Thèses sur le sujet « Single Phase Multiferroic Materials »

Multiferroic materials are a very exotic type of materials which present simultaneously two or more ferroic properties. Magnetoelectric multiferroics, in particular, are a very prominent class of materials, mainly due to their outstanding foreseen applications such as magnetic sensors, energy harvester/conversion devices, and high efficiency memories. However, intrinsic magnetoelectric materials are quite rare and do not have, yet, the adequate properties to the everyday applications. One of the reasons for this to occur is due to the requirements for magnetism and ferroelectricity in matter being a priori contradictory, since the former needs unfilled dn orbitals, while the latter favours d0 orbitals. Nevertheless, extrinsic magnetoelectric multiferroics do not suffer from this problem because they do not share the same phase, hence being a very promising approach to engineer adequate magnetoelectric multiferroics. This thesis focus on the study of Fe and BaTiO3 systems as a means of achieving novel magnetoelectric effects. It is shown that a peculiar type of BaTiO3:Fe auto-composite presents an ordered magnetic behaviour, despite the concentration of Fe being as low as 113 atomic ppm. The Fe magnetization displays two abrupt changes in its spontaneous value, one with M/M ≈ 32% and the other with M/M ≈ 14%. These magnetic transitions are correlated the BaTiO3 orthorhombic↔tetragonal and tetragonal↔cubic ferroelectric phase transitions. This magnetoelectric auto-composite was the motivation to resort to Density Functional Theory (DFT) modeling as a means to discover the microscopic mechanism(s) behind such a strong magnetoelectric effect. The study of an iron monolayer placed upon several possible BaTiO3 unit cells lead to the discovery of several interfaces with abrupt changes in their spontaneous magnetization, either through the enhancement and reduction of the Fe magnetic moments, or through the change between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic order of the Fe monolayer. However, the highlight of these DFT studies lies in the discovery of a particular kind of interfaces, namely in the BTO221_2ndFe and BTO99_2ndFe supercells, where there is a High-Spin–Low-Spin state transition which can quench completely the atomic magnetic moment of each of Fe atom, depending on the local crystal field felt by the Fe atoms. Based on this specific effect, where it is possible to turn on and off the magnetic moments of the Fe atoms, a magnetoelectric multiferroic device was proposed. Knowing the importance of the crystal field for the High-Spin–Low-Spin state transition, a thorough study regarding the Electric Field Gradient (EFG) of each possible BaTiO3 site was performed, resorting to a combined study of DFT and Perturbed Angular Correlations (PAC) spectroscopy. In this study, it was concluded that the PAC spectroscopy is not the most adequate hyperfine technique to be used in a quantitative study of the BaTiO3/Fe interfaces EFG tensor, due to the non-negligible effects of the radioactive probe on the BaTiO3 matrix. Finally, the deposition of BTO/Fe heterostructures on LaAlO3, MgO, Al2O3 and SrTiO3 substrates using RF-Sputtering, and the Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) deposition of Fe layers on BaTiO3 cut at the (100), (110) and (111) planes were performed as an attempt to recreate the interfaces with the most appealing magnetoelectric effects predicted in the DFT modeling. The thin films deposited using sputtering showed the growth of many Fe, Ba-Ti-O and Fe-Ti-O oxides depending strongly on their substrate, as well as in the deposition and annealing conditions. Still no magnetoelectric coupling was observed in such thin films. On the other hand the Fe thin films deposited on BaTiO3 substrates showed large magnetoelectric couplings between the BaTiO3 ferroelectric phase transitions and the magnetization of the Fe layers (similarly to what happened in the BaTiO3:Fe auto-composite). The magnitude of this magnetoelectric couplings is strongly correlated with the BTO interface where the Fe was deposited, showing a huge change in spontaneous magnetization and coercivity for the rhombohedral↔orthorhombic ferroelectric phase transition up to M/M ≈ 148% and HC/HC ≈ 183% respectively for the (110) case.
Materiais Multiferróicos são um tipo de materiais bastante exótico que apresentam simultaneamente dois ou mais tipos de propriedades ferróicas. Multiferróicos magnetoelétricos, em particular, são uma classe de materiais muito proeminente, principalmente devido às suas espantosas aplicações tecnológicas, tais como sensores magnéticos, dispositivos de conversão/colheita de energia, e memórias the alta eficiência. Todavia, materiais magnetoelétricos intrínsecos são verdadeiramente raros e ainda não possuem propriedades adequadas ao uso do dia-a-dia. Uma das razões para que isto aconteça prende-se com o facto dos requisitos para existência de magnetismo e ferroeletricidade na matéria serem a priori contraditórios, uma vez que enquanto os primeiros necessitam de orbitais dn semipreenchidas, os últimos tendem a favorecer orbitais d0. Porém, Multiferróicos magnetoelétricos extrínsecos não sofrem desta limitação pois não partilham a mesma fase sendo portanto uma abordagem promissora para a construção de um bom Multiferróico magnetoelétrico. Esta tese focar-se-á no estudo de sistemas contendo Fe e BaTiO3 como meio de se alcançarem novos efeitos magnetoelétricos. Um auto-compósito de BaTiO3:Fe é apresentado, que apesar da sua diminuta concentração de Fe (apenas 113 ppm atómicas), ainda assim apresenta um comportamento magnético ordenado. A magnetização do Fe apresenta duas variações bruscas no seu valor espontâneo, uma com M/M ≈ 32% e outra com M/M ≈ 14%. Estas transições magnéticas estão correlacionadas com as transições de fase ferroelétricas do BaTiO3 (ortorrômbica↔tetragonal e tetragonal↔cúbica). Este auto-compósito magnetoelétrico foi a motivação par ao uso da Teoria de Densidade Funcional (DFT) como meio para descobrir os mecanismos microscópicos por trás deste acoplamento magnetoelétrico tão intenso. O estudo de uma mono-camada de Fe colocada sobre várias células unitárias de BaTiO3 levaram à descoberta de várias interfaces com mudanças abruptas na sua magnetização espontânea, ora através do aumento ou diminuição dos momentos magnéticos do Fe, ora através da mudança entre a natureza antiferromagnética ou ferromagnética da camada de Fe. Contudo, o destaque dos estudos de DFT reside na descoberta de um tipo particular de interfaces onde ocorre uma transição de estado High-Spin–Low-Spin que consegue colapsar completamente o momento magnético atómico dos átomos de Fe, dependendo do campo cristalino local sentido por esses mesmos átomos. Baseado neste efeito, um dispositivo Multiferróico magnetoelétrico foi proposto. Sabendo a importância do campo cristalino para as transições de estado High-Spin–Low-Spin state, um estudo minucioso foi feito relativo ao gradiente de campo elétrico (EFG) nos sítios possíveis do BaTiO3, usando um estudo combinado entre Correlações Angulares Perturbadas (PAC) e DFT. Neste estudo, concluiu-se que PAC não é uma técnica hiperfina adequada para o estudo quantitativo do tensor EFG de interfaces de BaTiO3/Fe, dados os efeitos não desprezáveis das sondas radioativas na matriz de BaTiO3. Finalmente, foi feita a deposição de Heteroestruturas de BTO/Fe em substratos de LaAlO3, MgO, Al2O3 e SrTiO3 usando RF-Sputtering, assim como deposição de camadas de Fe em substratos de BaTiO3 cortados nos planos (100), (110) e (111) planes, usando Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), numa tentativa de recrear as interfaces com efeitos magnetoelétricos mais apelativos, previstos pela modelação DFT. Os filmes finos depositados por sputtering mostraram o crescimento de múltiplos óxidos de Fe, Ba-Ti-O e Fe-Ti-O dependendo fortemente do substrato onde foram crescidos, assim como das condições de deposição e tratamentos térmicos. Porém, nenhum efeito magnetoelétrico foi observado nestes filmes. Por outro lado, os filmes depositados nos substratos de BaTiO3 mostraram grandes acoplamentos magnetoelétricos entre as fases ferroelétricas do BTO e a magnetização das camadas de Fe (à semelhança do que aconteceu no auto-compósito de BaTiO3:Fe). A ordem de grandeza destes acoplamentos está fortemente correlacionada com a interface do BTO onde o Fe foi depositado, apresentando uma enorme variação na magnetização espontânea e na coercividade para o caso da transição romboédrica↔ortorrômbica, até M/M ≈ 148% e HC/HC ≈ 183% respetivamente para o caso da orientação (110).
Tese realizada com apoio financeiro da FCT através da bolsa SFRH/BD/93336/2013.
Programa Doutoral em Física

