Pure BaTi03 exhibits a paraelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition at 130°C. When stoichiometric BaTi03 is combined with 10 mol% Zr02, the relative permittivity (E,) changes to a broad, relatively insignificant temperature dependence, and the Curie point, Tc, is not sharply defined. However, the transition sharpens at T = 95°C when these samples are sintered for a longer period of 60 h. SEM, EDAX analysis coupled with TEM observation gives three types of core-shell structures of different microstructural characteristics which are related to the diffuse phase transition. Chemical inhomogeneity, due to Zr4+ distribution in the core-shell structure, is proposed to account for the diffuse phase transition behavior. [

Titanium oxide compounds TiO,Ti2O3, and TiO2 with a considerable extent of nonstoichiometry were fabricated by pulsed laser ablation in water and characterized by X-ray/electron diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy. The titanium oxides were found to occur as nanoparticle aggregates with a predominant 3+ charge and amorphous microtubes when fabricated under an average power density of ca. 1 × 108W/cm2 and 1011W/cm2, respectively followed by dwelling in water. The crystalline colloidal particles have a relatively high content of Ti2+ and hence a lower minimum band gap of 3.4 eV in comparison with 5.2 eV for the amorphous state. The protonation on both crystalline and amorphous phase caused defects, mainly titanium rather than oxygen vacancies and charge and/or volume-compensating defects. The hydrophilic nature and presumably varied extent of undercoordination at the free surface of the amorphous lamellae accounts for their rolling as tubes at water/air and water/glass interfaces. The nonstoichiometric titania thus fabricated have potential optoelectronic and catalytic applications in UV–visible range and shed light on the Ti charge and phase behavior of titania-water binary in natural shock occurrence.

No abstract

Aluminum oxide powders doped with MgO (300 to 500 nm) were sintered to almost theoretical density within just 10–15 min at 1150 °C using a plasma-activated sintering process based on charging the loosely filled powders with an electric discharge prior to densification by resistance heating. The microstructure of the consolidated disks was examined by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HREM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and revealed excellent grain to grain contact with virtually no grain growth and structurally clean grain boundaries.