Unusual Pressure-Induced Self-Trapped Exciton to Free Exciton Transfer in Chiral 2D Lead Bromide Perovskites.

The phenomenon of pressure-induced emission alterations related to complex excitonic dynamics in 2D lead halide perovskites (LHPs) has gained considerable attention for understanding their structure-property relationship and obtaining inaccessible luminescence under ambient conditions. However, the well-known pressure-induced emissions are limited to the formation of self-trapped excitons (STEs) due to the structural distortion under compression, which goes against the advantage of the highly pure emission of LHPs. Here, the pressure-induced detrapping from STEs to free excitons (FEs) accompanied by the dramatic transition from broadband orangish emission to narrow blue emission has been achieved in chiral 2D LHPs and R- and S-[4MeOPEA]2PbBr4, (4MeOPEA = 4-methoxy-α-methylbenzylammonium). The combined experimental and calculated results reveal that the distortion level of PbBr6 octahedra of R- and S-[4MeOPEA]2PbBr4 exhibits an unusually significant reduction as the applied pressure increases, which leads to decreased electron-phonon coupling and self-trapped energy barrier and consequently enables the detrapping of STEs to FEs. This work illustrates the dramatic exciton transfer in 2D LHPs and highlights the potential for realizing highly efficient and pure light emissions by manipulating the structural distortion via strain engineering.

Origin of Ferroelectricity in Two Prototypical Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskites.

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP) ferroelectrics are attracting considerable interest because of their high performance, ease of synthesis, and lightweight. However, the intrinsic thermodynamic origins of their ferroelectric transitions remain insufficiently understood. Here, we identify the nature of the ferroelectric phase transitions in displacive [(CH3)2NH2][Mn(N3)3] and order-disorder type [(CH3)2NH2][Mn(HCOO)3] via spatially resolved structural analysis and ab initio lattice dynamics calculations. Our results demonstrate that the vibrational entropy change of the extended perovskite lattice drives the ferroelectric transition in the former and also contributes importantly to that of the latter along with the rotational entropy change of the A-site. This finding not only reveals the delicate atomic dynamics in ferroelectric HOIPs but also highlights that both the local and extended fluctuation of the hybrid perovskite lattice can be manipulated for creating ferroelectricity by taking advantages of their abundant atomic, electronic, and phononic degrees of freedom.

Group-theoretical analysis of structural instability, vacancy ordering and magnetic transitions in the system troilite (FeS)-pyrrhotite (Fe1-xS).

A group-theoretical framework to describe vacancy ordering and magnetism in the Fe1-xS system is developed. This framework is used to determine the sequence of crystal structures consistent with the observed magnetic structures of troilite (FeS), and to determine the crystallographic nature of the low-temperature Besnus transition in Fe0.875S. It is concluded that the Besnus transition is a magnetically driven transition characterized by the rotation of the moments out of the crystallographic plane to which they are confined above the transition, accompanied by small atomic displacements that lower the symmetry from monoclinic to triclinic at low temperatures. Based on the phase diagram, magnetically driven phase transitions at low temperatures are predicted in all the commensurate superstructures of pyrrhotite. Based on the phase diagram, magnetically driven spin reorientations at low temperatures are predicted in all the commensurate superstructures of pyrrhotite. The exact nature of the spin rotation is determined by the symmetry of the vacancy-ordered state and based on this spin-flop transitions in 3C and 5C pyrrhotite and a continuous rotation akin to that seen in 4C pyrrhotite are predicted. A Besnus-type transition is also possible in 6C pyrrhotite. Furthermore, it is clarified that 3C and 4C pyrrhotite carry a ferrimagnetic moment whereas 5C and 6C are antiferromagnetic.

An algebraic approach to cooperative rotations in networks of interconnected rigid units.

Crystalline solids consisting of three-dimensional networks of interconnected rigid units are ubiquitous amongst functional materials. In many cases, application-critical properties are sensitive to rigid-unit rotations at low temperature, high pressure or specific stoichiometry. The shared atoms that connect rigid units impose severe constraints on any rotational degrees of freedom, which must then be cooperative throughout the entire network. Successful efforts to identify cooperative-rotational rigid-unit modes (RUMs) in crystals have employed split-atom harmonic potentials, exhaustive testing of the rotational symmetry modes allowed by group representation theory, and even simple geometric considerations. This article presents a purely algebraic approach to RUM identification wherein the conditions of connectedness are used to construct a linear system of equations in the rotational symmetry-mode amplitudes.

