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At least 271 records · Page 15

Influence of temperature on the lattice misfit and elastic moduli of a Ni based single crystal superalloy with high volume fraction of γ′ phase

Highlights: • The variation of the lattice misfit with temperature in a Ni based single-crystal superalloy with high volume fraction of γ' phase was determined by high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD) technique at temperatures between 25 °C and 1200 °C. • When the temperature was higher than 1100 °C, the γ' phase obviously dissolved, leading to a lower content of Mo and Re in the γ phase, and then resulted in a smaller absolute value of the lattice misfit. • The contribution of dissolution of γ′ phase to the reduction of the misfit increased with rising temperature and reached 29.5% at 1200 °C. • When the temperature exceeded 1100 °C, the difference of elastic moduli of γ and γ′ phases increased with rising temperature was attributed to the elastic modulus of γ phase decreased significantly. - Abstract: The variation of the lattice parameter with temperature in a Ni based single-crystal superalloy with high volume fraction of γ′ phase IC32 was determined by high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD) technique at temperatures between 25 °C and 1200 °C. The effects of the temperature, especially the ultra-high temperature (beyond 1100 °C), on lattice misfit, elastic moduli, γ′ volume fraction and composition of γ, γ′ phases were investigated in this study. The results show that the absolute value of lattice misfit first increased and then decreased with increasing temperature and reached the maximum of 0.53% at 1100 °C. When the temperature was higher than 1100 °C, the γ′ precipitate obviously dissolved, leading to a lower content of Mo and Re in the γ phase, and then resulted in a smaller absolute value of lattice misfit. The contribution of dissolution of γ′ phase to the reduction of the misfit increased with rising temperature and reached 29.5% at 1200 °C. Moreover, when the temperature was above 1100 °C, the elastic moduli of the γ phase and alloy decreased significantly, while this phenomenon was not observed in the γ′ phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Elements distribution and deformation features of a 4.5% Re nickel-based single crystal superalloy during creep at high temperature

Highlights: • Atom probe is used to investigate the element concentration changes in γ and γ' phase during creep. • Mo, W and Re diffuse from γ' to γ phase and enrich in γ/γ' interface during high temperature creep. • Super-dislocations in γ' phase may cross-slip from {111} to {100} plane due to the elements diffusions. • Dislocations shearing into γ' phase may decompose into K-W locks plus APB due to the refractory elements enrichment. - Abstract: By means of creep property measurement, microstructure observation and atom probe tomography, the elements distribution and deformation features of a 4.5% Re nickel-based single crystal superalloy during creep are investigated. Results show that after fully heat treated, the elements Al and Ta are mainly distributed in γ′ phase of alloy. After the alloy is crept up to fracture at 1100 °C/137 MPa, the change of the elements distributing in γ and γ′ phases occurs, wherein, the concentration decrement of the elements Al and Cr in γ′ and γ phases is attributed to their oxidation which may consume the ones. Moreover, some of the atoms Re, W and Mo dissolving in γ′ phase are repelled into γ matrix to reduce its internal energy. And the peak concentration of the atoms Re and W appears in the γ phase near the transition region, the atoms Re, W in the peak region cause the lattice distortion to increase the resistance of dislocations motion, which may improve the creep resistance of alloy. In the later stage of creep, dislocations shearing into the rafted γ′ phase may cross-slip from {111} to {100} plane to form the configuration of K-W locks, which may restrain the slipping of dislocations to improve the creep resistance of alloy. Wherein, the atom Re with lower diffusion coefficient may delay the dislocations in K-W locks for slipping and cross-slipping, which is thought to be the main reason of the K-W locks keeping in 4.5%Re alloy during creep at 1100 °C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A compositional gradient Ce1−xZrxO2 buffer architecture for producing high-performance YBCO film

