0000000000465293
AUTHOR
Igor Bdikin
Grain size effect and local disorder in polycrystalline relaxors via scanning probe microscopy
Local piezoresponse of individual grains in polycrystalline Pb0.9125La0.0975(Zr0.65Ti0.35)0.976O3 (PLZT 9.75/65/35) relaxor ceramics is studied using the scanning probe microscopy (SPM) technique. The observed piezoelectric contrast consisting of irregular (labyrinth-type) polarization patterns is attributed to the compositional disorder and consequent charge imbalance caused by high La concentration. A measure of this disorder, the polarization correlation length ξ, is directly determined using an autocorrelation analysis function implemented in the SPM software. The analysis of the obtained images shows that ξ taken at the scale ~200 nm varies as a function of the position inside the grai…
Filling carbon nanotubes with magnetic particles
Magnetic carbon nanotube composites were obtained by filling carbon nanotubes with paramagnetic iron oxide particles. Measurements indicate that these functionalized nanotubes are superparamagnetic at room temperature. Details about the production and characterization of these materials are described along with the experimental procedures employed. These magnetic carbon nanotubes have the potential to be used in a wide range of applications, in particular, the production of nanofluids, which can be controlled by appropriate magnetic fields.