Optimisation of oxide-ion conductivity in acceptor-doped Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 perovskite: approaching the limit?

Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (NBT) perovskite is often considered as a potential lead-free piezoelectric material but it can also be an excellent oxide-ion conductor (M. Li et al, Nature Materials 13 (2014) 31-35). Here we report the non-stoichiometry and oxide-ion conductivity of undoped and acceptor-doped NBT. A range of acceptor-type ions with varying doping levels are selected to incorporate into NBT or Bi-deficient NBT (nominal Na0.5Bi0.49TiO2.985; NB0.49T). Low levels of acceptors (typically < 2 at.%) can be doped on both cation sites of NBT by an ionic compensation mechanism to create oxygen vacancies and are therefore effective in enhancing the bulk oxide-ion conductivity to values of ~ 2 mS cm-1 at 400 °C. A maximum enhancement of less than 1 order of magnitude is achieved using either A-site Sr (or Ca) or B-site Mg doping in NB0.49T. This conductivity maximum is in good agreement with an oxygen-vacancy diffusivity limit model in a perovskite lattice proposed by R. A. De Souza (Advanced Functional Materials, 25 (2015) 6326-6342) and suggests that optimisation of the ionic conductivity in NBT has been achieved. Our findings on NBT illustrate that this approach should be applicable to other acceptor-doped perovskite oxides to determine their electrolyte (oxide-ion) conductivity limit

Early development of infants with neurofibromatosis type 1: a case series

Background Prospective studies of infants at familial risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have yielded insights into the earliest signs of the disorder but represent heterogeneous samples of unclear aetiology. Complementing this approach by studying cohorts of infants with monogenic syndromes associated with high rates of ASD offers the opportunity to elucidate the factors that lead to ASD. Methods We present the first report from a prospective study of ten 10-month-old infants with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a monogenic disorder with high prevalence of ASD or ASD symptomatology. We compared data from infants with NF1 to a large cohort of infants at familial risk for ASD, separated by outcome at age 3 of ASD (n = 34), atypical development (n = 44), or typical development (n = 89), and low-risk controls (n = 75). Domains assessed at 10 months by parent report and examiner observation include cognitive and adaptive function, sensory processing, social engagement, and temperament. Results Infants with NF1 showed striking impairments in motor functioning relative to low-risk infants; this pattern was seen in infants with later ASD from the familial cohort (HR-ASD). Both infants with NF1 and the HR-ASD group showed communication delays relative to low-risk infants. Conclusions Ten-month-old infants with NF1 show a range of developmental difficulties that were particularly striking in motor and communication domains. As with HR-ASD infants, social skills at this age were not notably impaired. This is some of the first information on early neurodevelopment in NF1. Strong inferences are limited by the sample size, but the findings suggest implications for early comparative developmental science and highlight motor functioning as an important domain to inform the development of relevant animal models. The findings have clinical implications in indicating an important focus for early surveillance and remediation in this early diagnosed genetic disorder

Review: Defect chemistry and electrical properties of sodium bismuth titanate perovskite

The ferroelectric perovskite Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3, NBT, can exhibit three types of electrical behaviour, i.e. oxide-ion conduction (Type I), mixed ionic-electronic conduction (Type II) and insulating/dielectric (Type III) based on various defect mechanisms. Here we review how to tune the electrical properties of NBT via several mechanisms, including A-site Na or Bi non-stoichiometry, isovalent substitution, acceptor- and donor-doping. The diversity of electrical behaviour in the NBT lattice is attributed to the high level of oxide-ion conductivity originating from highly mobile oxygen ions which can be fine-tuned to optimise or suppress the ionic conduction. High oxide-ion conductivity can be obtained by manipulating the starting Na/Bi ≥ 1 and by acceptor-doping to make NBT a potential electrolyte material for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). In contrast, the oxide-ion conduction can be partially or fully suppressed by having a starting (nominal) composition with Na/Bi < 1, donor-doping, or utilising the trapping between oxygen vacancies and some B-site acceptor dopants. This significantly reduces the dielectric loss and makes NBT-based materials excellent candidates as high-temperature dielectrics for capacitor applications

Two colour nonlocal vector solitary waves with angular momentum in nematic liquid crystals

The propagation and interaction of two solitary waves with angular momentum in bulk nematic liquid crystals, termed nematicons, have been studied in the nonlocal limit. These two spinning solitary waves are based on two different wavelengths of light and so are referred to as two-color nematicons. Under suitable boundary conditions, the two nematicons can form a bound state in which they spin about each other. This bound state is found to be stable to the emission of diffractive radiation as the nematicons evolve. In addition this bound state shows walk-off due to dispersion. Using an approximate method based on the use of suitable trial functions in an averaged Lagrangian of the two-color nematicon equations, modulation equations for the evolution of the individual nematicons are derived. These modulation equations are extended to include the diffractive radiation shed as the nematicons evolve. Excellent agreement is found between solutions of the modulation equations and full numerical solutions of the nematicon equations. The shed diffractive radiation is found to play a much lesser role in the nonlocal limit than in the local limit