ESR, raman and conductivity studies on fractionated poly(2-methoxyaniline-5-sulfonic acid)

Synthesis methods used to produce poly(2-methoxyaniline-5-sulfonic acid) (PMAS), a water soluble, self-doped conducting polymer, have been shown to form two distinctly different polymer fractions with molecular weights of approximately 2 kDa and 8 -10 kDa. The low molecular weight (LMWT) PMAS fraction is redox inactive and non-conducting while the high molecular weight (HMWT) PMAS is electro-active with electrical conductivities of 0.94 0.05 S cm-1. Previous investigations have illustrated the different photochemical and electrochemical properties of these fractions, but have not correlated these properties with the structural and electronic interactions that drive them. Incomplete purification of the PMAS mixture, typically via bag dialysis, has been shown to result in a mixture of approximately 50:50 HMWT:LMWT PMAS with electrical conductivity significantly lower at approximately 0.10 to 0.26 S cm-1. The difference between the electrical conductivities of these fractions has been investigated by the controlled addition of the non-conducting LMWT PMAS fraction into the HMWT PMAS composite film with the subsequent electronic properties investigated by solid-state ESR and Raman spectroscopies. These studies illustrate strong electronic intereactions of the insulating LMWT PMAS with the emeraldine salt HMWT PMAS to substantially alter the population of the electronic charge carriers in the conducting polymer. ESR studies on these mixtures, when compared to HMWT PMAS, exhibited a lower level of electron spin in the presence of LMWT PMAS indicative of the the formation of low spin bipolarons without a change the oxidation state of the conducting HMWT fraction

Oxidation resistance of graphene-coated Cu and Cu/Ni alloy

The ability to protect refined metals from reactive environments is vital to many industrial and academic applications. Current solutions, however, typically introduce several negative effects, including increased thickness and changes in the metal physical properties. In this paper, we demonstrate for the first time the ability of graphene films grown by chemical vapor deposition to protect the surface of the metallic growth substrates of Cu and Cu/Ni alloy from air oxidation. SEM, Raman spectroscopy, and XPS studies show that the metal surface is well protected from oxidation even after heating at 200 \degree C in air for up to 4 hours. Our work further shows that graphene provides effective resistance against hydrogen peroxide. This protection method offers significant advantages and can be used on any metal that catalyzes graphene growth

Crystal Structure and Concentration-Driven Phase Transitions in Lu(1−x)ScxFeO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) Prepared by the Sol–Gel Method

The structural state and crystal structure of Lu(1−x)ScxFeO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) compounds prepared by a chemical route based on a modified sol–gel method were investigated using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, as well as scanning electron microscopy. It was observed that chemical doping with Sc ions led to a structural phase transition from the orthorhombic structure to the hexagonal structure via a wide two-phase concentration region of 0.1 < x < 0.45. An increase in scandium content above 80 mole% led to the stabilization of the non-perovskite bixbyite phase specific for the compound ScFeO3 . The concentration stability of the different structural phases, as well as grain morphology, were studied depending on the chemical composition and synthesis conditions. Based on the data obtained for the analyzed samples, a composition-dependent phase diagram was constructed. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Funding: This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 778070—TransFerr— H2020-MSCA-RISE-2017. G.N. gratefully acknowledges the Center of Spectroscopic Characterization of Materials and Electronic/Molecular Processes (SPECTROVERSUM Infrastructure) for use of Raman spectrometer. A.L.Z. and A.P.T. acknowledge BRFFR (project № T21RM-040) and RFBR (project № 20-52-04011) respectively. M.V.S. acknowledges Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation within the framework of state support for the creation and development of World-Class Research Centers “Digital biodesign and personalized healthcare” № 075-15-2020-926. D.A. acknowledges the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 & UIDP/50011/2020, financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when appropriate co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement

Nanoscale Ferroelectricity in Pseudo-cubic Sol-gel Derived Barium Titanate - bismuth Ferrite (BaTiO3– BiFeO3) Solid Solutions

Single phase barium titanate–bismuth ferrite ((1-x)BaTiO3-(x)BiFeO3, BTO-BFO) solid solutions were prepared using citric acid and ethylene glycol assisted sol-gel synthesis method. Depending on the dopant content the samples are characterized by tetragonal, tetragonal-pseudocubic, pseudocubic and rhombohedral structure as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and XRD measurements. An increase of the BFO content leads to a reduction in the cell parameters accompanied by a decrease in polar distortion of the unit cell wherein an average particle size increases from 60 up to 350 nm. Non zero piezoresponse was observed in the compounds with pseudocubic structure while no polar distortion was detected in their crystal structure using X-ray diffraction method. The origin of the observed non-negligible piezoresponse was discussed assuming a coexistence of nanoscale polar and non-polar phases attributed to the solid solutions with high BFO content. A coexistence of the nanoscale regions having polar and non-polar character is considered as a key factor to increase macroscopic piezoresponse in the related compounds due to increased mobility of the domain walls and phase boundaries. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.The work has been done in frame of the project TransFerr. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 778070 . The scanning probe microscopy study was funded by RFBR (grant No. 19-52-04015 ) and BRFFR (grant No. F19RM-008 ). The equipment of the Ural Center for Shared Use “Modern nanotechnology” UrFU was used. Sample structural characterization was funded by RFBR (grant № 18-38-20020 mol_a_ved). M.S. also acknowledges Russian academic excellence project “5–100″ for Sechenov University. This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, refs. UIDB/50011/2020 & UIDP/50011/2020, financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC