Crimes Against the State and the Intersection of Fascism and Democracy in the 1920s-30s: Vilification, Seditious Libel and the Limits of Legality

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this record.Situated in relation to on-going critical discussion of the theory and practice of the rule of law in historical perspective, this article undertakes a comparative analysis of the offences of vilification of the State in the 1930 Italian Penal Code and the crime of seditious libel in English common law during the interwar period. It argues that there were important commonalities in the scope and objectives of these offences, which indicate that the apparently divergent legal systems of Fascist Italy and democratic Britain shared a similar approach to the conception and protection of State interests and their relationship with the rule of law. The article uses that historical comparison to highlight key continuities and tensions within each system, in order to question the meanings and significance of legal certainty and the rule of law, to reconsider theoretical interpretations of State power and law in the twentieth century, and to challenge understanding of common European (liberal) legal traditions as a positive force today

Relative paleointensity (RPI) in the latest Pleistocene (10–45 ka) and implications for deglacial atmospheric radiocarbon

We report magnetic properties and relative paleointensity (RPI) proxies from a suite of 10 conventional piston cores and Kasten cores from the SW Iberian Margin collected during cruise JC089 of the RSS James Cook in August 2013. Mean sedimentation rates are in the 10-20 cm/kyr range. Age models were acquired by correlation of Ca/Ti and Zr/Sr XRF core-scanning data to L* reflectance from the Cariaco Basin that is, in turn, tied to the Greenland ice-core chronology. The natural remanent magnetization (NRM) is represented by a single magnetization component carried by a low-coercivity mineral (magnetite), although reflectance and bulk magnetic properties indicate the presence of a high-coercivity (hematitic) magnetic phase, possibly from eolian dust. The presence of fine-grained hematite means that the sediments are not ideal for RPI studies, however the detrital hematite does not appear to contribute to the NRM or anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM). In order to test the usefulness of the RPI data, we construct a stack of 12 RPI records from the SW Iberian Margin for the 0-45 ka interval and compare it with a stack of 12 globally distributed marine and lake records, chosen on the basis of mean sedimentation rates (>15 cm/kyr) and superior age models. The two stacks are similar, but different from published RPI stacks, particularly for the 10-30 ka interval, and imply a virtual axial dipole moment (VADM) high at ~15-18 ka followed by a drop in field strength from ~15 to 13 ka. A revised VADM estimate calculated from Greenland 10Be ice-core flux using a contemporary age model is remarkably consistent with the new overall RPI stack, based on Iberian Margin and global RPI records. The elevated atmospheric 14C levels of the last ice age cannot, however, be fully explained by this RPI stack although relative changes such as the long-term drop in atmospheric 14C from 30 to 15 ka are reproduced, supporting the hypothesis of a combined influence of production rate and ocean ventilation on 14C during the last ice age

Ruddlesden-Popper phase materials for solid oxide fuel cell cathodes: A short review

In the last couple of decades, researchers have been working on Ruddlesden-Popper phases to realise them as components of solid oxide cells. Ruddlesden-Popper phase materials have been particularly proposed as materials for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). As such a sizeable literature was produced on Ruddlesden-Popper phases and in this short review we look at these studies with a particular focus on the structural chemistry, oxygen transport and electrical conductivity, electrochemical performance, and stability of these materials under operating conditions. More specifically, the materials have been studied for cathodes and, therefore, we believe a review dedicated to cathode applications of these materials will be beneficial for the community. A brief outlook on the future directions in the field will also be provided

Understanding surface structure and chemistry of single crystal lanthanum aluminate

The surface crystallography and chemistry of a LaAlO 3 single crystal, a material mainly used as a substrate to deposit technol ogically important thin films (e.g. for superconducting and magnetic devices), was analysed using surface X-ray diffraction and low energy ion scattering spectroscopy. The surfa ce was determined to be terminated by Al-O species, and was significantly different from th e idealised bulk structure. Termination reversal was not observed at higher temperature (600°C) and chamber pressure of 10 -10 Torr, but rather an increased Al-O occupancy occurred, which was accompanied by a larger outwards relaxation of Al from the bulk positions. Changing the oxygen pressure to 10 -6 Torr enriched the Al site occupancy fraction at the outermost surface from 0.245(10) to 0.325(9). In contrast the LaO, which is located at the next sub-surface atomic layer, showed no chemical enrichment and the structural relaxation was lower than for the top AlO 2 layer. Knowledge of the surface structure will aid the understanding of how and which type of interface will be formed when LaAlO 3 is used as a substrate as a function of temperature and pressure, and so lead to improved design of device structures

Understanding the defect chemistry of alkali metal strontium silicate solid solutions: Insights from experiment and theory

Recent reports of remarkably high oxide ion conduction in a new family of strontium silicates have been challenged. It has recently been demonstrated that, in the nominally potassium substituted strontium germanium silicate material, the dominant charge carrier was not the oxygen ion, and furthermore that the material was not single phase (R. D. Bayliss et. al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2014, DOI: 10.1039/ c4ee00734d). In this work we re-investigate the sodium-doped strontium silicate material that was reported to exhibit the highest oxide ion conductivity in the solid solution, nominally Sr0.55Na0.45SiO2.775. The results show lower levels of total conductivity than previously reported and sub-micron elemental mapping demonstrates, in a similar manner to that reported for the Sr0.8K0.2Si0.5Ge0.5O2.9 composition, an inhomogeneous chemical distribution correlating with a multiphase material. It is also shown that the conductivity is not related to protonic mobility. A density functional theory computational approach provides a theoretical justification for these new results, related to the high energetic costs associated with oxygen vacancy formation

Temperature effect on surface structure of single crystal SrLaAlO₄(001)

Development of next generation electrochemical devices such as solid oxide cells requires control of the charge transferprocesses across key interfaces. Structural strain at electrolyte:electrode interfaces could potentially alter the devicescharge transport properties, therefore understanding the structural behaviour of electrode surfaces at operating conditionsis important. The functional oxide single crystal substrate SrLaAlO4 has been well-characterised with bulkstructure studies, however there are very few studies of SrLaAlO4 surface structures. Here we present an investigationof the surface structure of SrLaAlO4(001) substrates using surface X-ray diffraction, under UHV conditions (10\u10000010torr) with the substrate held at either room temperature or 650 C. Best-fit models using a 1:1 ratio of Sr:La showedsignificant distortions to the surface AlO6 octahedra

Operando characterization and theoretical modeling of metal|electrolyte interphase growth kinetics in solid-state batteries. Part II: Modeling

Understanding the interfacial dynamics of batteries is crucial to control degradation and increase electrochemical performance and cycling life. If the chemical potential of a negative electrode material lies outside of the stability window of an electrolyte (either solid or liquid), a decomposition layer (interphase) will form at the interface. To better understand and control degradation at interfaces in batteries, theoretical models describing the rate of formation of these interphases are required. This study focuses on the growth kinetics of the interphase forming between solid electrolytes and metallic negative electrodes in solid-state batteries. More specifically, we demonstrate that the rate of interphase formation and metal plating during charge can be accurately described by adapting the theory of coupled ion-electron transfer (CIET). The model is validated by fitting experimental data presented in the first part of this study. The data was collected operando as a Na metal layer was plated on top of a NaSICON solid electrolyte (Na3.4Zr2Si2.4P0.6O12 or NZSP) inside an XPS chamber. This study highlights the depth of information which can be extracted from this single operando experiment and is widely applicable to other solid-state electrolyte systems