An Unusual Phase Transition Driven by Vibrational Entropy Changes in a Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskite.

The driving forces for the phase transitions of ABX3 hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites have been limited to the octahedral tilting, order-disorder, and displacement. Now, a complex structural phase transition has been explored in a HOIP, [CH3 NH3 ][Mn(N3 )3 ], based on structural characterizations and ab initio lattice dynamics calculations. This unusual first-order phase transition between two ordered phases at about 265 K is primarily driven by changes in the collective atomic vibrations of the whole lattice, along with concurrent molecular displacements and an unusual octahedral tilting. A significant entropy difference (4.35 J K-1 mol-1 ) is observed between the low- and high-temperature structures induced by such atomic vibrations, which plays a main role in driving the transition. This finding offers an alternative pathway for designing new ferroic phase transitions and related physical properties in HOIPs and other hybrid crystals.

Psychospiritual Resiliency: Enhancing Mental Health and Ecclesiastical Collaboration in Caring for Those Experiencing Dissociative Phenomena.

Trauma can oftentimes be a catalyst for changes in an individual's religious and spiritual beliefs. Beliefs about the cause of the trauma, for instance, may include attributions of possessing spirits, and are to be found in an increasingly pluralistic and multicultural society. Such preternatural explanations may be referred to as dissociative identity disorder, possession form. Unwittingly, an overreliance on neurobiological explanations and relegation of cultural idioms of distress may diminish effective collaboration with ecclesiastical authorities. Concomitantly, ecclesiastical experts are confronted with bewildering posttrauma dissociative symptomatology, and may not be prepared as diagnosticians to rule out psychobiological explanations. In both instances, client care may be compromised. Noteworthy, the current investigation integrates the author's participant observation research at the Vatican's school of Exorcism in Rome, Italy.

Guest-Activated Forbidden Tilts in a Molecular Perovskite Analogue.

The manipulation of distortions in perovskite structures is critical to tailoring the properties of these materials for a variety of applications. Here we demonstrate a violation of established octahedral tilt rules in the double perovskite analogue (NH4)2SrFe(CN)6·2H2O. The forbidden tilt pattern we observe arises through coupling to hydration-driven Jahn-Teller-like distortions of the Sr coordination environment. Access to novel distortion mechanisms and the ability to switch these distortions on and off through chemical modification fundamentally expands the toolbox of techniques available for engineering symmetry-breaking processes in solid materials.

Octahedral tilting in the tungsten bronzes.

Possibilities for 'simple' octahedral tilting in the hexagonal and tetragonal tungsten bronzes (HTB and TTB) have been examined, making use of group theory as implemented in the computer program ISOTROPY. For HTB, there is one obvious tilting pattern, leading to a structure in space group P63/mmc. This differs from the space group P63/mcm frequently quoted from X-ray studies ­ these studies have in effect detected only displacements of the W cations from the centres of the WO6 octahedra. The correct space group, taking account of both W ion displacement and the octahedral tilting, is P6322 ­ structures in this space group and matching this description have been reported. A second acceptable tilting pattern has been found, leading to a structure in P6/mmm but on a larger '2 × 2 × 2' unit cell ­ however, no observations of this structure have been reported. For TTB, a search at the special points of the Brillouin zones revealed only one comparable tilting pattern, in a structure with space-group symmetry I4/m on a '2(1/2) × 2(1/2) by 2' unit cell. Given several literature reports of larger unit cells for TTB, we conducted a limited search along the lines of symmetry and found structures with acceptable tilt patterns in Bbmm on a '2(1/2)2 × 2(1/2) × 2' unit cell. A non-centrosymmetric version has been reported in niobates, in Bbm2 on the same unit cell.

Mechanical tunability via hydrogen bonding in metal-organic frameworks with the perovskite architecture.

Two analogous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with the perovskite architecture, [C(NH2)3][Mn(HCOO)3] (1) and [(CH2)3NH2][Mn(HCOO)3] (2), exhibit significantly different mechanical properties. The marked difference is attributed to their distinct modes of hydrogen bonding between the A-site amine cation and the anionic framework. The stronger cross-linking hydrogen bonding in 1 gives rise to Young's moduli and hardnesses that are up to twice those in 2, while the thermal expansion is substantially smaller. This study presents clear evidence that the mechanical properties of MOF materials can be substantially tuned via hydrogen-bonding interactions.

Crystal and magnetic structures of hexagonal YMnO3.