Highlights: • The compositional gradient CZO buffer architecture can help improve the biaxial texture of YBCO film. • The high density stacking faults are directly observed via a spherical aberration corrected transmission electron microscope. • The enhanced flux pinning force and current-carrying capacity of YBCO films are achieved as a result of lattice strains. - Abstract: In this work, YBCO films were epitaxially grown on Ce{sub 1−x}Zr{sub x}O{sub 2} (CZO) buffered yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) single crystal substrates through a fluorine-free sol-gel process. The influence of two different CZO buffer architectures on the microstructure and superconducting properties of YBCO films was investigated. According to XRD results in combination with (S)TEM analysis, it was confirmed that YBCO film grown on the gradient CZO buffer layer (CZO-G) exhibits better in-plane and out-of-plane texture than YBCO film deposited on the uniform CZO buffer layer (CZO-20). And besides, the superconducting performances especially the current-carrying capacity under magnetic field of the former was much higher than that of the latter, which means that the enhanced flux pinning force will be presented in YBCO film on CZO-G buffer layer. The maximum pinning force of the YBCO film grown on CZO-G buffer architecture is up to 17.67 GN/m{sup 3} @ 65 K. HR-STEM analysis shows that the stacking faults within YBCO matrix gave rise to the considerable nanoscale lattice-strains which may suppress the formation of Copper pairs and produce nanoscale non-superconducting regions served as pinning centers to significantly improve the flux pinning performance of YBCO film. Given the above, it has been implied that high-performance YBCO coated conductor can be developed by using a compositional gradient Ce{sub 1−x}Zr{sub x}O{sub 2} films as buffer architecture.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Dislocation arrangements within slip bands during fatigue cracking

Highlights: • Dislocation cells form near early slip bands fatigue cracks in wavy-slip materials. • Lattice rotates severely and grain boundaries form between neighboring cells. • The walls of dislocation cells are preferential sites for fatigue cracking. - Abstract: Microstructures and dislocations associated with the slip band (SB) fatigue cracks were investigated in Cu single crystal and bicrystal. It is found that there are high strain localizations with abundant dislocation cells around the cracked SBs. Due to the high local strain and slip irreversibility, the lattice rotates severely leading to large misorientation and hence low- or high- angle grain boundaries could form between the neighboring cells. Moreover, the dislocation walls can serve as preferential sites for nucleation and propagation of fatigue cracks with high density of dislocations, vacancies and high strain incompatibility.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Sparse modeling of space- and time-varying diffraction response of a progressively loaded aluminum alloy

Highlights: • Plasticity induces crystal orientation and lattice spacing heterogeneity. • High energy x-ray diffraction spot broadening typically accompanies plasticity. • Method quantifies spot broadening in difficult, mixed microstructure data. • Algorithm finds sparse combination of entries from dictionary of peak functions. • Approach showed asymmetric plastic response in preprocessed AA7075 T651 sample. - Abstract: High energy X-ray diffraction data collected in situ during loading experiments permits probing of the crystal structure of a plastically deforming material sample. An elastoplastic deformation is associated with heterogeneity in both crystal orientation and lattice spacing—each manifesting as azimuthal broadening and radial broadening of diffraction peaks respectively. Quantifying the spreading effect is challenging, especially in cases where the sample has a granularity between that of a single crystal and fine grain or powder material. The approach developed in this paper begins by modeling the intensity signal in the vicinity of a Debye-Scherrer ring as a sparse, nonnegative superposition of Gaussian basis functions drawn from an over-complete dictionary. Processing automatically selects from the dictionary basis functions whose widths and amplitudes are representative of the data. The chosen basis functions are used to compute scalar measures of radial and azimuthal broadening for the set of diffraction peaks composing a Debye-Scherrer ring. To demonstrate the utility of the approach, we show that analysis of diffraction peak shape information from an aluminum alloy 7075 T651 (AA7075 T651) sample provides insight into the origin of material state that would have otherwise have been difficult if not impossible to extract using conventional methods. Furthermore, the extracted information revealed a deformation response linked to the processing history of the sample.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Free surface effects on the recrystallization of compressed, stable, Al-Mn single crystals

Highlights: • The free surface provokes high frequency nucleation. • The free surface and surface ‘quality’ do not modify the orientations of the recrystallized grains. • The misorientation relations across recrystallization front are similar for all sections of both orientations. The free surface effect on the grain crystallography and morphology during recrystallization has been studied in stable Goss {110}001 and brass {110}112 - oriented single crystals of Al-1%wt.Mn alloy. The samples were plane strain compressed up to a strain of about 0.5 to develop a homogeneous structure comprising two sets of symmetrical microbands and then lightly annealed. The variation of recrystallization after annealing was then analysed by optical microscopy and SEM/EBSD on different cross-sections. The results are discussed in terms of the misorientation angle and axis distributions. The free surface provokes high frequency nucleation leading to a small grain size compared to internal sections of the bulk sample. However, the free surface and surface ‘quality’ do not modify the orientations of the recrystallized grains, i.e. similar groups of recrystallized grain orientations were observed for all sections. This leads to a strong misorientation relation between deformed/recovered area orientations and the limited number of groups of recrystallized grain orientations, basically the same as those observed during bulk recrystallization of similar crystals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Crystal rotation and microstructures in an aluminum single-slip system under tensile loading