This thesis addresses mass transfer in multi-phase single particle systems. By using a novel technique based upon the micropipette, the dissolution of liquid and gas droplets in a liquid medium can be observed. Three classes of experimental systems are observed: pure liquid droplet dissolution in a pure liquid environment, miscible mixture liquid droplet dissolution in a pure liquid environment, and solute-containing liquid droplet dissolution in a pure liquid environment. Experiments on the dissolution of pure droplets of water in n-alcohols and n-alkanes showed that water droplets dissolved ten times faster in the alcohols as compared to in the alkanes. When solubility was taken into account, however, and diffusion coefficients calculated using the Epstein-Plesset equation, diffusion constants for alkanes were twenty five times higher in alkanes than for the corresponding alcohol (for example 12.5 vs 0.5 x 10-8 cm2/s for pentane and pentanol). This difference in rates of diffusion of the single molecules reflects the effect of hydrogen bonding on small solute diffusion, which is expounded upon in Chapter 2.

A model for the dissolution of a droplet containing a mixture, each component of which is soluble in the surrounding liquid medium is presented in Chapter 3. The model is based upon a reduced surface area approximation and the assumption of ideal homogenous mixing : Mass flux (dm_i)/dt=〖Afrac〗_i D_i (c_i-c_s){1/R+1/√(πD_i t)}, where Afraci is the area fraction of component i, ci and cs are the initial and saturation concentrations of the droplet material in the surrounding medium, respectively, R is the radius of the droplet, t is time, and Di is the coefficient of diffusion of component i in the surrounding medium. This model was tested for the dissolution of ethyl acetate and butyl acetate in water and the dissolution of butyl acetate and amyl acetate in water, and was found to provide a good fit. In Chapter 4, a partial differential equation, R^2/D ├ ∂c/∂t┤|_η=(∝η)/D ∂c/∂η+(∂^2 c)/〖∂η〗^2 +2/η ∂c/∂η, is presented for the dissolution of a solute containing droplet in a liquid medium, and shell or bead formation is predicted. In Chapter 5, an application of the solute containing droplet dissolution is presented in which suspensions of glassified protein microspehres are used to improve the injectability of protein based pharmaceuticals. Injectability is related to viscosity, and the viscosity of a suspension may be predicted to follow the Krieger Dougherty equation: (η(Φ))/η_0 =(1-Φ/Φ_m )^(-2.5Φ_m ) , where Φ is the volume fraction of the suspensate, η is the viscosity of the overall suspension, η0 is the viscosity of the suspending fluid, and Φm is the maximum possible volume fraction. Finally, in Chapter 6, various experimental methods used to generate droplets are addressed.

