Resistivity and Carrier Mobility of the SmBa2 Cu3 O6+x Superconductor with Different Oxygen Doping Levels

Abstract DC conductivity measurements between 15 and 300 K are reported for SmBa2 Cu3O6+x samples with different oxygen doping amounts (x) produced by annealing under appropriate high temperature and oxygen pressure conditions and quenching. Samples with x≥0.5 are superconductors: Tc ~60 K at x=0.7, Tc >80 K at ; x=0.9. The transition from superconduction to non-superconduction corresponds to the tetragonal to orthorhombic structural tran-sition and to the transition from semiconducting to metallic temperature dependence of the resistivity. Oxygen doping causes a sudden increase of hole mobility near x=0.5. Below this threshold, the be-havior of the carrier mobility is in agreement with an Anderson localization

A new approach to the modeling of SHS reactions: Combustion synthesis of transition metal aluminides

A recently developed numerical simulation of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) using an approach based on microscopic reaction mechanisms and utilizing appropriate physical parameters is applied to the SHS of a fairly large group of transition metal aluminides. The model was utilized to analyze temperature profiles and wave instability and the results were interpreted in terms of chemical and thermal effects. The effect of the particle size of the transition metal, the porosity of the reactant mixtures, and the dilution was iinvestigated. The results are in good agreement with available experimental data

Nanoscale effects on the ionic conductivity of highly doped bulk nanometric cerium oxide

Nanometric ceria powders doped with 30 mol % samaria are consolidated by a high-pressure spark plasma sintering (HP-SPS) method to form > 99 % dense samples with a crystallite size as small as 16.5 nm. A conductivity dependence on grain size was noted: when the grain size was less than 20 nm, only one semicircle in the AC impedance spectra was observed and was attributed to bulk conductivity. In contrast to previous observations on pure ceria, the disappearance of the grain-boundary blocking effect is not associated with mixed conductivity. With annealing and concomitant grain growth, the samples show the presence of a grain-boundary effect

Early stages of solid state reactions: insights from micro-XRD and XAS

The mechanism of a solid state reaction in its early stages can be explored by investigating the time evolution of a model reactive system made of a thin layer of one reagent deposited onto a single crystal slab of the other reagent. Insights can be retrieved by comparing results at both local and long length scales obtained with films of different thicknesses and deposited onto different crystal orientations. In particular, reaction between ZnO and Al2O3has been chosen, as the spinel-forming reactions have been and still remain a model experimental system for investigating solid state reactions and because in the ZnO/Al2O3phase diagram, spinel is the only stable compound. The reaction initial steps have been investigated by using synchrotron X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Zn-K edge starting from zincite films deposited onto (110)-, (012)-, (001)-oriented corundum single crystals [1,2]. The reaction eventually yields ZnAl2O4spinel but via a complex mechanism involving side and intermediate non-equilibrium compounds that do not appear in the equilibrium phase diagram of the pseudo-binary system. Spinel, when occurs, is polycrystalline at the end but initially forms with a few preferred orientations. Intermediate phases form before and in parallel with the growth of the spinel. Their number, composition, structure and kinetic role strongly depend on substrate orientation and film thickness. A more detailed understanding of the reactivity can be inferred by comparing EXAFS results to those of grazing incidence diffraction experiments of the films deposited on the (001) face of Al2O3and heat-treated at 10000C for different lengths of time. Information on the structure of the intermediate phases is given and results are discussed by comparing different films thickness to clarify the role of interfacial free energy and crystallographic orientation

High-Energy X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy in Materials Chemistry

Recent advances in X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy ((AS) are discussed with a focus on the use of high-energy X-rays and measurements at the K-edges of heavy elements (atomic number >50). The review addresses advantages and drawbacks of measuring at the K-edges, highlights selected examples of XAS in the highenergy range, and outlines appealing future perspectives on instrumentation, data analysis and applications