Search results for "Phase Transition"

Negative pressures in CaWO4 nanocrystals

2009

Tetragonal scheelite-type CaWO4 nanocrystals recently prepared by a hydrothermal method show an enhancement of its structural symmetry with the decrease in nanocrystal size. The analysis of the volume dependence of the structural parameters in CaWO4 nanocrystals with the help of ab initio total-energy calculations shows that the enhancement of the symmetry in the scheelite-type nanocrystals is a consequence of the negative pressure exerted on the nanocrystals; i.e., the nanocrystals are under tension. Besides, the behavior of the structural parameters in CaWO4 nanocrystals for sizes below 10 nm suggests an onset of a scheelite-to-zircon phase transformation in good agreement with the predic…

Tuning the defect configurations in nematic and smectic liquid crystalline shells

2013

Thin liquid crystalline shells surrounding and surrounded by aqueous phases can be conveniently produced using a nested capillary microfluidic system, as was first demonstrated by Fernandez-Nieves et al. in 2007. By choosing particular combinations of stabilizers in the internal and external phases, different types of alignment, uniform or hybrid, can be ensured within the shell. Here, we investigate shells in the nematic and smectic phases under varying boundary conditions, focusing in particular on textural transformations during phase transitions, on the interaction between topological defects in the director field and inclusions in the liquid crystal (LC), and on the possibility to rel…

The kinetics of phase transitions in vitreous chalcogenide semiconductors As10.2Se89.8 and As9Se90Bi in early stage of physical ageing process

2013

The kinetics of glass transition in selenide glasses As10.2Se89.8 and As9Se90Bi in early stage of physical ageing process has been investigated by parallel differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and exoelectron emission (EEE). It has been found that the glass transition process occurring in investigated glasses is evidenced by peaks on EEE intensity and DSC curves. Admixture of bismuth causes a distinct lowering of the temperature of glass transitions process both in the surface layer and in the volume. The addition of Bi causes a decrease in the value of the activation energy for glass transition process in both the volume and in the surface layer, thus reducing the thermal stability of i…

Production and Properties of (1-x)Pb(Sc<sub>1/2</sub>Nb<sub>1/2</sub>)O<sub>3</sub> – xPb(Yb<sub>1/2</su…

2004

Melting and interdigitation of microstructured solid supported membranes quantified by imaging ellipsometry

2010

The phase transition of individually addressable microstructured lipid bilayers was investigated by means of noncontact imaging ellipsometry. Two-dimensional membrane compartments were created on silicon substrates by micromolding in capillaries and the phase transition of supported dimyristoylphosphadiylcholine DMPC and dipentadecoylphosphatidylcholine DiC15PC membranes was determined measuring area expansion and thickness of the bilayer as a function of temperature, ethanol concentration, and cholesterol content. Apart from measuring the thermotropic behavior of DMPC on glass slides and silicon wafers, the authors were able to visualize the reversible induction of an interdigitated phase …

Compressibility and structural behavior of pure and Fe-doped SnO2 nanocrystals

2017

We have performed high-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments on nanoparticles of pure tin dioxide (particle size ~30nm) and 10 mol % Fe-doped tin dioxide (particle size ~18nm). The structural behavior of undoped tin dioxide nanoparticles has been studied up to 32 GPa, while the Fe-doped tin dioxide nanoparticles have been studied only up to 19 GPa. We have found that both samples present at ~13 GPa a second-order structural phase transition from the ambient pressure tetragonal rutile-type structure (P42/mnm) to an orthorhombic CaCl2-type structure (space group Pnnm). No phase coexistence was observed for this transition. Additionally, pure SnO2 presents a phase transition to a …

Novel phase transitions in B-site doped manganites

2005

We have examined the infrared reflectivity and the electrical resistivity of La 1-x [Sr(Ba)] x Mn 1-z [Cu(Zn)] z O 3 samples in ferromagnetic metallic and insulator regime. Several phase transitions are observed, the most obvious being the transition from a ferromagnetic metallic to a ferromagnetic insulator phase that is related to the formation of short-range orbitally ordered domains. The temperature T 1 of the phase transition is dependent on doping concentration and for optimally doped samples (∼32% of Mn 4+ ions) we have found T 1 0.93 T C .

Mobilization upon Cooling

2021

Abstract Phase transitions between different aggregate states are omnipresent in nature and technology. Conventionally, a crystalline phase melts upon heating as we use ice to cool a drink. Already in 1903, Gustav Tammann speculated about the opposite process, namely melting upon cooling. So far, evidence for such “inverse” transitions in real materials is rare and limited to few systems or extreme conditions. Here, we demonstrate an inverse phase transition for molecules adsorbed on a surface. Molybdenum tetraacetate on copper(111) forms an ordered structure at room temperature, which dissolves upon cooling. This transition is mediated by molecules becoming mobile, i.e., by mobilization up…

Phase Transitions in Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-SrTiO3-PbTiO3Solid Solutions

2010

All sequential steps of transfer from relaxor to normal ferroelectric phase transition are found in Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-SrTiO3-PbTiO3 if concentration of PbTiO3 increases. The relaxor properties in Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-SrTiO3-PbTiO3 solid solutions are described by the power law and Vogel-Fulcher relationship. Concentration dependence of the relevant parameters is discussed. Stability of relaxor and ferroelectric phases is discussed by analyzing behaviour of critical electric fields.

Quantum size effects in solitary wires of bismuth

2007

We have performed four-probe electrical transport measurements on solitary highly crystalline wires of semimetallic bismuth with aspect ratios up to 60 at room and at cryogenic temperatures. By proper choice of the substrate material and the film deposition parameters, lithographic wires with lateral dimensions of down to one single grain, $\sim 250$ nm, were fabricated. The electrical resistance of each wire was measured against its thickness through successive reactive ion etching of the self-same wire. Quantum size effects revealed themselves as regular oscillations in the electrical resistance. Some evidence for the semimetal-to-semiconductor phase transition has been detected. The meas…