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Lead‐based piezo‐ceramics like lead zirconate titanate (PZT) are a mainstay for many piezoelectric applications. However, lead oxide (PbO) evaporation during sintering poses a significant environmental challenge. Flash sintering (FS) is a novel technique that can densify ceramics in seconds and at a much lower furnace temperature. The liquid‐phase FS (LPFS) of PZT (Pb (Zr0.5Ti0.5) O3, with 3 wt.% Cu2O and PbO in the molar ratio of 1:4) is investigated in this work. Further, a comparison has been made among the lead loss, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties of flash‐sintered and conventionally liquid‐phase‐sintered PZT. It has been observed that the evaporation of PbO has been brought down 3–5 times by FS. The dielectric constant of LPFS PZT is significantly higher, especially at higher frequencies with lower dielectric loss. An enhanced piezoelectric coefficient in flash‐sintered PZT has also been observed. The LPFS of PZT shows that the lead loss can be brought down significantly with the added benefit of enhanced dielectric and piezoelectric properties. XRD and Rietveld analysis show an increase in tetragonality after FS in comparison with conventional sintering. XPS and ESR studies show a difference in defect concentration after FS in comparison with conventional sintering that is likely responsible for the enhanced dielectric and piezoelectric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the magnetic properties and emergence of superconductivity in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ (YBCO)/ La$_{0.67}$Sr$_{0.33}$MnO$_3$ (LSMO) heterostructures. Bilayer films of superconducting layer, YBCO, and ferromagnetic layer, LSMO were grown on SrTiO$_{3}$ (STO) (001) substrate using ultrahigh vacuum Pulsed Laser Deposition system. Magnetization data at 100 K as a function of applied magnetic field shows ferromagnetic behaviour due to the LSMO layer. Cooling below 100 K leads to superconductivity in this material; the onset of superconductivity occurs at a temperature, $T_{c,SC},$ of 86 K for $H_{ext}\perp c$ (in-plane) \& 84 K for $H_{ext}||c$ (out-of-plane) under 100 Oe applied field. In-plane magnetic measurements show significant suppression of diamagnetic behaviour as compared to the out-of-plane measurements. The susceptibility signals are higher for out-of-plane direction. Such strong anisotropy in magnetism and the transition temperatures reveal complex interplay of magnetism and superconductivity in this system and calls for further study in this direction.

There is a growing interest in BiFeO3-based alloys because of the possibility it offers for developing high-temperature high-performance piezoelectric materials and for their interesting multiferroic properties. Often such ceramics are synthesized with additives either to reduce/suppress leakage current that the system inherits from the parent compound BiFeO3 or to promote sintering via formation of the liquid phase. We demonstrate here the propensity for stabilizing ferromagnetism in the ferroelectric solid solution BiFeO3–PbTiO3 (BF–PT) when synthesized with additive MnO2. Detailed investigation revealed that the ferromagnetic property of the ceramic is extrinsic and caused by the additive enabled precipitation of trace amount of the ferrimagnetic Pb-hexaferrite phase, not easily detected in conventional x-ray diffraction measurements. We also show that the ferromagnetic property is induced in Co-modified BF–PT. However, in this case, the additive stabilizes the CoFe2O4 spinel ferrite phase. While our findings offer a strategy to develop particulate magnetoelectric multiferroic composites using additive assisted precipitation of the ferrimagnetic phase(s) in BiFeO3-based ferroelectric alloys, it also helps in better understanding of the electromechanical response in BFO-based alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the important requirements for piezoelectric materials for use as high strain actuators is that they exhibit large unipolar electrostrain with minimum hysteresis. While large unipolar electrostrain >1% is generally achievable in good quality single crystals, most polycrystalline piezoelectric show low values < 0.4%. Unipolar electrostrain 0.5%–0.7% in polycrystalline piezoelectrics has often been reported in Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-based compositions at the non-ergodic ergodic boundary. Not amenable to poling, such materials exhibit almost nearly zero direct piezoelectric coefficient (d33 ∼ 0 pC/N) and cannot be simultaneously used as a sensor. In this paper, we report a combination of large unipolar electrostrain of ∼0.6% with small strain hysteresis of 25% in a Sn-modified relaxor ferroelectric system PbTiO3–Bi(Ni1/2Zr1/2)O3. It exhibits d33 ∼ 340 pC/N, which is stable up to 130 °C, and large signal converse piezoelectric coefficient d33* ∼ 1200 pm/V. A combination of large d33 and d33* in the same material makes it an important candidate for simultaneous use as a sensor and high strain actuators. X-ray diffraction study in situ with the electric field suggests that large electrostrain with low strain hysteresis in this system is because of the increased reversible switching of the field stabilized tetragonal ferroelastic domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report here the synthesis of a self-grown 0–3 particulate multiferroic composite by controlled precipitation of the ferrimagnetic garnet phase using additive (MnO2) assisted sintering of a multi-cation ferroelectric system (Bi, Pb, Dy)(Fe, Ti)O3. The particulate multiferroic composite derived in this manner exhibits a favorable microstructure, wherein, although the volume fraction of the garnet phase is kept low (6%), which helps in retaining the electrical insulating character of the specimen, the number fraction of the garnet grains vis-à-vis the ferroelectric grains is ∼1:1. The composite shows a nearly ∼50% increase in saturation polarization at room temperature under a modest magnetic field of 1 T, suggesting a considerable improvement in ferroelectric domain switching due to the efficient strain transfer from the minority garnet grains to the majority piezoelectric grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic and inorganic flocculants are used in treatment of water and industrial effluents. Polymeric flocculants, synthetic as well as natural, because of their natural inertness to PH changes. low dosage, [...]

