scholarly journals Strain-Dependence of the Structure and Ferroic Properties of Epitaxial NiTiO3Thin Films Grown on Different Substrates

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamas Varga ◽  
Timothy C. Droubay ◽  
Mark E. Bowden ◽  
Libor Kovarik ◽  
Dehong Hu ◽  
...  

Polarization-induced weak ferromagnetism has been predicted a few years back in perovskite MTiO3(M = Fe, Mn, and Ni). We set out to stabilize this metastable perovskite structure by growing NiTiO3epitaxially on different substrates and to investigate the dependence of polar and magnetic properties on strain. Epitaxial NiTiO3films were deposited on Al2O3, Fe2O3, and LiNbO3substrates by pulsed laser deposition and characterized using several techniques. The effect of substrate choice on lattice strain, film structure, and physical properties was investigated. Our structural data from X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy shows that substrate-induced strain has a marked effect on the structure and crystalline quality of the films. Physical property measurements reveal a dependence of the weak ferromagnetism and lattice polarization on strain and highlight our ability to control the ferroic properties in NiTiO3thin films by the choice of substrate. Our results are also consistent with the theoretical prediction that the ferromagnetism in acentric NiTiO3is polarization induced. From the substrates studied here, the perovskite substrate LiNbO3proved to be the most promising one for strong multiferroism.

Author(s):  
K. H. Downing ◽  
S. G. Wolf ◽  
E. Nogales

Microtubules are involved in a host of critical cell activities, many of which involve transport of organelles through the cell. Different sets of microtubules appear to form during the cell cycle for different functions. Knowledge of the structure of tubulin will be necessary in order to understand the various functional mechanisms of microtubule assemble, disassembly, and interaction with other molecules, but tubulin has so far resisted crystallization for x-ray diffraction studies. Fortuitously, in the presence of zinc ions, tubulin also forms two-dimensional, crystalline sheets that are ideally suited for study by electron microscopy. We have refined procedures for forming the sheets and preparing them for EM, and have been able to obtain high-resolution structural data that sheds light on the formation and stabilization of microtubules, and even the interaction with a therapeutic drug.Tubulin sheets had been extensively studied in negative stain, demonstrating that the same protofilament structure was formed in the sheets and microtubules. For high resolution studies, we have found that the sheets embedded in either glucose or tannin diffract to around 3 Å.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174751982098472
Author(s):  
Lalmi Khier ◽  
Lakel Abdelghani ◽  
Belahssen Okba ◽  
Djamel Maouche ◽  
Lakel Said

Kaolin M1 and M2 studied by X-ray diffraction focus on the mullite phase, which is the main phase present in both products. The Williamson–Hall and Warren–Averbach methods for determining the crystallite size and microstrains of integral breadth β are calculated by the FullProf program. The integral breadth ( β) is a mixture resulting from the microstrains and size effect, so this should be taken into account during the calculation. The Williamson–Hall chart determines whether the sample is affected by grain size or microstrain. It appears very clearly that the principal phase of the various sintered kaolins, mullite, is free from internal microstrains. It is the case of the mixtures fritted at low temperature (1200 °C) during 1 h and also the case of the mixtures of the type chamotte cooks with 1350 °C during very long times (several weeks). This result is very significant as it gives an element of explanation to a very significant quality of mullite: its mechanical resistance during uses at high temperature remains.


1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 308-311
Author(s):  
Li Chaorong ◽  
Mai Zhenhong ◽  
Cui Shufan ◽  
Zhou Junming ◽  
Yutian Wang

2012 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 963-973 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. O. Lepore ◽  
T. Boffa Ballaran ◽  
F. Nestola ◽  
L. Bindi ◽  
D. Pasqual ◽  
...  

