Understanding the charge carriers dynamics in the La0.55Ca0.45Mn0.8Nb0.2O3 perovskite: scaling of electrical conductivity spectra

The present work proposes the best realistic theoretical approaches to examine the experimental conductivity data taken for La0.55Ca0.45Mn0.8Nb0.2O3. For this purpose, we comprehensively discussed the structural, microstructural, and electrical properties of the La0.55Ca0.45Mn0.8Nb0.2O3 perovskite. Both X-ray diffraction and Rietveld analysis show the orthorhombic structure of the ceramic. Scanning electron microscope showed the existence of well-defined irregularly shaped particles with a grain-size distribution of 0.843 μm. The X-ray photoemission spectroscopy reveals the existence of Mn3+ and Mn4+ states. The complicated behavior of the lanthanum states is demonstrated using the La3d line. AC-conductivity responses are related to the correlated barrier hopping contribution. At high temperatures, the compound's semiconductor behavior is attributed to the activation of the polaronic transport. At low temperatures, the occurrence of semiconductor behavior in the La0.55Ca0.45Mn0.8Nb0.2O3 ceramic is attributed to the effect of the variable range hopping conduction process. The application of the time-temperature-superposition-principle and the Summerfield scaling formalisms leads to the superposition of the isotherms. Using the Ghosh formalism, the superposition of the spectra confirms that the number density and the hopping distance are temperature-dependent. The superposition of the spectra suggested the temperature-independent relaxation and polaronic processes. In addition, it confirms that the relaxation mechanism is independent of the microstructure response.

Possibility of controlling the conduction mechanism by choosing a specific doping element in a praseodymium manganite system

Electrical properties of Pr0.7Ca0.3Mn0.9X0.1O3 (X = Co, Ni, Cr and Fe) systems have been investigated using impedance spectroscopy measurements. The reported results confirmed the role of cationic disorder on the transport properties of the doped Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 system. For the case of the substitution by Co and Ni and Fe transition metals, the lower temperature side has been marked by the activation of the hopping conductivity over the nearest sites. Moreover, the Shklovskii-Efros-variable range hopping conductivity mechanism has been observed in the case of the substitution by Cr element. In the high temperature range, the evolution of the resistance with temperature confirmed the activation of a hopping process. In such a temperature range, the conduction process of all the studied compounds is dominated by a thermally activated small polaron hopping mechanism. For the Pr0.7Ca0.3Mn0.9Cr0.1O3 compound, AC studies have confirmed that the electrical conductance should be investigated in terms of an activated quantum mechanical tunneling process. At higher frequencies, the Pr0.7Ca0.3Mn0.9Fe0.1O3 compound is characterized by the existence of a high frequency plateau. For the Pr0.7Ca0.3Mn0.9Fe0.1O3 ceramic, the dispersive region of the spectrum has confirmed the activation of the correlated barrier hopping mechanism. Thus, the conductance is found to follow the double Jonscher power law only for the temperature range of [80 K, 200 K]. For the Pr0.7Ca0.3Mn0.9Ni0.1O3 compound, the evolution of the frequency exponent has confirmed the activation of two conduction mechanisms. The non small polaron tunneling mechanism was activated at lower temperatures. Accordingly, the activation of the correlated barrier hopping mechanism was detected for the high temperature range. For Pr0.7Ca0.3Mn0.9Co0.1O3 manganite, the coexistence of two conduction mechanisms (correlated barrier hopping and the non small polaron tunneling) is noticed. The latter's were activated in the whole of the explored temperature range. Using the scaling model, the spectra of both Pr0.7Ca0.3Mn0.9Cr0.1O3 and Pr0.7Ca0.3Mn0.9Ni0.1O3 compounds merge into a single master curve, which confirms the validity of the time temperature superposition principle.