Highlights: • The crystal rotation angle with the progression of ductile damage was larger in the vertical plane than that in the horizontal plane. In the measurement along 110, the relative rotation angle was the maximum at the intersection of 111 and 110. • The integrated intensity and the FWHM decreased near the notch (from 0 to 0.3 mm) as well as at the intersection of 110 and 111 in the measurement along 110. • The dislocation cell size and the dislocation density decreased at the intersection of 111 and 110 in the measurement of 110 for ε = 5%. This behavior was attributed to the strain energy being released by the rotation of the dislocation cell. We experimentally investigated the rotation angle of the (220) plane in an aluminum single-slip system in which the angles of 110 and 111 in the single crystal were 45° relative to the tensile loading direction. Crystal rotation was investigated at several spots (50 × 50 μm) along 110 and 111 using synchrotron radiation white X-rays at the BL28B2 beamline of super photon ring-8. In measurements along the 110 axis, at an applied strain of ε = 5%, the relative crystal rotation of (220) in the vertical plane increased from 0.850° to 5.438° in the range of 0.9 to 1.4 mm. We observed the microstructure using a transmission electron microscope and verified the size of the dislocation cells or subgrains at each spot along 110. The fundamental local crystallography revealed in this work should be helpful in establishing a method for evaluating ductile damage in materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Structural and optical effects induced by gamma irradiation on NdPO{sub 4}: X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic and luminescence study

Highlights: • Inorganic NdPO{sub 4} crystal was grown first time using potassium polyphosphate (K{sub 6}P{sub 4}O{sub 13}) flux. • NdPO{sub 4} crystal is insoluble in water, non-hygroscopic and high radiation resistance favoring for actinides host. • Actinide immobilization can be made at 1273 K. • High yield of 1061 nm photon emission. - Abstract: Rare earth orthophosphate (NdPO{sub 4}) monazite single crystals were grown using high temperature flux growth method employing K{sub 6}P{sub 4}O{sub 13} (K{sub 6}) as molten solvent. Their structural parameters were studied using single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The grown crystals were examined by SEM and EDX techniques for their homogeniousity and inclusion in the crystals. The influence of gamma irradiation in structural and optical absorption properties were studied by the powder XRD, FTIR and reflectance spectroscopy. The effect of gamma irradiation on luminescence properties was recorded. No significant structural change is observed up to 150 kGy gamma dose. The gamma ray induced charge trap in the crystal was saturated to 40 kGy dose. The luminescence intensity decreases with an increase in the irradiation. The emission of luminescence intensity stabilizes above 40 kGy gamma dose.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Energy transfer and 2.0 μm emission in Tm{sup 3+}/Ho{sup 3+} co-doped α-NaYF{sub 4} single crystals

Highlights: • Cubic NaYF{sub 4} single crystals co-doped with ∼1.90 mol% Tm{sup 3+} and various Ho{sup 3+} concentrations were grown by Bridgman method. • The maximum fluorescence lifetime was 23.23 ms for Tm{sup 3+} (1.90 mol%)/Ho{sup 3+} (3.89 mol%) co-doped α-NaYF{sub 4}. • The obtained energy transfer rate (W{sub ET}) and energy transfer efficiency (η) of Tm{sup 3+}:{sup 3}F{sub 4} are 1077 s{sup −1} and 95.0%, respectively. • The maximum emission cross section reached 1.06 × 10{sup −20} cm{sup 2}. - Abstract: Cubic NaYF{sub 4} single crystals co-doped with ∼1.90 mol% Tm{sup 3+} and various Ho{sup 3+} concentrations were grown by Bridgman method. The energy transfer from Tm{sup 3+} to Ho{sup 3+} and the optimum fluorescence emission around 2.04 μm of Ho{sup 3+} ion were investigated based on the measured absorption spectra, emission spectra, emission cross section and decay curves under excitation of 800 nm LD. The emission intensity at 2.04 μm increased with the increase of Ho{sup 3+} concentration from 0.96 mol% to 3.89 mol% when the concentration of Tm{sup 3+} was held constantly at ∼1.90 mol%. Moreover, the maximum emission cross section reached 1.06 × 10{sup −20} cm{sup 2} and the maximum fluorescence lifetime was 23.23 ms for Tm{sup 3+}(1.90 mol%)/Ho{sup 3+}(3.89 mol%) co-doped one. According to the measured lifetime of Tm{sup 3+} single-doped and Tm{sup 3+}/Ho{sup 3+} co-doped samples, the maximum energy transfer efficiency of Tm{sup 3+}:{sup 3}F{sub 4} level was 95.0%. Analysis on the fluorescence dynamics indicated that electric dipole–dipole is dominant for the energy transfer from Tm{sup 3+} to Ho{sup 3+}.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Effect of doping ions on the structural defect and the electrical behavior of CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4}O{sub 12} ceramics