Dissertation

After the prediction of magnetoelectric effect in Cr2O3, in early 1960's, D. Asrov became the first to experimentally verify this phenomenon. After the pioneering work on magnetoelectric materials in 1960's and 1970's, the discovery of large magnetoelectric effect in orthorhombic rare-earth manganite TbMnO3 has revived great interest in magnetoelectric materials, especially during the last decade. Magnetoelectric multiferroics have great potential in applications such as novel memory storage devices and sensors. As a result of extensive theoretical and experimental investigations conducted on rare-earth magnetoelectric manganites, TbMnO3 has become a prototype magnetoelectric multiferroic material. Orthorhombic rare-earth manganites RMnO3 (R = Gd, Tb and Dy) exhibit improper ferroelectricity where the origin of ferroelectricity is purely magnetic in nature. RMnO3 exhibit diverse and complex magnetic interactions and phases. Doped manganites of the type R1-xAxMnO3 (A = Ca, Sr and Ba) present a rich magnetic and electronic phase diagram. The doping concentration, average ion-size and size mismatch (i.e. disor-der) at A-site, all contribute to determine the ground state. A variety of magnetic phases, competing with each other, are responsible for many functional properties like magnetoelectric effect, colossal magnetoresistance (CMR), magnetostriction and magnetocaloric effect (MCE). In this context, studies of magnetoelectric materials are of great relevance from technical as well as fundamental aspects. Notably, complexity of electronic (and magnetic) phases and experimental difficulties in acquiring reliable measurement-data easily are the most concerning issues in establishing a clear understanding of magnetoelectric materials. In the magnetic phase diagram of RMnO3, GdMnO3 lies on the border between A-type antiferromagnetic and cycloidal antiferromagnetic ground states. Cycloidal spin arrangement is responsible for the induction of ferroelectricity in these materials. There are disparate opinions about the ground state of GdMnO3 (whether the ground state is ferroelectric or not). Understanding of the influence of rare-earth magnetic sublattice on magnetism in GdMnO3 (at low temperature) lacks clarity till date. Neutron scattering studies on GdMnO3 due to high absorption cross-section of Gd ion, yield little success in determining the nature of complex magnetic phases in this material. Interestingly, an earlier report on strontium-substituted gadolinium manganite Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 demonstrated the spontaneous electric polarization and related magnetoelectric effect. It was hypothesized that the observed ferroelectricity could be improper and electronic in nature. Strontium doping facilitates quenched disorder that leads to interesting magnetic phases and phase transitions. In order to understand the physical properties of gadolinium manganites and to unravel the relationship between them, it is essential to investigate high quality single crystals of these materials. This thesis deals with growth and investigation of several important physical phenomena of gadolinium manganites such as magnetic, electric, magnetoelectric and magnetocaloric properties. The thesis is organized in seven chapters. A brief summary of each chapter follows: Chapter:1 This chapter provides general introduction to magnetoelectric effect and multiferroicity. The term multiferroicity refers to simultaneous existence of magnetic and electric ordering in a single phase material. Magnetoelectric multiferroics have shown great potential for several applications. They exhibit cross coupling between the electronic and magnetic order parameters, hence basics of various magnetic interactions (and magnetism) are brie y discussed in the rst section of the chapter. It is followed by a brief discussion about the principle of magnetoelectric effect. Magnetoelctric coupling is broadly classified into two types namely, direct coupling and indirect coupling. In the former, the emphasis is given on linear magnetoelectric effect. The concept of multiferroicity is introduced in the next section followed by a brief overview and application potential of multiferroics. Further, classi cation scheme of multiferroic materials is discussed. The concept of improper ferroelectricity and description of subcategories namely, magnetic ferroelectric, geometric ferroelectric and electronic ferroelectric are documented. Magnetic ferroelectric category is considered the most relevant; featuring the type of ferroelectric material as GdMnO3 referred in this thesis. The microscopic theory for mechanism of ferroelectricity in spiral antiferromagnets is presented. While brie ng the thermodynamic background of the magnetocaloric effect, indirect estimation of two important characteristics namely, isothermal magnetic entropy change (∆SM ) and adiabatic change in temperature (∆Tad) under the application of magnetic field are dealt with. In the last part of the chapter, motivation and scope of the thesis is discussed. Chapter:2 This chapter outlines various experimental methodologies adopted in this work. It describes the basic principles of various experimental techniques and related experimental apparatuses used. The chapter starts with the synthesis tech-niques used in the preparation of different compounds studied. The principle of oat-zone method, employed for single-crystal growth, is described. Orientation of single crystals was determined using a home-built back- reflection Laue set up. The basics of Laue reflection and indexing procedure for recorded Laue photographs are described. Various physical properties (electric, magnetic, thermal, magnetoelectric and magnetocaloric properties) were studied using commercial as well as home-built experimental apparatuses. Design and working principle of all the experimental tools are outlined in this chapter. Fabrication details, interfacing of measurement instruments and calibration (standardization) of equipment used in this work are described in appropriate sections. Chapter:3 Chapter-3 describes the investigation of various physical properties of high quality single crystals of magnetoelectric multiferroics, GdMnO3. Synthesis of GdMnO3 is carried out using solid state synthesis route. Single phase nature of the material is confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction technique. Single crystals of GdMnO3 are grown in argon ambience using oat-zone method. As grown crystals are oriented with the help of back-reflection Laue method. GdMnO3 exhibits incommensurate collinear antiferromagnetic phase below 42 K and transforms to canted A-type antiferromagnetic phase below 23 K. Magnetic and specific heat studies have revealed very sharp features near the magnetic transitions which also confirm the high quality of the single crystal. dc magnetization studies illustrate the anisotropic behavior in canted A-type antiferromagnetic phase and clarifies the influence of rare-earth magnetic sub-lattice on overall magnetism (at low temperature). Application of magnetic field (above 10 kOe) along `b' axis helps formation of the cycloidal antiferromagnetic phase. Here, spontaneous electric polarization is induced along `a' axis. The temperature variation plot of dielectric constant, ϵa (under ap- plied magnetic field along `b' axis) shows sharp anomalies in the vicinity of magnetic ordering transitions suggesting magnetodielectric effects. Magnetic field tuning of electric polarization establish the magnetoelectric nature of GdMnO3. Magnetocaloric properties of single crystals of GdMnO3 are investigated using magnetic and magnetothermal measurements. The magnitude of the giant magnetocaloric effect observed is compared with that of other rare-earth manganite multiferroics. Magnetocaloric studies shed light on magnetic ordering of rare-earth ion Gd3+. The phenomenon of inverse magnetocaloric effect observed at low temperature and under low fields is possibly linked to the ordering of Gd3+ spins. Complex interactions between the 3d and 4f magnetic sublattices are believed to influence magnetocaloric properties. Chapter:4 The details of synthesis and single crystal growth of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 using oat-zone method are presented in Chapter 4. Single phase nature of the material is veri ed by carrying out powder x-ray diffraction analysis and confirmation of single crystallinity and orientation through back-reflection Laue method. Electric transport studies reveal semiconductor-like nature of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 until the lowest temperature achieved. This is due to charge localization process which occurs concurrently with decrease in temperature. Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 exhibits charge-ordered insulator (COI) phase below 90 K (ac-cording to an earlier report). It is found that under application of magnetic field above a critical value, charge ordering melts and the phase transforms to ferromagnetic metallic (FMM) phase. This transformation is first-order in nature with associated CMR (109%). The first-order phase transition (FOPT) occurs between competing COI and FMM phases and manifests as hysteresis across the FOPT. Strontium doping at A-site induces a large size mismatch at A-site resulting in high quenched disorder in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3. The disorder plays a significant role in CMR as well as glass-like dynamics within the low-temperature magnetic phase. ac susceptibility studies and dynamic scaling analysis reveal very slow dynamics inside the low-temperature magnetic phase (below 32 K). According to an earlier report, spontaneous electric polarization and magnetoelectric effect were pronounced near FOPT (at 4.5 K and 100 kOe) between COI and FMM phases. It is prudent to investigate FOPT across COI and FMM phases in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 to understand complex magnetic phases present. Thermodynamic limits of the FOPT (in magnetic field - temperature (H-T) plane), such as supercooling and superheating, are experimentally determined from magnetization and magnetotransport measurements. Interestingly, thermomagnetic anomalies such as open hysteresis loops are observed while traversing the FOPT isothermally or isomagnetically in the H-T plane. These anomalies point towards incomplete phase transformation while crossing the FOPT. Phenomenological model of kinetic arrest is invoked to understand these anomalies. The model put for-ward the idea that while cooling across the FOPT, extraction of specific heat is easier than that of latent heat. In other words, phase transformation across FOPT is thermodynamically allowed but kinetics becomes very slow and phase transformation does not occur at the conventional experimental time scale. Magnetization relaxation measurements (at 89 kOe) with field-cooled magnetization protocol reveal that the relaxation time constant rst decreases with temperature and later, increases non-monotonically below 30 K. This qualita-tive behavior indicates glass-like arrest of the FOPT. Further, thermal cycling studies of zero field-cooled (ZFC) and eld-cooled (FC) magnetization indicate that a low temperature phase prepared with ZFC and FC protocols (at 89 kOe) is not at equilibrium. This confirms the kinetic arrest of FOPT and formation of magnetic phase similar to glass. Chapter:5 Chapter-5 deals with the investigation of the effect of an electric field on charge ordered phase in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 single crystals. As discussed in the previous chapter, application of magnetic field above a critical value collapses the charge ordered phase which transforms to FMM phase. In this view, it is interesting to investigate effect of electric field on the charge ordering. There are various reports on doped manganites such as Pr1-xCaxMnO3 (x = 0:3 to 0:4) that claim melting of charge ordering under application of electric field (or current) above a critical value. In this thesis work, current - voltage (I - V) characteristics of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 are studied at various constant temperatures. Preliminary measurements show that the I-V characteristics are highly non-linear and are accompanied by the onset of negative differential resistance (NDR) above a critical current value. However, we suspect a major contribution of Joule heating in realization of the NDR. Continual I - V loop measurements for five loops revealed thermal drag and that the onset of NDR shifts systematically towards high current values until it disappeared in the current window. Two strategies were employed to investigate the role of Joule heating in realization of NDR: 1) monitoring the sample surface temperature during electric transport measurement and 2) reducing of the Joule heating in a controlled manner by using pulsed current I - V measuremenets. By tuning the duty cycle of the current pulses (or in other words, by controlling the Joule heating in the sample), it was feasible to shift the onset of NDR to any desired value of the current. At low magnitude of the duty cycle in the current range upto 40 mA, the NDR phenomenon did not occur. These experiments concluded that the NDR in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 is a consequence of the Joule heating. Chapter:6 `Chapter-6 deals with the thermal and magnetocaloric properties of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 oriented single crystals. Magnetocaloric properties of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 have been studied using magnetic and magnetothermal measurements. Tempera-ture variation of ∆SM is estimated for magnetic field change of 0 - 70 kOe. The eld 70 kOe is well below the critical magnetic eld required for FOPT between COI and FMM phases. Magnetzation - field (M-H) loop shows minimal hysteresis for measurements up to 70 kOe. The minimal hysteresis behavior al-lows one to make fairly accurate estimation of magnetocaloric properties. ∆Tad was separately estimated from specific heat measurements at different magnetic fields. Specific heat studies show the presence of Schottky-like anomaly at low temperature. Chapter:7 Finally, Chapter-7 summarizes various experimental results, analyses and conclusions. A broad outlook of the work in general with future scope of research in this area are outlined in this chapter.