Structural, magnetic, electrical and dielectric properties of Pr0.8Na0.2MnO3 manganite

The orthorhombic Pr_0.8Na_0.2MnO₃ ceramic was prepared in polycrystalline form by a Pechini sol–gel method and its structural, magnetic, electrical and dielectric properties were investigated experimentally. A structural study confirms that the sample is single phase. Magnetic measurements show that the sample is a charge ordered manganite. The sample undergoes two successive magnetic phase transitions with the variation of temperature: a charge ordering transition occurred at T_CO = 212 K followed by a paramagnetic (PM) to ferromagnetic (FM) transition around T_C = 115 K. From an electrical point of view, a saturation region was marked in the conductivity as a function of temperature σ(T) curves at a specific temperature. The dc-conductivity (σ_dc) reaches a maximum value at 240 K. The obtained results are in good agreement with the temperature dependence of the average normalized change (ANC). We found that the conduction mechanism was governed by small polaron hopping (SPH) in the high temperature region and by variable range hopping (VRH) in the low temperature region. Complex impedance analysis indicates the presence of a non-Debye relaxation phenomenon in the system. Also, the compound was modeled by an electrical equivalent circuit. Then, the contribution of the grain boundary in the transport properties was confirmed.

The orthorhombic Pr_0.8Na_0.2MnO₃ ceramic was prepared in polycrystalline form by a Pechini sol–gel method and its structural, magnetic, electrical and dielectric properties were investigated experimentally.

Investigation of annealing effects on the physical properties of Ni0.6Zn0.4Fe1.5Al0.5O4 ferrite

In the present study, the structural, morphological, electrical, and dielectric properties of Ni_0.6Zn_0.4Fe_1.5Al_0.5O₄ annealed at 600 °C, 900 °C, and 1200 °C were investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the presence of the single-phase cubic spinel structure with the Fd3̄m space group. The SEM images of Ni_0.6Zn_0.4Fe_1.5Al_0.5O₄ nanoparticles demonstrated that these samples (Ni900 and Ni1200) were nano-sized and that the increase in annealing temperature enhanced the agglomeration rate. It was found that the electrical conductivity of the system improved on increasing the temperature over the whole explored range for the two low annealing temperatures, while this improvement declined after 500 K in the case of the highest annealing temperature. For such a sample, a metallic behavior was seen. The sample annealed at 1200 °C possessed the highest conductivity and the lowest activation energy. The impedance measurements were in good agreement with the conductivity plots and confirmed the emergence of a grain boundary effect with the increase in annealing temperature. For the sample annealed at the highest temperature, Z′ decreased rapidly with frequency. This sample exhibited the lowest defect density than the other samples. Consequently, its electrical conductivity increased. A Nyquist diagram was used to examine the contribution of the grains and grain boundary to conduction and to model each sample by an equivalent electrical circuit. The dielectric behavior of the investigated samples was correlated to the polarization effect.

In the present study, the structural, morphological, electrical, and dielectric properties of Ni_0.6Zn_0.4Fe_1.5Al_0.5O₄ annealed at 600 °C, 900 °C, and 1200 °C were investigated.

Study of magnetic and electrical properties of Pr0.65Ca0.25Ba0.1MnO3 manganite

The magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in Pr_0.65Ca_0.25Ba_0.1MnO₃ have been investigated supplemented by electrical data. X-ray diffraction shows that the sample crystallizes in the distorted orthorhombic system with the Pnma space group. Pr_0.65Ca_0.25Ba_0.1MnO₃ undergoes paramagnetic–ferromagnetic (PM–FM) phase transition at T_C ∼ 85 K. For a magnetic field change of 5 T, the maximum value of the magnetic entropy change (−ΔS^max_M) is estimated to be 4.4 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹ around T_C with a large relative cooling power (RCP) value of 263.5 J kg⁻¹. While the modified Arrott plots suggested that the magnetic transition belongs to the second order phase transitions, the universal curves of the rescaled magnetic entropy (ΔS_M) proved the opposite. The electrical properties of Pr_0.65Ca_0.25Ba_0.1MnO₃ have been investigated using impedance spectroscopy techniques. The dc-resistivity (σ_dc) study shows the presence of semiconductor behavior. Ac-conductivity (σ_ac) analysis shows that the conductivity is governed by a hopping process. From the analysis of the alternating regime, the exponent s variation obtained is in good agreement with Mott theory. The impedance spectrum analysis reveals the presence of a relaxation phenomenon. Based on these analyzes, the sample can be modeled by an electrical equivalent circuit.

The magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect in Pr_0.65Ca_0.25Ba_0.1MnO₃ compound have been investigated supplemented by electrical data.

Effect of erbium concentration on the structural, optical and electrical properties of a Bi4Ti3O12 system

We have studied the influence of erbium doping on the optical and electrical properties of a Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ compound.

Reply to “Electrical properties analysis of materials with ferroic order”

Real part of dielectric permittivity of the compound La_0.5Ca_0.2Ag_0.3MnO₃ as a function of temperature. The inset shows the plot of log(1/ε′ − 1/ε′_m) as a function of log(T − T_m) measured at 1 kHz.

Electric–dielectric properties and complex impedance analysis of La0.5Ca0.5−xAgxMnO3 manganites

The electric and dielectric properties of La_0.5Ca_0.5−xAg_xMnO₃ (LCMO–Ag with x = 0 and x = 0.4) were investigated using the impedance spectroscopy technique.

Conduction mechanism, impedance spectroscopic investigation and dielectric behavior of La0.5Ca0.5−xAgxMnO3 manganites with compositions below the concentration limit of silver solubility in perovskites (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2)

This study presents the electrical properties, complex impedance analysis and dielectrical behavior of La_0.5Ca_0.5−xAg_xMnO₃ manganites.

On the antioxidant properties of erythropoietin and its association with the oxidative-nitrosative stress response to hypoxia in humans

AIM

The aim of this study was to examine if erythropoietin (EPO) has the potential to act as a biological antioxidant and determine the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS

The rate at which its recombinant form (rHuEPO) reacts with hydroxyl (HO˙), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH˙) and peroxyl (ROO˙) radicals was evaluated in-vitro. The relationship between the erythopoietic and oxidative-nitrosative stress response to poikilocapneic hypoxia was determined separately in-vivo by sampling arterial blood from eleven males in normoxia and following 12 h exposure to 13% oxygen. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, ELISA and ozone-based chemiluminescence were employed for direct detection of ascorbate (A(˙-) ) and N-tert-butyl-α-phenylnitrone spin-trapped alkoxyl (PBN-OR) radicals, 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) and nitrite (NO2-).

RESULTS

We found rHuEPO to be a potent scavenger of HO˙ (kr = 1.03-1.66 × 10(11) m(-1) s(-1) ) with the capacity to inhibit Fenton chemistry through catalytic iron chelation. Its ability to scavenge DPPH˙ and ROO˙ was also superior compared to other more conventional antioxidants. Hypoxia was associated with a rise in arterial EPO and free radical-mediated reduction in nitric oxide, indicative of oxidative-nitrosative stress. The latter was confirmed by an increased systemic formation of A˙(-) , PBN-OR, 3-NT and corresponding loss of NO2- (P < 0.05 vs. normoxia). The erythropoietic and oxidative-nitrosative stress responses were consistently related (r = -0.52 to 0.68, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

These findings demonstrate that EPO has the capacity to act as a biological antioxidant and provide a mechanistic basis for its reported cytoprotective benefits within the clinical setting.

The SHARE road map: Healthgrids for biomedical research and healthcare

The HealthGrid White Paper was published at the third annual conference in Oxford in 2005. Starting from the conclusions of the White Paper, the EU funded SHARE project (http://www.eu-share.org) has aimed at identifying the most important steps and significant milestones towards wide deployment and adoption of healthgrids in Europe. The project has defined a strategy to address the issues identified in the action plan for European e-Health (COM(2004).356) and has devised a roadmap for the major technological and ethical and legal developments and social and economic investments needed for successful take up of healthgrids in the next 10 years. A "beta" version of the road map underwent full review by a panel of 25 prominent European experts at a workshop in December 2007. The present document is an executive policy summary of the final draft road map. It has sought to reconcile likely conflicts between technological developments and regulatory frameworks by bringing together the project's technical road map and conceptual map of ethical and legal issues and socio-economic prospects. A key tool in this process was a collection of case studies of healthgrid applications.