AbstractAmbient temperature X-ray diffraction data were collected at different pressures from two crystals of β-As4S4, which were made by heating realgar under vacuum at 295ºC for 24 h. These data were used to calculate the unit-cell parameters at pressures up to 6.86 GPa. Above 2.86 GPa, it was only possible to make an approximate measurement of the unit-cell parameters. As expected for a crystal structure that contains molecular units held together by weak van der Waals interactions, β-As4S4 has an exceptionally high compressibility. The compressibility data were fitted to a third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state with a resulting volume V0 = 808.2(2) Å3, bulk modulus K0 = 10.9(2) GPa and K' = 8.9(3). These values are extremely close to those reported for the low-temperature polymorph of As4S4, realgar, which contains the same As4S4 cage-molecule. Structural analysis showed that the unit-cell contraction is due mainly to the reduction in intermolecular distances, which causes a substantial reduction in the unit-cell volume (∼21% at 6.86 GPa). The cage-like As4S4 molecules are only slightly affected. No phase transitions occur in the pressure range investigated.Micro-Raman spectra, collected across the entire pressure range, show that the peaks associated with As–As stretching have the greatest pressure dependence; the S–As–S bending frequency and the As–S stretching have a much weaker dependence or no variation at all as the pressure increases; this is in excellent agreement with the structural data.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C94-C94
Author(s):  
Pawel Kuczera ◽  
Walter Steurer

The structure of d(ecagonal)-Al-Cu-Rh has been studied as a function of temperature by in-situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction in order to contribute to the discussion on energy or entropy stabilization of quasicrystals (QC) [1]. The experiments were performed at 293 K, 1223 K, 1153 K, 1083 K, and 1013 K. A common subset of 1460 unique reflections was used for the comparative structure refinements at each temperature. The results obtained for the HT structure refinements of d-Al-Cu-Rh QC seem to contradict a pure phasonic-entropy-based stabilization mechanism [2] for this QC. The trends observed for the ln func(I(T1 )/I(T2 )) vs.|k⊥ |^2 plots indicate that the best on-average quasiperiodic order exists between 1083 K and 1153 K, however, what that actually means is unclear. It could indicate towards a small phasonic contribution to entropy, but such contribution is not seen in the structure refinements. A rough estimation of the hypothetic phason instability temperature shows that it would be kinetically inaccessible and thus the phase transition to a 12 Å low T structure (at ~800 K) is most likely not phason-driven. Except for the obvious increase in the amplitude of the thermal motion, no other significant structural changes, in particular no sources of additional phason-related configurational entropy, were found. All structures are refined to very similar R-values, which proves that the quality of the refinement at each temperature is the same. This suggests, that concerning the stability factors, some QCs could be similar to other HT complex intermetallic phases. The experimental results clearly show that at least the ~4 Å structure of d-Al-Cu-Rh is a HT phase therefore entropy plays an important role in its stabilisation mechanism lowering the free energy. However, the main source of this entropy is probably not related to phason flips, but rather to lattice vibrations, occupational disorder unrelated to phason flips like split positions along the periodic axis.


2000 ◽  
Vol 655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Hyuk Koh ◽  
S.I. Khartsev ◽  
Alex Grishin ◽  
Vladimir Petrovsky

AbstractFor the first time AgTa0.38Nb0.62O3 (ATN) films have been grown on the La0.7Sr0.3CoO3 (LSCO)/LaAlO3 single crystal as well as onto Pt80Ir20 (PtIr) polycrystalline substrate. Comprehensive X-ray diffraction analyses reveal epitaxial quality of ATN and LSCO films on the LaAlO3(001) substrate, while ATN/PtIr films have been found to be (001) preferentially oriented. Dielectric spectroscopy performed for ATN films and bulk ceramics in a wide temperature range 77 to 420 K shows the structural monoclinic M1-to-monoclinic M2 phase transition occurs in films at the temperature 60 °C lower than in ceramics. The tracing of the ferroelectric hysteresis P-E loops indicates the ferroelectric state in ATN films at temperatures below 125 K and yields remnant polarization of 0.4 μC/cm2 @ 77 K. Weak frequency dispersion, high temperature stability of dielectric properties as well as low processing temperature of 550 °C make ATN films to be attractive for various applications.


1997 ◽  
Vol 07 (03n04) ◽  
pp. 265-275
Author(s):  
R. Q. Zhang ◽  
S. Yamamoto ◽  
Z. N. Dai ◽  
K. Narumi ◽  
A. Miyashita ◽  
...  

Natural FeTiO 3 (illuminate) and synthesized FeTiO 3, single crystals were characterized by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy combined with channeling technique and particle-induced x-ray emission (RBS-C and PIXE). The results obtained by the ion beam analysis were supplemented by the x-ray diffraction analysis to identify the crystallographic phase. Oriented single crystals of synthesized FeTiO 3 were grown under the pressure control of CO 2 and H 2 mixture gas using a single-crystal floating zone technique. The crystal quality of synthesized FeTiO 3 single crystals could be improved by the thermal treatment but the exact pressure control is needed to avoid the precipitation of Fe 2 O 3 even during the annealing procedure. Natural FeTiO 3 contains several kinds of impurities such as Mn , Mg , Na and Si . The synthesized samples contain Al , Si and Na which are around 100 ppm level as impurities. The PBS-C results of the natural sample imply that Mn impurities occupy the Fe sublattice in FeTiO 3 or in mixed phase between ilmenite and hematite.