After the prediction of magnetoelectric effect in Cr2O3, in early 1960's, D. Asrov became the first to experimentally verify this phenomenon. After the pioneering work on magnetoelectric materials in 1960's and 1970's, the discovery of large magnetoelectric effect in orthorhombic rare-earth manganite TbMnO3 has revived great interest in magnetoelectric materials, especially during the last decade. Magnetoelectric multiferroics have great potential in applications such as novel memory storage devices and sensors. As a result of extensive theoretical and experimental investigations conducted on rare-earth magnetoelectric manganites, TbMnO3 has become a prototype magnetoelectric multiferroic material. Orthorhombic rare-earth manganites RMnO3 (R = Gd, Tb and Dy) exhibit improper ferroelectricity where the origin of ferroelectricity is purely magnetic in nature. RMnO3 exhibit diverse and complex magnetic interactions and phases. Doped manganites of the type R1-xAxMnO3 (A = Ca, Sr and Ba) present a rich magnetic and electronic phase diagram. The doping concentration, average ion-size and size mismatch (i.e. disor-der) at A-site, all contribute to determine the ground state. A variety of magnetic phases, competing with each other, are responsible for many functional properties like magnetoelectric effect, colossal magnetoresistance (CMR), magnetostriction and magnetocaloric effect (MCE). In this context, studies of magnetoelectric materials are of great relevance from technical as well as fundamental aspects. Notably, complexity of electronic (and magnetic) phases and experimental difficulties in acquiring reliable measurement-data easily are the most concerning issues in establishing a clear understanding of magnetoelectric materials. In the magnetic phase diagram of RMnO3, GdMnO3 lies on the border between A-type antiferromagnetic and cycloidal antiferromagnetic ground states. Cycloidal spin arrangement is responsible for the induction of ferroelectricity in these materials. There are disparate opinions about the ground state of GdMnO3 (whether the ground state is ferroelectric or not). Understanding of the influence of rare-earth magnetic sublattice on magnetism in GdMnO3 (at low temperature) lacks clarity till date. Neutron scattering studies on GdMnO3 due to high absorption cross-section of Gd ion, yield little success in determining the nature of complex magnetic phases in this material. Interestingly, an earlier report on strontium-substituted gadolinium manganite Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 demonstrated the spontaneous electric polarization and related magnetoelectric effect. It was hypothesized that the observed ferroelectricity could be improper and electronic in nature. Strontium doping facilitates quenched disorder that leads to interesting magnetic phases and phase transitions. In order to understand the physical properties of gadolinium manganites and to unravel the relationship between them, it is essential to investigate high quality single crystals of these materials. This thesis deals with growth and investigation of several important physical phenomena of gadolinium manganites such as magnetic, electric, magnetoelectric and magnetocaloric properties. The thesis is organized in seven chapters. A brief summary of each chapter follows: Chapter:1 This chapter provides general introduction to magnetoelectric effect and multiferroicity. The term multiferroicity refers to simultaneous existence of magnetic and electric ordering in a single phase material. Magnetoelectric multiferroics have shown great potential for several applications. They exhibit cross coupling between the electronic and magnetic order parameters, hence basics of various magnetic interactions (and magnetism) are brie y discussed in the rst section of the chapter. It is followed by a brief discussion about the principle of magnetoelectric effect. Magnetoelctric coupling is broadly classified into two types namely, direct coupling and indirect coupling. In the former, the emphasis is given on linear magnetoelectric effect. The concept of multiferroicity is introduced in the next section followed by a brief overview and application potential of multiferroics. Further, classi cation scheme of multiferroic materials is discussed. The concept of improper ferroelectricity and description of subcategories namely, magnetic ferroelectric, geometric ferroelectric and electronic ferroelectric are documented. Magnetic ferroelectric category is considered the most relevant; featuring the type of ferroelectric material as GdMnO3 referred in this thesis. The microscopic theory for mechanism of ferroelectricity in spiral antiferromagnets is presented. While brie ng the thermodynamic background of the magnetocaloric effect, indirect estimation of two important characteristics namely, isothermal magnetic entropy change (∆SM ) and adiabatic change in temperature (∆Tad) under the application of magnetic field are dealt with. In the last part of the chapter, motivation and scope of the thesis is discussed. Chapter:2 This chapter outlines various experimental methodologies adopted in this work. It describes the basic principles of various experimental techniques and related experimental apparatuses used. The chapter starts with the synthesis tech-niques used in the preparation of different compounds studied. The principle of oat-zone method, employed for single-crystal growth, is described. Orientation of single crystals was determined using a home-built back- reflection Laue set up. The basics of Laue reflection and indexing procedure for recorded Laue photographs are described. Various physical properties (electric, magnetic, thermal, magnetoelectric and magnetocaloric properties) were studied using commercial as well as home-built experimental apparatuses. Design and working principle of all the experimental tools are outlined in this chapter. Fabrication details, interfacing of measurement instruments and calibration (standardization) of equipment used in this work are described in appropriate sections. Chapter:3 Chapter-3 describes the investigation of various physical properties of high quality single crystals of magnetoelectric multiferroics, GdMnO3. Synthesis of GdMnO3 is carried out using solid state synthesis route. Single phase nature of the material is confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction technique. Single crystals of GdMnO3 are grown in argon ambience using oat-zone method. As grown crystals are oriented with the help of back-reflection Laue method. GdMnO3 exhibits incommensurate collinear antiferromagnetic phase below 42 K and transforms to canted A-type antiferromagnetic phase below 23 K. Magnetic and specific heat studies have revealed very sharp features near the magnetic transitions which also confirm the high quality of the single crystal. dc magnetization studies illustrate the anisotropic behavior in canted A-type antiferromagnetic phase and clarifies the influence of rare-earth magnetic sub-lattice on overall magnetism (at low temperature). Application of magnetic field (above 10 kOe) along `b' axis helps formation of the cycloidal antiferromagnetic phase. Here, spontaneous electric polarization is induced along `a' axis. The temperature variation plot of dielectric constant, ϵa (under ap- plied magnetic field along `b' axis) shows sharp anomalies in the vicinity of magnetic ordering transitions suggesting magnetodielectric effects. Magnetic field tuning of electric polarization establish the magnetoelectric nature of GdMnO3. Magnetocaloric properties of single crystals of GdMnO3 are investigated using magnetic and magnetothermal measurements. The magnitude of the giant magnetocaloric effect observed is compared with that of other rare-earth manganite multiferroics. Magnetocaloric studies shed light on magnetic ordering of rare-earth ion Gd3+. The phenomenon of inverse magnetocaloric effect observed at low temperature and under low fields is possibly linked to the ordering of Gd3+ spins. Complex interactions between the 3d and 4f magnetic sublattices are believed to influence magnetocaloric properties. Chapter:4 The details of synthesis and single crystal growth of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 using oat-zone method are presented in Chapter 4. Single phase nature of the material is veri ed by carrying out powder x-ray diffraction analysis and confirmation of single crystallinity and orientation through back-reflection Laue method. Electric transport studies reveal semiconductor-like nature of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 until the lowest temperature achieved. This is due to charge localization process which occurs concurrently with decrease in temperature. Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 exhibits charge-ordered insulator (COI) phase below 90 K (ac-cording to an earlier report). It is found that under application of magnetic field above a critical value, charge ordering melts and the phase transforms to ferromagnetic metallic (FMM) phase. This transformation is first-order in nature with associated CMR (109%). The first-order phase transition (FOPT) occurs between competing COI and FMM phases and manifests as hysteresis across the FOPT. Strontium doping at A-site induces a large size mismatch at A-site resulting in high quenched disorder in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3. The disorder plays a significant role in CMR as well as glass-like dynamics within the low-temperature magnetic phase. ac susceptibility studies and dynamic scaling analysis reveal very slow dynamics inside the low-temperature magnetic phase (below 32 K). According to an earlier report, spontaneous electric polarization and magnetoelectric effect were pronounced near FOPT (at 4.5 K and 100 kOe) between COI and FMM phases. It is prudent to investigate FOPT across COI and FMM phases in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 to understand complex magnetic phases present. Thermodynamic limits of the FOPT (in magnetic field - temperature (H-T) plane), such as supercooling and superheating, are experimentally determined from magnetization and magnetotransport measurements. Interestingly, thermomagnetic anomalies such as open hysteresis loops are observed while traversing the FOPT isothermally or isomagnetically in the H-T plane. These anomalies point towards incomplete phase transformation while crossing the FOPT. Phenomenological model of kinetic arrest is invoked to understand these anomalies. The model put for-ward the idea that while cooling across the FOPT, extraction of specific heat is easier than that of latent heat. In other words, phase transformation across FOPT is thermodynamically allowed but kinetics becomes very slow and phase transformation does not occur at the conventional experimental time scale. Magnetization relaxation measurements (at 89 kOe) with field-cooled magnetization protocol reveal that the relaxation time constant rst decreases with temperature and later, increases non-monotonically below 30 K. This qualita-tive behavior indicates glass-like arrest of the FOPT. Further, thermal cycling studies of zero field-cooled (ZFC) and eld-cooled (FC) magnetization indicate that a low temperature phase prepared with ZFC and FC protocols (at 89 kOe) is not at equilibrium. This confirms the kinetic arrest of FOPT and formation of magnetic phase similar to glass. Chapter:5 Chapter-5 deals with the investigation of the effect of an electric field on charge ordered phase in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 single crystals. As discussed in the previous chapter, application of magnetic field above a critical value collapses the charge ordered phase which transforms to FMM phase. In this view, it is interesting to investigate effect of electric field on the charge ordering. There are various reports on doped manganites such as Pr1-xCaxMnO3 (x = 0:3 to 0:4) that claim melting of charge ordering under application of electric field (or current) above a critical value. In this thesis work, current - voltage (I - V) characteristics of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 are studied at various constant temperatures. Preliminary measurements show that the I-V characteristics are highly non-linear and are accompanied by the onset of negative differential resistance (NDR) above a critical current value. However, we suspect a major contribution of Joule heating in realization of the NDR. Continual I - V loop measurements for five loops revealed thermal drag and that the onset of NDR shifts systematically towards high current values until it disappeared in the current window. Two strategies were employed to investigate the role of Joule heating in realization of NDR: 1) monitoring the sample surface temperature during electric transport measurement and 2) reducing of the Joule heating in a controlled manner by using pulsed current I - V measuremenets. By tuning the duty cycle of the current pulses (or in other words, by controlling the Joule heating in the sample), it was feasible to shift the onset of NDR to any desired value of the current. At low magnitude of the duty cycle in the current range upto 40 mA, the NDR phenomenon did not occur. These experiments concluded that the NDR in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 is a consequence of the Joule heating. Chapter:6 `Chapter-6 deals with the thermal and magnetocaloric properties of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 oriented single crystals. Magnetocaloric properties of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 have been studied using magnetic and magnetothermal measurements. Tempera-ture variation of ∆SM is estimated for magnetic field change of 0 - 70 kOe. The eld 70 kOe is well below the critical magnetic eld required for FOPT between COI and FMM phases. Magnetzation - field (M-H) loop shows minimal hysteresis for measurements up to 70 kOe. The minimal hysteresis behavior al-lows one to make fairly accurate estimation of magnetocaloric properties. ∆Tad was separately estimated from specific heat measurements at different magnetic fields. Specific heat studies show the presence of Schottky-like anomaly at low temperature. Chapter:7 Finally, Chapter-7 summarizes various experimental results, analyses and conclusions. A broad outlook of the work in general with future scope of research in this area are outlined in this chapter.

