Influence of Thermal Treatment on Relaxor Properties of BaBi2Nb2O9 Ceramics

In the hereby paper the implications of thermal modification of BaBi2Nb2O9 ceramics in high vacuum (5×10-11 bar) at a temperature equal of 1173K are widely discussed. The mentioned modification caused changes in the ions concentration (confirmed by EDS and XPS analysis) and as a consequence an influence on the value of the unit cell parameters as well as on the dielectric and relaxor properties of described ceramics. The obtained results of EDS and XPS analysis of the sample before and after thermal treatment revealed bismuth ions diffusion to the surface of the sample (which was expected) and an almost complete the lack of barium ions on the modified surface. The comparison of EDS and XPS analysis results, suggested that they penetrated the interior of the sample and embedded into the crystal structure in place of bismuth. The hypothesis is in good agreement with the results of X-ray diffraction-the volume of the unit cell had an insignificant increase. The changes in the ions concentration influenced, also in a distinct manner, the dielectric and relaxor properties as well as on the shape of temperature characteristic of thermal stimulated depolarization current observed in BBN ceramics

Własności mechaniczne ceramiki BBN domieszkowanej wanadem

The BBN ceramics doped by vanadium have been broadly recognized by using nano indentation techniques and ultrasound velocity and measurements. The results affirm that the vanadium admixture significantly improved the mechanical quality of ceramics. Such a small dopant doesn’t change the dielectric properties, but we obtain visible increasing of the dielectric permittivity value and shifts the temperature of the "max to higer values. The vanadium admixture decreased the diffusion degree as well as influenced on the parameters characteristic for the relaxor behaviour. Our suggestion is that partial substitution of the smaller vanadium ions into the niobium sites renders for example ordering of the dipoles

Structural, dielectric specroscopy and internal friction correlation in BaBi2NB2O9 ceramics

The research presented in this paper concerns BaBi2Nb 2O9 (BBN) which is the member of the Aurivillius family and seems to be interesting from the point of view of its potential applications in storage media. Our investigations focused on temperature dependence crystal structure and mechanical properties of this ceramics as well as on the dielectric properties of samples. Correlation between positions of the maximum of the real part of electric permittivity and the behavior integral width of diffraction lines XRD versus temperature had been discussed based of the presence of polar nano-regions with orthorhombic distortion in macroscopic tetragonal matrix

Morphology Reveals the Unexpected Cryptic Diversity in Ceratophyllus gallinae (Schrank, 1803) Infested Cyanistes caeruleus Linnaeus, 1758 Nest Boxes

PurposeThe main aim of our study was to examine morphological differentiation between and within sex of hen fleas—Ceratophyllus gallinae (Schrank, 1803) population collected from Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus Linnaeus, 1758), inhabiting nest boxes and to determine the morphological parameters differentiating this population.MethodsA total of 296 fleas were collected (148 females and 148 males), determined to species and sex, then the following characters were measured in each of the examined fleas: body length, body width, length of head, width of head, length of comb, height of comb, length of tarsus, length of thorax and length of abdomen.ResultsThe comparison of body size showed the presence of two groups among female and male life forms of the hen flea, which mostly differed in length of abdomen, whereas the length of head and tarsus III were less variable.Conclusion Till now, the only certain information is the presence of two adult life forms of C. gallinae. The genesis of their creation is still unknown and we are not able to identify the mechanism responsible for the morphological differentiation of fleas collected from the same host. In order to find answer to this question, future research in the field of molecular taxonomy is required

Piezoelectric and elastic properties of relaxor-like PZT:Ba ceramics

The solid solutions of PbZr1-xTixO3 (PZT) are the most known and widely applicable piezoelectric ceramic materials. The influence of different dopants on PZT properties has been studied for many years. Some of such compositions have revealed a behavior typical for ferroelectric relaxors. In the case of Pb0.75Ba0.25Zr0.70Ti0.30O3 ceramics (abbreviation PBZT 25/70/30), prepared by mixed-oxide processing technique elastic, it was found that macroscopic piezoelectric activity is present far above the temperature at which structural changes and maximum of permittivity occur in unpoled samples (~ 200 °C). Anomalies of the elastic and piezoelectric properties have been observed very clearly near the temperature of 152 °C. Within the temperature range of 152–220 °C, unstable piezoelectric properties have been detected due to the existence of polar micro/nano-clusters and non-trivial elastic-electric interactions between them, through the non-polar paraelectric matrix. The origin of such interactions could be lattice instabilities, dynamic change in polar cluster sizes, and fluctuations in chemical composition. Based on the results of the research, it can be said that PZT ceramics of such composition is a relaxor-like material and it is not a ferroelectric relaxor