1995 ◽  
Vol 384 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.C. Kautzky ◽  
B.M. Clemens

ABSTRACTIn this paper we report the successful growth of single-phase epitaxial PtMnSb films and multilayers by dc magnetron cosputtering, both in the (001) orientation on MgO(001) and W(001), and in the (111) orientation on Al2O3 (0001). Single-layer films in the thickness range 50Å≤t≤1000Å were grown and characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The in-plane orientation relationships, as determined by asymmetric XRD, were PtMnSb[100]∥MgO[110], PtMnSb[100]∥W[100], and PtMnSb[101∥Al2O3[2110]. The crystalline quality of the films was found to depend strongly upon the substrate, growth temperature, film thickness, and presence of a capping layer, but rocking curve widths of 1° or less were achieved on each substrate. Measurement of the in-plane strain showed that the films were almost entirely relaxed, with strains <1%. In-plane magnetization was observed in all cases, with moments and coercivities in the 400-500 emu/cm3 and 100-200 Oe ranges respectively. Polar Kerr spectra showed large rotations (0.75° - 1.03°), whose peak wavelengths appear to depend on both film structure and optical interference effects.


Author(s):  
Laura A. Lallemand ◽  
James G. McCarthy ◽  
Sean McSweeney ◽  
Andrew A. McCarthy

Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) are a group of soluble phenolic compounds that are produced by a variety of plants, includingCoffea canephora(robusta coffee). The last step in CGA biosynthesis is generally catalysed by a specific hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA quinate hydroxycinnamoyltransferase (HQT), but it can also be catalysed by the more widely distributed hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA shikimate/quinate hydroxycinnamoyltransferase (HCT). Here, the cloning and overexpression of HCT fromC. canephorainEscherichia colias well as its purification and crystallization are presented. Crystals were obtained by the sitting-drop technique at 293 K and X-ray diffraction data were collected on the microfocus beamline ID23-2 at the ESRF. The HCT crystals diffracted to better than 3.0 Å resolution, belonged to space groupP42212 with unit-cell parametersa=b= 116.1,c= 158.9 Å and contained two molecules in the asymmetric unit. The structure was solved by molecular replacement and is currently under refinement. Such structural data are needed to decipher the molecular basis of the substrate specifities of this key enzyme, which belongs to the large plant acyl-CoA-dependent BAHD acyltransferase superfamily.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunita Kumari ◽  
Dhirendra Singhal ◽  
Rinku Walia ◽  
Ajay Rathee

Abstract The present project proposes to utilize rice husk and maize cob husk ash in the cement to mitigate the adverse impact of cement on environment and to enhance the disposal of waste in a sustainable manner. Ternary concrete / MR concrete was prepared by using rise husk and maize cob ash with cement. For the present project, five concrete mixes MR-0 (Control mix), MR-1 (Rice husk ash 10% and MR-2.5%), MR-2 (Rice husk ash 10% and MR-5%), MR-3 (Rice husk ash 10% and MR-2.5%), MR-4 (Rice husk ash 10% and MR-2.5%) were prepared. M35 concrete mix was designed as per IS 10262:2009 for low slump values 0-25mm. The purpose is to find the optimum replacement level of cement in M35 grade ternary concrete for I – Shaped paver blocks.In order to study the effects of these additions, micro-structural and structural properties test of concretes have been conducted. The crystalline properties of control mix and modified concrete are analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscope (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that 10% Rice husk ash and 5% maize cob ash replaced with cement produce a desirable quality of ternary concrete mix having good compressive strength. The results of SEM analysis indicated that the morphology of both concrete were different, showing porous structure at 7 days age and become unsymmetrical with the addition of ashes. After 28 day age, the control mix contained more quantity of ettringite and became denser than ternary concrete. XRD analysis revealed the presence of portlandite in large quantity in controlled mix concrete while MR concrete had the partially hydrated particle of alite.


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