This thesis investigates the macroscopic yield behavior and microscopic energy absorption mechanisms in single and multiphase polymers. One unique aspect is the evaluation of polymers under multiaxial loading conditions. This is important because in many applications polymers are subjected to complex loading conditions and hence optimal design requires experimental evaluation and modeling of behavior under multiaxial stress states. This work has resulted in a more quantitative understanding of yield and energy absorption in the different polymers considered. Multiaxial stress states are achieved using thin-walled hollow cylinder specimens. The hollow tubes are simultaneously subjected to internal pressure and axial load, leading to biaxial stress states. Stress states ranging from uniaxial compression to equibiaxial tension are interrogated using the same specimen geometry, a procedure uncovering true material behavior. In the first part of this study, a generalized model for the yield behavior of single-phase polymers is evaluated for a polycarbonate system. The generalized model accounts not only accounts for viscoelasticity (i.e., rate and temperature dependence) but also the effect of pressure on yield behavior. The effects of physical aging on the behavior of amorphous polycarbonate are also highlighted. For rubber-modified polymers, existing models for both macroscopic yield behavior and the onset of microscopic damage (e.g., cavitation) are evaluated under multiaxial conditions (chapter 3). Serious discrepancies are found for both cases, prompting an investigation into the nature of energy absorption mechanisms in the materials. Apart from the chosen rubber-modified systems, a toughening mechanism in the form of overlapping parallel cracks is identified to be generic to a range of polymers (chapter 4). The last part of the thesis (chapter 5) involves a quantitative investigation of interactions in overlapping crack patterns. This effort is vital, because for better design of materials, the interaction has to be related to intrinsic material properties. The interactions in an infinite 2D array of parallel and overlapping cracks are analyzed using a complex stress function method. The size and number density of cracks in the array are related to intrinsic material properties and conditions for damage stability are identified.