Graphical abstract: The dielectric constant decreases with Ta doping, increases with Y doping and keeps almost constant with Zr doping compared with that of pure CCTO. - Highlights: • Y and Ta doping cause different defect types and concentration. • Defect influences the grain boundary mobility and results in different grain size. • Y doping increases the dielectric constant and decreases the nonlinear property. • Ta doping decreases the dielectric constant and enhances the nonlinear property. • Zr doped sample has nearly the defect type and dielectric properties as CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4}O{sub 12}. - Abstract: The microstructure, dielectric and electrical properties of CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4−x}R{sub x}O{sub 12} (R = Y, Zr, Ta; x = 0 and 0.005) ceramics were investigated by XRD, Raman spectra, SEM and dielectric spectrum measurements. Positron annihilation measurements have been performed to investigate the influence of doping on the defects. The results show that all samples form a single crystalline phase. Y and Ta doping cause different defect types and increase the defect size and concentration, which influence the mobility of grain boundary and result in the different grain size. Y doping increases the dielectric constant and decreases the nonlinear property while Ta doping lead to an inverse result. Zr-doped sample has nearly the defect type, grain morphology and dielectric properties as pure CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4}O{sub 12}. The effects of microstructure including the grain morphology and the vacancy defects on the mechanism of the dielectric and electric properties by doping are discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Synthesis of belt-like BiOBr hierarchical nanostructure with high photocatalytic performance

Highlights: • BiOBr hierarchical nanobelts (NBs) were solvothermally prepared. • NBs show higher specific surface area and photoabsorption than BiOBr nanosheets. • NBs exhibit higher photoactivity than the nanosheets. - Abstract: One-dimensional (1D) bismuth oxyhalide (BiOX) hierarchical nanostructures are always difficult to prepare. Herein, we report, for the first time, a simple synthesis of BiOBr nanobelts (NBs) via a facile solvothermal route, using bismuth subsalicylate as the template and bismuth source. The BiOBr nanobelts are composed of irregular single crystal nanoparticles with highly exposed (0 1 0) facets. Compared with the BiOBr nanosheets (NSs) with dominant exposed (0 0 1) facets, they exhibit higher photocatalytic activity toward degradation of Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue under visible light irradiation. The higher photocatalytic performance of BiOBr NBs arises from their larger specific surface area and higher photoabsorption capability. This study provides a simple route for synthesis of belt-like Bi-based hierarchical nanostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Phenoxo bridged dinuclear Zn(II) Schiff base complex as new precursor for preparation zinc oxide nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization, crystal structures and photoluminescence studies

Highlights: • A novel nano-scale Zn(II) complex was synthesized by solvothermal method. • Chemical structure of the nanostructures was characterized as well as bulk complex. • The photoluminescence property of the complex was investigated at room temperature. • The thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis were carried out. • Thermal decomposition of the nanostructures was prepared zinc oxide nanoparticles. - Abstract: Nanoparticles of a novel Zn(II) Schiff base complex, [Zn(HL)NO{sub 3}]{sub 2} (1), (H{sub 2}L = 2-[(2-hydroxy-propylimino) methyl] phenol), was synthesized by using solvothermal method. Shape, morphology and chemical structure of the synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectoscopy (FT-IR) and UV–vis spectroscopy. Structural determination of compound 1 was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The results were revealed that the zinc complex is a centrosymmetric dimer in which deprotonated phenolates bridge the two five-coordinate metal atoms and link the two halves of the dimer. The thermal stability of compound 1 was analyzed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The effect of the initial substrates concentration and reaction time on size and morphology of compound 1 nanostructure was investigated as well. Furthermore, the luminescent properties of the complex 1 were examined. ZnO nanoparticles with diameter between 15 and 20 nm were simply synthesized by solid-state transformation of compound 1 at 700 °C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Growth, structural, optical, thermal and mechanical properties of cytosinium hydrogen selenite: A novel nonlinear optical single crystal

