Amar B. Karki

Polyaniline-tungsten oxide metacomposites with tunable electronic properties†

Polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites reinforced with tungsten oxide (WO3) nanoparticles (NPs) and nanorods (NRs) are fabricated via a facile surface-initiated-polymerization (SIP) method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterizations reveal the uniform coating of polymer on the filler surface and a good dispersion of the nanofillers within the polymer matrix. Unique negative permittivity is observed in pure PANI and its nanocomposites. The switching frequency (frequency where real permittivity switches from negative to positive) can be easily tuned by changing the particle loading and filler morphology. Conductivity measurements are performed from 50∼290 K, and results show that the electron transportation in the nanocomposites follows a quasi 3-d variable range hopping (VRH) conduction mechanism. The extent of charge carrier delocalization calculated from VRH well explains the dielectric response of the metacomposites. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) reveal an enhanced thermal stability of the nanocomposites with the addition of nanofillers as compared to that of pure PANI.

Magnetic and electromagnetic evaluation of the magnetic nanoparticle filled polyurethane nanocomposites

The magnetic and electromagnetic wave absorption behavior of a flexible iron-nanoparticle reinforced polyurethane nanocomposite is reported. Surface-initiated-polymerization (SIP) method was utilized to fabricate high-quality nanocomposites with uniform particle distribution and tunable particle loading (up to 65wt%). The enhancement of coercive force is observed when the nanoparticles are embedded into the polymer matrix. Electromagnetic wave absorption performance at a discrete frequency as studied by metal-backed reflection loss indicates that the SIP nanocomposites can save the weight up to 50% compared to the composite counterpart with micron-size particles.

Giant magnetoresistance behavior of an iron/carbonized polyurethane nanocomposite

This letter describes the magnetoresistance (MR) behavior of the heat treated polyurethane composites reinforced with iron nanoparticles. The flexible nanocomposites were fabricated by the surface-initiated-polymerization method. The uniformly distributed nanoparticles within the polymer matrix, well characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, favor a continuous carbon matrix formation, rendering the transition from insulating to conductive composites. The coercive forces reflect strong particle loading and matrix dependent magnetic properties. By simply annealing in a reducing environment, the obtained nanocomposites possess a MR of 7.3% at room temperature and 14% at 130K occurring at a field of 90kOe.

Flexible high-loading particle-reinforced polyurethane magnetic nanocomposite fabrication through particle-surface-initiated polymerization

Flexible high-loading nanoparticle-reinforced polyurethane magnetic nanocomposites fabricated by the surface-initiated polymerization (SIP) method are reported. Extensive field emission scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and atomic force microscopic (AFM) observations revealed a uniform particle distribution within the polymer matrix. X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) revealed a strong chemical bonding between the nanoparticles and the polymer matrix. The elongation of the SIP nanocomposite under tensile test was about four times greater than that of the composite fabricated by a conventional direct mixing fabrication method. The nanocomposite shows particle-loading-dependent magnetic properties, with an increase of coercive force after the magnetic nanoparticles were embedded into the polymer matrix, arising from the increased interparticle distance and the introduced polymer?particle interactions.

Magnetic and magnetoresistance behaviors of particulate iron/vinyl ester resin nanocomposites

Magnetoresistance (MR) behavior of vinyl ester monomer stabilized iron nanoparticles and heat-treated vinyl ester resin nanocomposites reinforced with iron nanoparticles were investigated. Vinyl ester monomer serves as a coupling agent with one side covalently bound onto the nanoparticle surface by a displacement reaction and the other end copolymerized with extra vinyl ester resin to form a robust entity. The particle loading and type of material (polymer or carbonized polymer) have a significant effect on the magnetic and MR properties. The heat-treated nanocomposites follow a tunneling conduction. After reduction annealing, the obtained nanocomposites possess a room temperature MR of 8.3 % at a field of 90 kOe.

Fabrication and characterization of electrodeposited antimony telluride crystalline nanowires and nanotubes

Arrays of nanowires and nanotubes of antimony-telluride (Sb2Te3) have been fabricated by an electrodeposition technique. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to characterize the morphology and size of the fabricated Sb2Te3 nanowires and nanotubes. Wavelength dispersive spectroscopy analysis confirmed the composition of the fabricated nanowires and nanotubes. The composition of the nanowires fabricated at a cathodic current density of 10 mA cm−2 and nanotubes fabricated at a cathodic current density of 5.5 mA cm−2 was found to be ∼39% Sb and ∼61% Te (2 : 3 ratio between Sb and Te). The fabricated Sb2Te3 nanowire and nanotube arrays were found to be polycrystalline with no preferred orientation. The average lamellar thickness of the nanowires and nanotube crystallites was determined using the Scherrer equation and found to be ∼36 nm and ∼43 nm, respectively. The measured room temperature Seebeck coefficients for the Sb2Te3 nanowires and nanotubes were +359 µV K−1 and +332 µV K−1, respectively, confirming that the Sb2Te3 nanowires and nanotubes were p-type. The electrical resistance measurements indicated that the resistance of the Sb2Te3 nanowires and nanotubes decreased with increasing temperature, consistent with semiconducting behavior.