碩士
國立交通大學
照明與能源光電研究所
102
We synthesize a series of asymmetric bimolecular single component / blending chiral liquid crystal material, and the chemical structures of these compounds were characterized by H1-NMR、EA, and the liquid crystalline phases before and after the illumination polymerization behavior of all compounds were identified from the result of POM. We have successfully synthesized bimolecular acrylate group material A66CB doped with ZLI-4572, S811 and the blue phase are obtained. When A66CB blends 4wt% of ZLI-457 under illuminated polymerization in blue phase, the widest blue phase temperature can be extended to about 21 °C. In addition, single molecule blue phase dimers A66*CB, which have chiral center in the central of molecular, were synthesized. We synthesize the dimer A66*CB with acrylate group that introduced chiral center successfully has the blue-phase range about 3 °C by single component. Using the A66*CB blending 76*CB and RM257 blending 76*CB for comparison and found that when A66*CB blends 76*CB (10:90), there is the widest blue phase temperature range about 5 °C, and after illuminated polymerization, the blue-phase temperature range will increase. The reactive dimer A66*CB and RM257 after illuminated polymerization in blue-phase, we discovered that A66*CB series can stabilize the blue-phase range better than RM257.

The primary goals of the research in this dissertation are to perform a systematic study to identify and understand the fundamental cause of prolonged processing time during transient liquid phase bonding of difficult-to-bond single crystal Ni-base materials, and use the acquired knowledge to develop an effective way to reduce the isothermal solidification time without sacrificing the single crystalline nature of the base materials. To achieve these objectives, a multi-scale numerical modeling approach, that involves the use of a 2-D fully implicit moving-mesh Finite Element method and a Cellular Automata method, was developed to theoretically investigate the cause of long isothermal solidification times and determine a viable way to minimize the problem. Subsequently, the predictions of the theoretical models are experimentally validated. Contrary to previous suggestions, numerical calculations and experimental verifications have shown that enhanced intergranular diffusivity has a negligible effect on solidification time in cast superalloys and that another important factor must be responsible. In addition, it was found that the concept of competition between solute diffusivity and solubility as predicted by standard analytical TLP bonding models and reported in the literature as a possible cause of long solidification times is not suitable to explain salient experimental observations. In contrast, however, this study shows that the problem of long solidification times, which anomalously increase with temperature is fundamentally caused by departure from diffusion controlled parabolic migration of the liquid-solid interface with holding time during bonding due to a significant reduction in the solute concentration gradient in the base material. Theoretical analyses showed it is possible to minimize the solidification time and prevent formation of stray-grains in joints between single crystal substrates by using a composite powder mixture of brazing alloy and base alloy as the interlayer material, which prior to the present work has been reported to be unsuitable. This was experimentally verified and the use of the composite powder mixture as interlayer material to reduce the solidification time and avoid stray-grain formation during TLP bonding of single crystal superalloys has been reported for the first time in this research.

Diblock copolymers have many interesting properties, which first and foremost include their ability to self-assemble into various ordered, regularly spaced domains with nanometer-scale feature sizes. The work in this dissertation can be logically divided into two parts - the first and the majority of this work describes the phase behavior of certain block copolymer systems, and the second discusses real applications possible with block copolymer templates. Many compressible fluids have solvent-like properties dependent on fluid pressure and can be used as processing aids similar to liquid solvents. Here, compressed CO2 was shown to swell several thin homopolymer films, including polystyrene and polyisoprene, as measured by high pressure ellipsometry at elevated temperatures and pressures. The ellipsometric technique was modified to produce accurate data at these conditions through a custom pressure vessel design. The order-disorder transition (ODT) temperatures of several poly(styrene-b-isoprene) diblock copolymers were also investigated by static birefringence when dilated with compressed CO2. Sorption of CO2 in each copolymer resulted in significant depressions of the ODT temperature as a function of fluid pressure, and the data above was used to estimate the quantitative amount of solvent in each of the diblock copolymers. These depressions were not shown to follow dilution approximation, and showed interesting, exaggerated scaling of the ODT at near-bulk polymer concentrations. The phase behavior of block copolymer surfactants was studied when blended with polymer or small molecule additives capable of selective hydrogen bonds. This work used small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to identify several low molecular weight systems with strong phase separation and ordered domains as small as 2-3 nanometers upon blending. One blend of a commercially-available surfactant with a small molecule additive was further developed and showed promise as a thin-film pattern transfer template. In this scenario, block copolymer thin films on domain thick with self-assembled feature sizes of only 6-7 nm were used as plasma etch resists. Here the block copolymer's pattern was successfully transferred into the underlying SiO2 substrate using CF4-based reactive ion etching. The result was a parallel, cylindrical nanostructure etched into SiO2.

Diblock copolymers have many interesting properties, which first and foremost include their ability to self-assemble into various ordered, regularly spaced domains with nanometer-scale feature sizes. The work in this dissertation can be logically divided into two parts – the first and the majority of this work describes the phase behavior of certain block copolymer systems, and the second discusses real applications possible with block copolymer templates. Many compressible fluids have solvent-like properties dependent on fluid pressure and can be used as processing aids similar to liquid solvents. Here, compressed CO2 was shown to swell several thin homopolymer films, including polystyrene and polyisoprene, as measured by high pressure ellipsometry at elevated temperatures and pressures. The ellipsometric technique was modified to produce accurate data at these conditions through a custom pressure vessel design. The order-disorder transition (ODT) temperatures of several poly(styrene-bisoprene) diblock copolymers were also investigated by static birefringence when dilated with compressed CO2. Sorption of CO2 in each copolymer resulted in significant depressions of the ODT temperature as a function of fluid pressure, and the data above was used to estimate the quantitative amount of solvent in each of the diblock copolymers. These depressions were not shown to follow dilution approximation, and showed interesting, exaggerated scaling of the ODT at near-bulk polymer concentrations. The phase behavior of block copolymer surfactants was studied when blended with polymer or small molecule additives capable of selective hydrogen bonds. This work used small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to identify several low molecular weight systems with strong phase separation and ordered domains as small as 2–3 nanometers upon blending. One blend of a commercially-available surfactant with a small molecule additive was further developed and showed promise as a thin-film pattern transfer template. In this scenario, block copolymer thin films on domain thick with self-assembled feature sizes of only 6–7 nm were used as plasma etch resists. Here the block copolymer's pattern was successfully transferred into the underlying SiO2 substrate using CF4–based reactive ion etching. The result was a parallel, cylindrical nanostructure etched into SiO2.

A unique feature of nanoscale carbon materials is the nature of their surfaces and how their surfaces interact with other species. The carbon materials specifically studied here include single-wall carbon nanotubes, nanoscale carbon nitrides, and a brief study of nanodiamonds from meteorite carbon, and related diamond surface chemistry. These nanometer sized carbon materials often possess curved surfaces. These curved surfaces can result in special structure-property relationships, such as a unique resistance to oxidation in the case of the nanotubes. Also the synthesis of nanoscale structures can be governed by surface interactions with the growth substrate, as shall be demonstrated with the carbon nitrides. The final materials obtained after such chemical treatments, should prove useful in applications such as catalysis, gas storage, chromatography, molecular electronics, high-strength composites, batteries and fuel cells, and abrasives.

This Ph.D. thesis is composed of three parts each summarizing an accepted publication. The first part is presented the Nowotny Phase (NP) embedded in a porous SiC/C nanocomposite matrix synthesized via a single-source-precursor approach involving the reaction of allylhydridopolycarbosilane with MoO2(acac)2. It is discovered for the first time that NP/C/SiC ceramic nanocomposites exhibit outstanding electrocatalytic properties suitable for the electrochemical hydrogen evolution. The second part reports how divinylbenzene (DVB) is used as a carbon-rich source to synthesize mesoporous NP/C/SiC ceramic nanocomposites with higher carbon content. The HER activity of the carbon-rich NP/C/SiC ceramic nanocomposites is further improved, due to their enhanced conductivity and high surface area. Finally, the third part of the thesis describes the discovery of interesting dielectric properties and outstanding EMA performance of the as-synthesized NP/C/SiC ceramic nanocomposites. This part is discussed also the high-temperature phase evolution of the respective nanocomposites.

