological models. The dataset is available to the public through the GFZ Data Services (Kreibich et al., 2023, https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.4.4.2023.001)

Influence of BiFeO3perovskite on the structure and magnetic properties of lead-free Bi0.5Na0.4K0.1TiO3films

Lead-free (1-x)Bi0.5Na0.4K0.2TiO3-xBiFeO3 (abbreviated as BNKT-xBFO) ferroelectric films with x in the range from 0.00 to 0.10, were synthesized by the chemical solution deposition technique on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates. The microstructures and magnetic behaviors of BNKT-xBFO films were analyzed in detail as a function of BFO concentration. X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that BNKT-xBFO films were grown with a single-phase perovskite structure. The pure films showed an antiferromagnetic behavior. The magnetic properties of the films were gradually transferred from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic properties when BFO concentration was raised. The saturated magnetization (M S) reached the highest value of 10.3 emu cm-3 at the BFO-doped concentration x = 0.10. Our work will contribute to illuminate the impact of BFO (ABO3 perovskite structure) on the magnetic properties of BNKT materials at room temperature

Probabilistic projections of temperature and rainfall for climate risk assessment in Vietnam

In this study, we developed a probabilistic model using the surrogate mixed model ensemble (SMME) method to project temperature and rainfall in Vietnam under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. The SMME model combines patterns from 31 global climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and their weighted model surrogates. Testing for the period of 2006–2018 demonstrated the SMME's ability to encompass observed temperature and rainfall changes. By the end of the 21st century, there is a 5% probability of average temperature increase exceeding 6.29 °C, and a 95% probability of minimum temperature increasing by more than 2.21 °C during 2080–2099 under RCP8.5 compared to 1986–2005. Meanwhile, rainfall is projected to slightly increase, with an average rise of 6.12% at the 5% probability level. The study also quantified the contributions of uncertainty sources – unforced, forced, and scenario-related – to the projection results, revealing that unforced uncertainty dominates the total signal at the beginning of the 21st century and gradually decreases, while forced uncertainty remains relatively moderate but increases gradually over time. As we approach the end of the century, scenario uncertainty dominates, accounting for 75–80% of the total signal. HIGHLIGHTS A probabilistic dataset of daily temperature and rainfall in Vietnam has been constructed, providing valuable insights into future changes in Vietnam.; The dataset is accessible online at no cost.; The contributions of three sources of uncertainty, namely, unforced uncertainty, forced uncertainty, and scenario uncertainty to the projection results in Vietnam have been quantified.