Crystal Growth, Transport, and the Structural and Magnetic Properties of Ln4FeGa12 with Ln = Y, Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er

Ln(4)FeGa(12), where Ln is Y, Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er, prepared by flux growth, crystallize with the cubic Y(4)PdGa(12) structure with the Im3m space group and with a = 8.5650(4), 8.5610(4), 8.5350(3), 8.5080(3), and 8.4760(3) A, respectively. The crystal structure consists of an iron-gallium octahedra and face-sharing rare-earth cuboctahedra of the Au(3)Cu type. Er(4)Fe(0.67)Ga(12) is iron-deficient, leading to a distortion of the octahedral and cuboctahedral environments due to the splitting of the Ga2 site into Ga2 and Ga3 sites. Further, interstitial octahedral sites that are unoccupied in Ln(4)FeGa(12) (Ln = Y, Tb, Dy, and Ho) are partially occupied by Fe2. Y(4)FeGa(12) exhibits weak itinerant ferromagnetism below 36 K. In contrast, Tb(4)FeGa(12), Dy(4)FeGa(12), Ho(4)FeGa(12), and Er(4)Fe(0.67)Ga(12) order antiferromagnetically with maxima in the molar magnetic susceptibilities at 26, 18.5, 9, and 6 K. All of the compounds exhibit metallic electric resistivity, and their iron-57 Mossbauer spectra, obtained between 4.2 and 295 K, exhibit a single-line absorption with a 4.2 K isomer shift of ca. 0.50 mm/s, a shift that is characteristic of iron in an iron-gallium intermetallic compound. A small but significant broadening in the spectral absorption line width is observed for Y(4)FeGa(12) below 40 K and results from the small hyperfine field arising from its spin-polarized itinerant electrons.

Effect of chemical doping on the thermoelectric properties of FeGa3

Thermoelectric properties of the chemically-doped intermetallic narrow-band semiconductor FeGa3 are reported. The parent compound shows semiconductor-like behavior with a small bandgap (Eg = 0.2 eV), a carrier density of ∼1018 cm−3, and a large n-type Seebeck coefficient (S ∼ − 400 μV/K) at room temperature. Hall effect measurements indicate that chemical doping significantly increases the carrier density, resulting in a metallic state, while the Seebeck coefficient still remains fairly large (∼− 150 μV/K). The largest power factor (S2/ρ = 62 μW/m K2) was observed for Fe0.99Co0.01(Ga0.997Ge0.003)3, and its corresponding figure of merit (ZT = 1.3 × 10−2) at 390 K improved by over a factor of 5 from the pure material.

Structure and physical properties of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor Mo 3 Al 2 C

We have synthesized polycrystalline samples of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor Mo3Al2C by arc and RF melting, measured its transport, magnetic and thermodynamic properties, and computed its band structure. Experimental results indicate a bulk superconducting transition at Tc9.2 K while the density of states at the Fermi surface is found to be dominated by Mo d orbitals. Using the measured values for the lower critical field Hc1, upper critical field Hc2, and the specific heat C, we estimated the thermodynamic critical field Hc0, coherence length 0, penetration depth 0, and the Ginzburg-Landau parameter 0. The specificheat jump at Tc, C /Tc=2.14, suggests that Mo3Al2C is moderately to strongly coupled, consistent with the fast opening of the gap, as evidenced by the rapid release of entropy below Tc from our electronic specific-heat measurements. Above 2 K the electronic specific heat exhibits the power-law behavior, suggesting that synthesis of single crystals and measurements at lower temperature are needed to establish whether the gap is anisotropic. The estimated value of the upper critical field Hc20 is close to the calculated Pauli limit, therefore further studies are needed to determine whether the absence of an inversion center results in a significant admixture of the triplet component of the order parameter.

PdTe: a strongly coupled superconductor

We report the electrical transport, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties of polycrystalline PdTe which exhibits superconductivity below 4.5 K. Using the measured values for the lower (H(c1)) and upper (H(c2)) critical fields, and the specific heat C(p), we estimate the thermodynamic critical field H(c)(0), coherence length ξ(0), penetration depth λ(0), and the Ginzburg-Landau parameter κ. Compared with band structure calculations, the density of states at the Fermi level is enhanced due to electron-phonon coupling with λ(ep) = 1.4. Furthermore, the large values of ΔC(p)/γ(n)T(c) and 2Δ(0)/k(B)T(c) suggest that PdTe is a strongly coupled superconductor.