Le incredibili proprietà termomeccaniche dei materiali biologici derivano dalla scala microscopica a causa di un complesso meccanismo gerarchico, che è regolato da microinstabilità a livello molecolare. La descrizione di strutture così complesse è consentita sia dal know-how introdotto dall'avvento degli esperimenti di spettroscopia di forza a singola molecola, che dà la possibilità di studiare tali sistemi in diverse condizioni termiche e meccaniche, sia dalla possibilità di imitare correttamente il loro comportamento al scala più bassa introducendo modelli matematici basati su energie non convesse. In questa tesi, vengono introdotte diverse classi di modelli per descrivere le caratteristiche importanti della transizione di fase, della decoesione e del danno in diverse condizioni di forze applicate e spostamento, campi termici e velocità di carico. Aumentando il livello di complessità di tali modelli, sono stati analizzati diversi fenomeni. Ad esempio, introducendo una catena di unità bistabili per imitare il comportamento di una molecola di titina in fase di dispiegamento, è stato descritto l'effetto del dispositivo di manipolazione in esperimenti su singole molecole, che influenza fortemente la risposta meccanica del sistema, portando a grandi errori nel misura della forza o spostamento risultante. Gli effetti della temperatura sono considerati all'interno di un quadro di Meccanica Statistica, anche nel caso in cui siano introdotte interazioni non locali. Infatti, fenomeni come la presenza di un picco di stress nel diagramma forza-estensione e corrispondente alla generazione e nucleazione di una fase sono osservati sperimentalmente in prove di trazione su nanofili a memoria di forma o materiali polimerici e possono essere descritti come una competizione tra energia interfacciale termini ed effetti entropici. La cooperatività delle interazioni deboli, come i legami idrogeno, è stata anche studiata per evidenziare fenomeni come la decoesione e la frattura nei sistemi biologici. Infatti, gli amminoacidi semplici sono disposti in modo multiscala dando luogo a materiali e strutture gerarchiche ad alte prestazioni, con elevate proprietà meccaniche. Nello specifico, considerando molle elastiche accoppiate con unità fragili, in questa tesi è stato dedotto un modello micromeccanico di sistemi come l'elica del DNA a doppio filamento oi fasci di microtubuli (MT) e le proteine ​​tau disposte all'interno degli assoni con effetti termici e di velocità. Il processo di decoesione risulta essere fortemente regolato dalla rigidità relativa delle due unità pseudoelastiche e il tipo di frattura può variare da un brusco collasso (comportamento fragile) ad un distacco sequenziale dei legami (comportamento duttile). Questo effetto è potenziato anche quando si considera la velocità di carico, dove diventa cruciale la capacità di superare le barriere energetiche che separano gli stati metastabili. I risultati ottenuti nella tesi vengono confrontati con evidenze provenienti da un'ampia rassegna della letteratura e dai comportamenti sperimentali dei sistemi descritti, e vengono dedotte leggi analitiche costitutive microscopiche che illustrano il comportamento complessivo di tali sistemi complessi regolati da microinstabilità multiscala.
The incredible thermo-mechanical properties of biological materials arise from the microscopic scale due to a complex hierarchical mechanism, which is regulated by microinstabilities at the molecular level. The description of such complex structures is allowed by both the know-how introduced by the advent of single molecule force spectroscopy experiments, which gives the possibility of studying such systems in different thermal and mechanical conditions, and the possibility of correctly mimicking their behaviour at the lowest scale by introducing mathematical models based on non-convex energies. In this thesis, different classes of models are introduced to describe the important features of phase transition, decohesion and damage under different conditions of applied forces and displacement, thermal fields and rates of loading. By increasing the level of complexity of such models, different phenomena have been analyzed. For instance, by introducing a chain of bistable units to mimic the behaviour of a titin molecule undergoing unfolding, it has been described the effect of the handling device in single molecule experiments, which strongly affects the system's mechanical response, leading to large errors in the measure of the resulting force or displacement. Temperature effects are considered within a Statistical Mechanics framework, also in the case when non local interactions are introduced. Indeed, phenomena such as the presence of a stress peak in the force-extension diagram and corresponding to the generation and nucleation of a phase is experimentally observed in tensile tests on memory shape nanowires or polymer materials and can be described as a competition between interfacial energy terms and entropic effects. The cooperativity of weak interactions, such as hydrogen bonds, has been also studied to highlight phenomena such as decohesion and fracture in biological systems. Indeed, simple amino acids are arranged in a multiscale fashion resulting in high performing hierarchical materials and structures, with elevated mechanical properties. Specifically, considering elastic springs coupled with breakable units, in this thesis a micromechanical model of systems such as the double-stranded DNA helix or the bundles of microtubules (MT) and tau proteins arranged within the axons with thermal and rate effects has been deduced. The decohesion process is found to be highly regulated by the relative stiffness of the two pseudo-elastic units, and the type of fracture may range from an abrupt collapse (fragile behaviour) to a sequential detachment of the bonds (ductile behaviour). This effect is also enhanced when the loading rate is considered, where the ability to overcome energy barriers separating the metastable states becomes crucial. The results obtained in the thesis are compared to pieces of evidence from an extensive literature review and to the experimental behaviours of the systems described, and microscopic constitutive analytic laws are deduced illustrating the overall behaviour of such complex systems regulated by multiscale microinstabilities.

Emerging energy storage applications are driving the demand for Li-ion battery positive electrode materials with higher energy densities and lower costs. The recent production of complete pseudo-ternary phase diagrams of the Li-Mn-Ni-O system generated using combinatorial methods has provided a greater understanding of the impact of initial composition, synthesis temperature, and cooling rate on the phases that form in the final materials. This thesis focuses on the synthesis and characterization of gram-scale positive electrode materials in the Li-Mn-Ni-O system. Structural analysis of these samples has resulted in the production of partial pseudo-ternary phase diagrams focusing on the positive electrode materials region of the Li-Mn-Ni-O system at 800°C and 900°C in air for both quenched and slow cooled compositions. These bulk-scale diagrams support the observations of the combinatorial diagrams, and show similar layered and cubic structures contained within several single- and multi-phase regions. The phases that form at each composition are shown to be dependent on both the reaction temperature and cooling rate used during synthesis. The electrochemical characterization of two composition series near Li2MnO3, one quenched and one slow cooled, is presented. The quenched compositions exhibited reversible cycling at 4.4 V, voltage plateaus and small increases in capacity above 4.6 V, and large first cycle irreversible capacity losses at 4.8 V. In the slow cooled series, all but one composition exhibited initial capacities below 100 mAh/g which began to continually increase with cycling, with several compositions exhibiting capacity increases of 300% over 150 cycles at 4.9 V. In both series, analysis of the voltage and differential capacity plots indicated that significant structure rearrangements are taking place in these materials during extended cycling, the possible origins of which are discussed. Finally, high precision coulometry studies of one Li-deficient and two Li-rich single-phase layered compositions are discussed. These materials exhibit minimal oxidation of simple carbonate-based electrolyte when cycled to high potential, with the Li-deficient composition producing less electrolyte oxidation at 4.6 V vs. Li/Li+ than commercial Li[Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3]O2 at 4.2 V. The inherent inertness of this composition may make it suitable for use as a thin protective layer in a core-shell particle.

This research presents the development of a phase-based lithographic system for three-dimensional micropatterning and manipulation. The system uses a spatial light modulator (SLM) to display specially designed phase holograms. The use of holograms with the SLM provides a novel approach to photolithography that offers the unique ability to operate in both serial and single-shot modes. In addition to the lithographic applications, the optical system also possesses the capability to optically trap microparticles. New advances include the ability to rapidly modify pattern templates for both serial and single-shot lithography, individually control three-dimensional structural properties, and manipulate Janus particles with five degrees of freedom.

A number of separate research investigations were required to develop the optical system and patterning method. The processes for designing a custom optical system, integrating a computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) platform, and constructing series of phase holograms are presented. The resulting instrument was used primarily for the photonic excitation of both photopolymers and proteins and, in addition, for the manipulation of Janus particles. Defining research focused on the automated fabrication of complex three-dimensional microscale structures based on the virtual designs provided by a custom CAD/CAM interface. Parametric studies were conducted to access the patterning transfer rate and resolution of the system.

The research presented here documents the creation of an optical system that is capable of the accurate reproduction of pre-designed microstructures and optical paths, applicable to many current and future research applications, and useable by anyone interested in researching on the microscale.

Dissertation