Highlights: • Growth of bulk single crystals of cytosinium hydrogen selenite (CHS) is reported. • Dielectric constant of CHS is measured as a function of Frequency and temperature. • Lower cut off value of UV–vis-NIR spectrum of CHS crystal is observed at 210 nm. • Meyer’s index value of CHS crystal calculated identifies it as a soft material. • Powder SHG efficiency of CHS is about 1.5 times that of KDP crystal. - Abstract: A novel nonlinear optical single crystal of cytosinium hydrogen selenite was grown from aqueous solution of cytosinium hydrogen selenite by slow solvent evaporation method at room temperature. The structural properties of grown crystal have been studied by single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analysis. Presence of various functional groups was identified from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The optical transmittance and absorbance spectra were recorded by UV–vis-NIR spectrometer and the grown crystal possesses good transparency in the entire visible region. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the crystal were calculated as a function of frequency at different temperatures. The mechanical strength of the cytosinium hydrogen selenite crystal was estimated using Vicker’s microhardness tester. Etch patterns of the cytosinium hydrogen selenite crystal were obtained using distilled water as etchant for different etching time. Second harmonic generation efficiency tested using Nd:YAG laser is about 1.5 times that of KDP.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Ti{sub 2}AlN thin films synthesized by annealing of (Ti+Al)/AlN multilayers

Highlights: • Epitaxial thin films of the MAX phase Ti{sub 2}AlN are obtained by thermal annealing. • A new metastable (Ti,Al,N) solid solution with the structure of α-T is evidenced. • The formation of the MAX phase occurs at low temperature (600 °C). - Abstract: Single-phase Ti{sub 2}AlN thin films were obtained by annealing in vacuum of (Ti + Al)/AlN multilayers deposited at room temperature by magnetron sputtering onto single-crystalline (0001) 4H-SiC and (0001) Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} substrates. In-situ X-ray diffraction experiments combined with ex-situ cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy observations reveal that interdiffusion processes occur in the multilayer at a temperature of ∼400 °C leading to the formation of a (Ti, Al, N) solid solution, having the hexagonal structure of α-Ti, whereas the formation of Ti{sub 2}AlN occurs at 550–600 °C. Highly oriented (0002) Ti{sub 2}AlN thin films can be obtained after an annealing at 750 °C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Preparation of Gd(OH){sub 3} large single crystals by solid KOH assisted hydrothermal method and their luminescent and magnetic properties

Highlights: • Gd(OH){sub 3} large single crystals were prepared by solid KOH assisted hydrothermal method. • The possible growth mechanism of Gd(OH){sub 3} large single crystals was proposed. • The Gd(OH){sub 3} samples emitted a strong narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) light. • The Gd(OH){sub 3} samples showed good paramagnetic properties. - Abstract: Large single crystals of gadolinium hydroxide [Gd(OH){sub 3}] in the length of several millimeters were successfully prepared by using solid KOH assisted hydrothermal method. Gd(OH){sub 3} samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), 4-circle single-crystal diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). FESEM image shows hexagonal prism morphology for the Gd(OH){sub 3} large crystals. The possible growth mechanism of Gd(OH){sub 3} large single crystals was proposed. The photoluminescence and magnetic properties of Gd(OH){sub 3} species were investigated.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Synthesis, growth, structure, mechanical and optical properties of a new semi-organic 2-methyl imidazolium dihydrogen phosphate single crystal