The available data on the structural and magnetic transitions in multiferroic hexagonal YMnO3 have been reviewed, first making use of the computer programs from the group theoretical ISOTROPY software suite to list possible crystal and magnetic structures, then taking into account the capability of neutron diffraction and other physical methods to distinguish them. This leads to a clear view of the transformation sequence, as follows. Hexagonal YMnO3 is paraelectric in P63/mmc at elevated temperatures, and undergoes a single structural transition on cooling through 1250 K to a ferrielectric phase in P63cm that is retained through room temperature. At a much lower temperature, 70 K, there is a magnetic transition from paramagnetic to a triangular antiferromagnetic arrangement, most likely with symmetry P63'cm'. Comment is made on the unusual coupling of ferroelectric and magnetic domains reported to occur in this material, as well as on the so-called `giant magneto-elastic' effect.

Elastic and anelastic relaxations accompanying magnetic ordering and spin-flop transitions in hematite, Fe2O3.

Hematite, Fe(2)O(3), provides in principle a model system for multiferroic (ferromagnetic/ferroelastic) behavior at low levels of strain coupling. The elastic and anelastic behavior associated with magnetic phase transitions in a natural polycrystalline sample have therefore been studied by resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) in the temperature range from 11 to 1072 K. Small changes in softening and attenuation are interpreted in terms of weak but significant coupling of symmetry-breaking and non-symmetry-breaking strains with magnetic order parameters in the structural sequence R3(¯)c1'-->C2/c-->R3(¯)c. The R3(¯)c1'-->C2/c transition at T(N) = 946 ± 1 K is an example of a multiferroic transition which has both ferromagnetic (from canting of antiferromagnetically ordered spin moments) and ferroelastic (rhombohedral → monoclinic) character. By analogy with the improper ferroelastic transition in Pb(3)(PO(4))(2), W and W' ferroelastic twin walls which are also 60° and 120° magnetic domain walls should develop. These have been tentatively identified from microstructures reported in the literature. The very low attenuation in the stability field of the C2/c structure in the polycrystalline sample used in the present study, in comparison with the strong acoustic dissipation reported for single crystal samples, implies, however, that the individual grains each consist of a single ferroelastic domain or that the twin walls are strongly pinned by grain boundaries. This absence of attenuation allows an intrinsic loss mechanism associated with the transition point to be seen and interpreted in terms of local coupling of shear strains with fluctuations which have relaxation times in the vicinity of ~10(-8) s. The first order C2/c-->R3(¯)c (Morin) transition occurs through a temperature interval of coexisting phases but the absence of an acoustic loss peak suggests that the relaxation time for interface motion is short in comparison with the time scale of the applied stress (at ~0.1-1 MHz). Below the Morin transition a pattern of attenuation which resembles that seen below ferroelastic transitions has been found, even though the ideal low temperature structure cannot contain ferroelastic twins. This loss behavior is tentatively ascribed to the presence of local ferromagnetically ordered defect regions which are coupled locally to shear strains.

A linear-quadratic order parameter coupling model for magnetoelastic phase transitions in Fe(1-x)O and MnO.

The combined structural and antiferromagnetic phase transition in wüstite, Fe(1-x)O, at the Néel temperature, T(N) ~ 195 K, is treated in terms of coupling between two macroscopic order parameters related to separate discrete instabilities. These each couple with a rhombohedral shear strain to give an indirect mechanism of linear (structural)-quadratic (magnetic) coupling between them. Based on patterns of lattice parameter and magnetic ordering data from the literature, it appears that the overall behaviour matches the general pattern of linear-quadratic coupling for a system with two rather similar instability temperatures. At low pressures, the magnetic instability occurs at a higher temperature than the structural instability but the coupling results in a single phase transition dominated by the influence of the magnetic order parameter. For Fe(0.99)O the magnetic order parameter, m, varies with temperature as ~m(8) ∝ (T(N) - T), while for Fe(0.94)O the temperature dependence is of ~m(4) or ~m(2). It is proposed that, with increasing pressure, there is a crossover of instability temperatures such that the structural instability occurs first at pressures above ~13 GPa. This would be expected to give rise to a first-order phase transition, as appears to occur, but magnetic ordering would still occur simultaneously if the coupling is sufficiently strong. Symmetry analysis and comparison with the behaviour of MnO shows that there are a number of different possible magnetically ordered structures which could be stabilized by pressure or non-hydrostatic stress to give topologically rich phase diagrams.

Symmetry analysis of the structural and magnetic phase transitions in 122 iron arsenides.