Context: In India, teeth cleaning with tooth powder is common in rural and semi-urban areas. These dentifrices may contain low-quality abrasives, which may have a deleterious effect on dental hard tissues.Aims: This study aims to evaluate the tooth substance loss caused by different dentifrices and to correlate it with chemical composition, size, and shape of abrasives used.Settings and Design: An indigenously made automated machine was used for brushing the specimens.Materials and Methods: Sixty-four freshly extracted premolars were allocated to eight groups (n = 8). Colgate toothpaste was used as the control group. Each specimen was brushed in a vertical motion for 2½ h at 200 strokes/min with a constant applied load of 200 g corresponding to 6-month brushing. The difference in weight (pre- and post-brushing) was determined by an analytical weighing machine. Chemical analysis was done to determine the presence of iron oxide by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry method. Shape and size of the abrasive particles was evaluated under scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Statistical Analysis Used: One-way analysis of variance and Paired t-test were used to analyze the data.Results: Tooth substance loss was maximum in the group brushed with red tooth powder, which was shown to contain the highest amount of iron oxide and also exhibited large, irregularly shaped abrasive particles under SEM.Conclusions: Tooth substance loss was documented to be correlated with chemical composition (iron oxide) and the size and shape of abrasive particles used in dentifrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct fluorination is one of the most important and effective method to modify the polymer surface. It is a simple and fast method that allows the simultaneous treatment of outer and inner surfaces of complex shaped polymeric materials. Poly-p-phenylene terephthalamide fibers which are a very important class of material was surface modified by direct fluorinaton. An extensive characterization of both the virgin and the fluorinated materials were performed by various techniques (XRD, FT-IR, Surface energy and DSC, TGA). From these data, possible effects of fluorination are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer Solar cells being flexible, light weight, inexpensive, colorful and large area devices, portend potential for large scale grid power generation. The first major breakthrough in organic solar cell performance came in 1986 when Tang discovered that much higher efficiencies about 1% can be attained when electron donor (D) and electron acceptor (A) are brought together in one cell. With the discovery of photo induced electron transfer from a conjugated polymer to fullerene molecules in 1992, the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cell has become the most successful device structure developed in the field till date. Poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) has been the subject of intensive investigations upto 2008 yielding power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) around 5-6%. OPV technology has grown during the past decade with cell efficiencies quadrupling. As alternative route of higher performance, two or more single cells can be combined in tandem structure. The most efficient tandem organic solar cell reported by Yang Yang's group has 8.62% power conversion efficiency (PCE) which has been further improved with an NREL - certified PCE of 10.6%. An overview of the above will be presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the synthesis and characterization of microwave-initiated synthesis of polyacrylamide(PAM)-grafted sodium alginate (SAG). This graft copolymer has been characterized by various techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared spectra, elemental analyis and thermogravimetric analysis. The study concludes that various grades of SAG-g-PAM can be synthesized by using only microwave irradiation.

The article discusses a study which examined the flocculation characteristics of polyacrylamide (PAM)-grafted chitosan. A ceric ammonium nitrate-induced solution polymerization technique was adopted by the study to synthesize PAM-grafted chitosan. Results of the study showed that the Chito-γ-PAM3 demonstrated the best settling performance in the samples. It was also found that better water clarifying performance was shown by the ungrafted chitosan compared to the PAM and grafted chitosan.

To investigate whether genetic polymorphisms are the underlying causes for aberrations in folate pathway that was reported in autistic children.A total of 138 children diagnosed as autistic based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition criteria and Autism Behavior Checklist scoring and 138 age and sex matched children who are nonautistic were tested for five genetic polymorphisms, that is, cytosolic serine hydroxyl methyl transferase (SHMT1 C1420T), methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR C677T and MTHFR A1298C), methionine synthase reductase (MTRR A66G), methionine synthase (MS A2756G) using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analysis were used for statistical analyses.MTHFR 677T-allele frequency was found to be higher in autistic children compared with nonautistic children (16.3 vs. 6.5%) with 2.79-fold increased risk for autism [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.58-4.93]. The frequencies of MTRR 66A allele (12.7 vs. 21.0%) and SHMT 1420T allele (27.9 vs. 45.3%) were lower in autistic group compared with nonautistic group with odds ratios 0.55 (95% CI: 0.35-0.86) and 0.44 (95% CI: 0.31-0.62), respectively, indicating reduced risk. MTHFR 1298C-allele frequency was similar in both the groups (53.3 vs. 53.6%) and hence individually not associated with any risk. However, this allele was found to act additively in the presence of MTHFR 677T allele as evidenced by 8.11-fold (95% CI: 2.84-22.92) risk associated with MTHFR 677CT+TT/1298AC+CC genotypes cumulatively.MTHFR C677T is a risk factor, whereas MTRR A66G and SHMT C1420T polymorphisms reduce risk for autism. MTHFR A1298C acts additively in increasing the risk for autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]