No abstract

Electron-density analyses of tetragonal and cubic 0.4 PbTiO3-0.6 BiFeO3 (PTBF) have indicated that the (Bi,Pb)-O bond in tetragonal PTBF exhibits strong covalency compared with that in cubic phase. Compared with Pb−O, the Bi−O exhibits stronger covalency, which would be a key factor of extremely large tetragonality and high T C of PTBF.

Calcium hydroxyapatite (HAp, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) is the principal inorganic component of bone and teeth, one of the most important bioceramics, and a proton (H+) conductor with potential for energy conversion devices. The proton diffusion pathway in the HAp lattice is a key to understand the proton conduction mechanism and chemical reaction. Previous neutron-diffraction studies of HAp visualized the short-range proton diffusion pathway. In this work, we report the successful visualization of the long-range proton diffusion pathway in stoichiometric HAp at 923, 673, and 298 K through a combined technique of high-temperature neutron diffraction and bond valence method. We have visualized (1) one-dimensional proton diffusional pathways along the c-axis in the hexagonal channel and (2) two-dimensional proton migration pathway network on the ab-planes at z = 0 and 1/2. The proton diffusion and reorientation of hydroxide ions (OH–) are a complex sinusoidal process in the hexagonal channel along the c-axis, which is consistent with the anisotropic nuclear-density distribution of proton obtained by the neutron diffraction and maximum-entropy method.

K2NiF4-type LaSrAlO4 and Sr2TiO4 exhibit anisotropic and isotropic thermal expansion, respectively; however, their structural origin is unknown. To address this unresolved issue, the crystal structure and thermal expansion of LaSrAlO4 and Sr2TiO4 have been investigated through high-temperature neutron and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction experiments and ab initio electronic calculations. The thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) along the c-axis (αc) being higher than that along the a-axis (αa) of LaSrAlO4 [αc = 1.882(4)αa] is mainly ascribed to the TEC of the interatomic distance between Al and apical oxygen O2 α(Al-O2) being higher than that between Al and equatorial oxygen O1 α(Al-O1) [α(Al-O2) = 2.41(18)α(Al-O1)]. The higher α(Al-O2) is attributed to the Al-O2 bond being longer and weaker than the Al-O1 bond. Thus, the minimum electron density and bond valence of the Al-O2 bond are lower than those of the Al-O1 bond. For Sr2TiO4, the Ti-O2 interatomic distance, d(Ti-O2), is equal to that of Ti-O1, d(Ti-O1) [d(Ti-O2) = 1.0194(15)d(Ti-O1)], relative to LaSrAlO4 [d(Al-O2) = 1.0932(9)d(Al-O1)]. Therefore, the bond valence and minimum electron density of the Ti-O2 bond are nearly equal to those of the Ti-O1 bond, leading to isotropic thermal expansion of Sr2TiO4 than LaSrAlO4. These results indicate that the anisotropic thermal expansion of K2NiF4-type oxides, A2BO4, is strongly influenced by the anisotropy of B-O chemical bonds. The present study suggests that due to the higher ratio of interatomic distance d(B-O2)/d(B-O1) of A2(2.5+)B(3+)O4 compared with A2(2+)B(4+)O4, A2(2.5+)B(3+)O4 compounds have higher α(B-O2), and A2(2+)B(4+)O4 materials exhibit smaller α(B-O2), leading to the anisotropic thermal expansion of A2(2.5+)B(3+)O4 and isotropic thermal expansion of A2(2+)B(4+)O4. The "true" thermal expansion without the chemical expansion of A2BO4 is higher than that of ABO3 with a similar composition.

Interfaces in nanocarbon materials are highly important, as they determine the properties of carbon-based devices. In terms of carrier and thermal transport properties, the interfacial features are often more important than the intrinsic characteristics. Herein, we describe how 1 min Joule annealing of carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns can convert the interfacial amorphous carbon into graphene fragments. After 1 min Joule annealing, we have obtained multiwalled CNT yarns with extremely high Seebeck coefficients (±100 μV/K) and high thermoelectric power factor (400 and 1000 μW/mK 2 ) at room temperature, both with or without polyethylenimine doping. Theoretical simulations and experimental measurements helped to determine the optimal annealing conditions in terms of a rapid transformation of the interfacial amorphous carbon between the bundled CNTs in the yarn into graphene fragments at ∼2000 K. The present approach represents significant progress in energy materials science, as it provides a guiding principle for the design of interfaces in nanocarbon materials with potential applications in energy-harvesting systems.