Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) are an emerging alternative to lithium-ion batteries because of the abundance of sodium resources and their potentially lower cost. Here we report the NaMnO solid state synthesized at 1000 °C that shows two distinct phases; one adopts hexagonal P2-type 6/ space group symmetry, and the other adopts orthorhombic space group symmetry. The phase ratio of P2 to the orthorhombic phase is 55.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe double perovskite BaCoOsO, synthesized using solid-state methods at ambient pressure, is shown as a rare example of an oxide adopting the 6L-trigonal (S.G.: 3̅1) perovskite structure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe structure and thermal expansion of the astronomical molecule propionitrile have been determined from 100 to 150 K using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction. This temperature range correlates with the conditions of Titan's lower stratosphere, and near surface, where propionitrile is thought to accumulate and condense into pure and mixed-nitrile phases. Propionitrile was determined to crystallize in space group, Pnma (No.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we have examined ceramic matrix composites with silicon carbide fibers in a melt-infiltrated silicon carbide matrix (SiC/SiC). We subjected samples to tensile loads while collecting micro X-ray computed tomography images. The results showed the expected crack slowing mechanisms and lower resistance to crack propagation where the fibers ran parallel and perpendicular to the applied load respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction measurements have demonstrated that SrUO undergoes a reversible phase transformation under reducing conditions at high temperatures, associated with the ordering of oxygen defects resulting in a lowering of crystallographic symmetry. When substoichiometric rhombohedral α-SrUO, in space group R3̅ m with disordered in-plane oxygen defects, is heated above 200 °C in a hydrogen atmosphere it undergoes a first order phase transformation to a (disordered) triclinic polymorph, δ-SrUO, in space group P1̅. Continued heating to above 450 °C results in the appearance of superlattice reflections, due to oxygen-vacancy ordering forming an ordered structure δ-SrUO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe structure of TcO between 25 and 1000 °C has been determined in situ using X-ray powder diffraction methods and is found to remain monoclinic in space group P2/c. Thermal expansion in TcO is highly anisotropic, with negative thermal expansion of the b axis observed above 700 °C. This is the result of an anomalous expansion along the a axis that is a consequence of weakening of the Tc-Tc bonds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe structural and magnetic properties of the two Ir(V) perovskites BaScIrO and SrScIrO were established. The structures were refined using a combined neutron and synchrotron data set. At room temperature the former has a cubic structure in space group Fm3̅m with a = 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn situ neutron and synchrotron X-ray diffraction studies demonstrate that SrUO4 acts as an oxygen transfer agent, forming oxygen vacancies under both oxidizing and reducing conditions. Two polymorphs of SrUO4 are stable at room temperature, and the transformation between these is observed to be associated with thermally regulated diffusion of oxygen ions, with partial reduction of the U(6+) playing a role in both the formation of oxygen deficient α-SrUO4-δ and its subsequent transformation to stoichiometric β-SrUO4. This is supported by ab initio calculations using density functional theory calculations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhen studying electro-mechanical materials, observing the structural changes during the actuation process is necessary for gaining a complete picture of the structure-property relationship as certain mechanisms may be meta-stable during actuation. In situ diffraction methods offer a powerful and direct means of quantifying the structural contributions to the macroscopic strain of these materials. Here, a sample cell is demonstrated capable of measuring the structural variations of electro-mechanical materials under applied electric potentials up to 10 kV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe crystal structures of the series of ordered double perovskites Ba(2-x)Sr(x)YIrO6 (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) were refined using a combination of high-resolution synchrotron X-ray and high-intensity neutron diffraction data. The materials displayed a sequence of structures Fm3̅m(a(0)a(0)a(0)) (x = 0.6)--> I4/m(a(0)a(0)c(-)) (x = 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFigures 7 and 8 of the article by Clancy et al. [(2015), J. Synchrotron Rad.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper describes the quantitative measurement, by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction (S-XRD) and subsequent Rietveld-based quantitative phase analysis and thickness calculations, of the evolution of the PbO2 and PbSO4 surface layers formed on a pure lead anode under simulated copper electrowinning conditions in a 1.6 M H2SO4 electrolyte at 318 K. This is the first report of a truly in situ S-XRD study of the surface layer evolution on a Pb substrate under cycles of galvanostatic and power interruption conditions, of key interest to the mining, solvent extraction and lead acid battery communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe usefulness of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles has led to their wide distribution in consumer products, despite only a limited understanding of how this nanomaterial behaves within biological systems. From a nanotoxicological viewpoint the interaction(s) of ZnO nanoparticles with cells of the immune system is of specific interest, as these nanostructures are readily phagocytosed. In this study, rapid scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy was used to assay the number ZnO nanoparticles associated with ∼1000 individual THP-1 monocyte-derived human macrophages.
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