Investigation of La3+ doping effect on piezoelectric coefficients of BLT ceramics

Effects of La3+ admixture in barium lanthanum titanate (BLT) ceramics system with colossal permittivity on performance of prospective piezoelectric cold plasma application were studied. Usage of cold atmospheric pressure plasma appears promising in terms of industrial and healthcare applications. Performed investigation provide consistent evaluation of doping lanthanum amount on piezoelectric coefficients values with simultaneous capability of charge accumulation for effective plasma generation. Modification of ferroelectric materials with heterovalent ions, however with the lower radii than the original atoms, significantly affects their domain mobility and consequently electromechanical properties. To determine the piezoelectric coefficients, the resonance-antiresonance method was implemented, and values of piezoelectric and dielectric parameters were recorded. Finally the results indicated that addition of 0.4 mol.% of La3+ ions to the ceramic structure maximally increased the values of piezoelectric coefficient to d33 = 20 pC/N and to huge dielectric constant to ϵ33 T = 29277

Magnetic coupling in CuCr2X4 (X = S, Se) spinel compounds obtained via substitution of the chromium ions by nonmagnetic Sb or Al ions

Taking into account both the dc magnetic susceptibility and the magnetization measurements as well as the high-temperature expansion of the magnetic susceptibility procedure the hopping integrals and superexchange integrals for the first and second coordination sphere were evaluated. The two hopping integrals are positive and many times greater than the superexchange ones. The obtained results testify to that in the stoichiometric compounds under study the double-exchange magnetic interaction is the main mechanism responsible for very strong, ferromagnetic coupling. Using the total hopping integral B the bandwidth of mixed valence band of chromium ions was determined

Influence of substitution of the chromium ions by the nonmagnetic Sb and Al ions on the magnetization processes in CuCr2X4 (X = S, Se) spinels

Both the dc and ac magnetic susceptibilities as well as magnetization measurements were used to study the influence of the dilution of the magnetic chromium subarray by nonmagnetic antimony and aluminium ions on the magnetization processes for four spinel families under investigation. Substitution of the chromium ions by the nonmagnetic Sb and Al ions in the compounds under study leads to the very hard magnetization in the case of the compounds with Sb and very easy magnetization in the compounds with Al. This effect is connected with the electronic configurations of the Sb and Al ions as well as with ionic radii of these cations

Magnetoelectric properties of multiferroic Aurivillius type Bi7Fe3Ti3O21 ceramics

Multiferroic Bi7Fe3Ti3O21ceramic materials having six perovskite-like layers were prepared by solid statereaction from simple oxides and sintered at 1263 K. The microstructure and magnetoelectric properties wereinvestigated. Based on dielectric measurements, the valueof magnetoelectric coupling coefficient was figured.The magnetization as a function of temperature and magneticfield at selected temperatures was examined.Additionally, the hysteresis loop at 2 K was measured. The molar concentration of magnetic ions Fe3+in themultiferroic Bi7Fe3Ti3O21compound was also determined

Impedance spectroscopy of vanadium modified BaBi

In recent years a wide range of Aurivillius layered materials have been introduced. These novel materials are produced in many various forms such as fibers, thin films as well as bulk by using a number of processing routes. As advanced materials they are they have many interesting properties which include a number of useful electrical properties related to separated grain and grain boundary conductivity, impedance, activation energies, etc. In this paper these properties are described and discussed in detail. The electrical properties of the vanadium doped BaBi2Nb2O9 ceramic was measured over a wide range of temperatures by impedance spectroscopy (IS). The separated grain activation energy, calculated from Arrhenius characteristics at temperatures between room temperature and 600 °C, was 1 eV for 0 at.% of vanadium dopant and 1.2 eV for 10 at.%, whereas the activation energies in the grain boundary region were 0.97 and 1.15 eV, respectively. The obtained results suggest the significant role of vanadium dopant, causing ordering the crystalline structure