Highlights: • 2MIDP crystals were grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique. • Single crystal XRD revealed self-assembled supramolecular framework. • Z scan technique is employed for third order nonlinear optical susceptibility. • Structure-property correlation is established. - Abstract: A new semi-organic compound, 2-methyl imidazolium dihydrogen phosphate (2MIDP), was prepared and good quality single crystals of 2MIDP were grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique. Crystal structure elucidated using Single crystal XRD showed that 2MIDP crystallizes in monoclinic system with P2{sub 1}/c space group. FT-IR, UV-Vis-NIR, Fluorescence and FT-NMR spectra confirm the molecular structure of 2MIDP. The UV-Vis-NIR spectra established the suitability of the compound for NLO applications. TG-DSC showed that 2MIDP is thermally stable up to 200 °C. Mechanical characteristics like hardness number (H{sub v}), stiffness constant (C{sub 11}), yield strength (σ{sub v}), fracture toughness (K{sub c}) and brittleness index (B{sub i}) were assessed using Vicker’s microhardness tester. Third order nonlinear optical properties determined from Z-scan measurement using femto and picosecond lasers showed two photon reverse saturable absorption. The enhancement of nonlinear optical properties in femto second laser, revealed the suitability of 2MIDP for optical limiting applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

CaCoSO diluted magnetic antiferromagnet semiconductor as efficient thermoelectric materials

Highlights: • CaCoSO exhibit direct (Γ{sup v}- Γ{sup c}) gap of about 2.187 eV for spin-up (↑). • CaCoSO exhibit direct (K{sup v}-K{sup c}) gap of about 1.187 eV for spin-down(↓). • An indirect gap (Γ{sup v}-K{sup c}) of about 0.4 eV for the spin-polarized CaCoSO. • Small gap turn CaCoSO to be as promising candidate for thermoelectric materials. - Abstract: We have reported the thermoelectric properties of the recently synthesized CaCoSO single crystal by Salter et al. in 2016. It is quite interesting to mention that CaCoSO single crystals exhibit a direct energy gap (Γ{sup v}- Γ{sup c}) of about 2.187 eV for the spin-up (↑) channel, which turns out to be a (K{sup v}-K{sup c}) direct gap of about 1.187 eV for the spin-down (↓) channel, resulting in an indirect gap (Γ{sup v}-K{sup c}) of about 0.4 eV for the spin-polarized CaCoSO single crystal. Such a small gap makes CaCoSO a promising candidate for thermoelectric materials. Calculations reveal a remarkable finding that the CaCoSO single crystal exhibits high electrical conductivity, low thermal conductivity and a large Seebeck coefficient; therefore, based on these findings, the CaCoSO single crystal may be considered an efficient thermoelectric material. The electron clouds of CaO{sub 3}S{sub 4} and CoS{sub 3}O exhibit a planar shape with conjugated electron orbitals and exhibit a strong covalent Ca−O, Co−O bonding. This is another factor which makes CaCoSO a promising candidate for thermoelectric materials, since covalent bonding is more favorable for the transport of the carriers than ionic bonding. CaO{sub 3}S{sub 4} and CoS{sub 3}O are the main sources for the thermoelectric generator in CaCoSO. Therefore, based on the above findings, we can conclude that CaCoSO could be a promising thermoelectric material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Analysis of growth kinetics and impact of NH{sub 3} on the morphology evolution of hexagonal-prism shaped Y{sub 4}O(OH){sub 9}NO{sub 3}/Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} single crystals

Highlights: • Tailored the morphology of Y{sub 4}O(OH){sub 9}NO{sub 3}and Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} crystals using different electrolytes by hydrothermal method. • Role of NH{sub 3} in the formation of hexagonal prism like morphology. • Time dependent experiments to study the growth process and formation of hexagonal prisms. - Abstract: The effect of NH{sub 3} on the morphology evolution of single crystalline hexagonal-prism like Y{sub 4}O(OH){sub 9}NO{sub 3} and Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} has been systematically investigated, as a function of reaction time, by using a combination of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Rational control over the morphology has been achieved by the choice of suitable electrolytes like NaNO{sub 3}, KNO{sub 3}, NH{sub 4}NO{sub 3}, KCl and NH{sub 4}Cl in the presence of NH{sub 4}OH. We report that the cross-sectional geometry of hydrothermally grown one-dimensional Y{sub 4}O(OH){sub 9}NO{sub 3} crystals can be tuned from spherical to hexagonal-prism like shape by introducing a particular reagent like NH{sub 4}NO{sub 3} in the presence of NH{sub 4}OH. An ‘oriented attachment’ mediated growth process takes place along with the ‘dissolution-recrystallization’ route which eventually resulted in the generation of the single crystals with hexagonal-prism like morphology.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