Electron conductive and proton permeable vertically aligned carbon nanotube membranes.

We report the fabrication of membranes hundreds of micrometers thick that demonstrate efficient electron conduction and proton transport through vertically aligned arrays of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (NTs) impregnated by epoxy. Electrical transport was Ohmic with a conductivity of 495 mS cm(-1). Protons traversed the membrane through the NT bore with a current of 5.84 × 10(-6) A. Good electron and proton transport, chemical robustness, and simple fabrication suggest NT membranes have potential in artificial photosynthesis applications.

An investigation into the spectral analysis of dielectric aging in ferroelectrics.

Aging and degradation indicate the time-dependent change of physical and electrical properties. Most studies neglect to report the effects of aging on the electromechanical properties of an electroactive material and subsequent deterioration of performance. Recent work has shown that the strain and polarization response of an electroactive device can be transformed into its harmonic spectrum (transformation from the time domain to the frequency domain) through the implementation of Fourier analysis. The ability to create this harmonic spectrum provides a new way to characterize the effects of aging by revealing subtle changes in the fundamental components that comprise the response. This study shows how Fourier analysis can be applied to an aged PMN-PT-BT composition to characterize and quantify the effects of aging. The average weak-field permittivity is measured as a function of time, temperature, and frequency. A typical "saddle" in the permittivity and dielectric loss is apparent, and the magnitude decays logarithmically with time. Harmonic analysis of the strain response reveals a slight time-dependent amplitude variation and logarithmic dependence of the phase of the 6th order harmonic. Similar analysis of the polarization response, as a function of time, fully characterizes the development of constriction or wasting seen in a typical aged electrostrictive material. Variations in the amplitudes of the 5th and higher order harmonics of polarization, logarithmic in nature, and the phase of the 5th order harmonic combine to define aging on the harmonic level.

Buckling the equatorial anion plane: octahedral anion distortions in ferroic perovskites and related systems resolved via neutron diffraction.

A framework for describing anion displacements from perfect octahedra in perovskites has been developed for use with neutron diffraction data sets. We describe the distortions as noncoplanar arrangements, or buckling, of oxygen ions in any central plane of the octahedron, ignoring the central cation. Nonplanar distortions of octahedra have been calculated for perovskite structures contained within the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database. We find that antiferroelectric materials have buckling angles larger than ~2° and ferroelectric materials have buckling angles between 0° and 1°. The trend is found as a function of solid solution composition and temperature for common antiferroelectrics. For example, the described method resolves a structural difference between the end members PbTiO(3) and PbZrO(3), which exhibit ferroelectric and antiferroelectric responses, respectively. This technique is applicable to other structures containing anion octahedra, e.g., pyrochlores, spinels, and tungsten bronzes.