It is evident from the literature that the 122 iron arsenides, XFe(2)As(2) with X = Ca, Sr, Ba or Eu, undergo one or more phase transitions from a higher-temperature paramagnetic tetragonal structure in grey group I4/mmm1' to an antiferromagnetic structure with magnetic space group C(A)mca. Symmetry analysis is used to enumerate the possibilities for the transition (or transitions) between the higher- and lower-symmetry structures, and the results are used as a basis for comment on published experimental results.

Characterization of age-related changes in bovine CD8+ T-cells.

Evaluation of the changes induced by immunological interventions requires a baseline against which to compare those changes. The age-related changes in the CD8(+) T-cell population of cattle were studied. The results indicate that CD8(+) T-cells could be divided into γ/δ TCR1(+) and γ/δ TCR1(-) according to their expression of the γ/δ T-cell receptor. As a proportion, the CD8(+) γ/δ TCR1(+) population appears to increase with age. Within the CD8(+)γ/δ TCR1(-) a population of cells expressing a profile of surface molecules previously associated with effector memory T cells (CD45RO(+), CD62L(-), CD27(-), CD45RA(-) and CD28(-)) increases with age. Furthermore, a parallel increase with age in the proportion of CD8(+)CD45RO(+) T cells that express the cytotoxic granule protein perforin was observed. In peripheral tissues, namely lungs, it was found that the majority of CD8(+) T cells present expressed a phenotype indicative of previously primed T cells (high expression of CD45RO and perforin). In contrast, only a small population of memory CD8(+) T cells was present in lymphoid tissue where most of the CD8(+) T cells expressed a naïve phenotype. In conclusion, in cattle, like in human, CD8(+) T cells that express a phenotype associated with antigen experience accumulate with age that may play a role in immunocompetence as the individual ages.

Octahedral tilting in cation-ordered Jahn-Teller distorted perovskites--a group-theoretical analysis.

Computer-based group-theoretical methods are used to enumerate structures arising in A(2)BB'X(6) perovskites, with either rock-salt or checkerboard ordering of the B and B' cations, under the additional assumption that one of these two cations is Jahn-Teller active and thereby induces a distortion of the BX(6) (or B'X(6)) octahedron. The requirement to match the pattern of Jahn-Teller distortions to the cation ordering implies that the corresponding irreducible representations should be associated with the same point in the Brillouin zone. Effects of BX(6) (and B'X(6)) octahedral tilting are included in the usual way. Finally, an analysis is presented of more complex models of ordering and distortion as might lead to the doubling of the long axis of the common Pnma perovskite, observed in systems such as Pr(1-x)Ca(x)MnO(3) (x approximately 0.5). The structural hierarchies derived in this work should prove useful in interpreting experimental results.

X-ray absorption and neutron diffraction studies of (Sr(1 - x)Ce(x))MnO3: transition from coherent to incoherent static Jahn-Teller distortions.

We have carried out Ce L- and Mn K-edge x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) measurements to experimentally determine the oxidation states of both Ce and Mn in (Sr(1 - x)Ce(x))MnO(3) (x = 0.1-0.4). It was found that although Ce is predominantly 4 + at low doping levels (x = 0.1 and 0.15), the Ce valency decreases with increasing Ce doping (reaching a value of around 3.5 + at x = 0.4). The average Mn oxidation state decreases with the increase of Ce content, with the percentage of Jahn-Teller active Mn(3+) ions increasing from 26% (x = 0.1) to 57% (x = 0.4). Precise structural parameters were also obtained from high resolution neutron diffraction studies for samples with x = 0.1-0.3. The crystal structure remains tetragonal in I4/mcm for x ≤ 0.3. The octahedral tilt angle increases with increasing Ce content, but the distortion of the MnO(6) octahedra is reduced significantly at x ≥ 0.2 due to a transition from long-range ordered Jahn-Teller distortions to incoherent static distortions.

Symmetry rules and strain/order-parameter relationships for coupling between octahedral tilting and cooperative Jahn-Teller transitions in ABX3 perovskites. I. Theory.

Space groups, order-parameter and strain/order-parameter coupling relationships in ABX3 perovskite structures which combine cooperative Jahn-Teller distortions and octahedral tilting have been investigated from the perspective of group theory using the computer program ISOTROPY. Two common Jahn-Teller ordering schemes are associated with the irreducible representations M2+ and R3+ of the space group Pm3m. A third, less-common ordering scheme is associated with Gamma3+. These combine with tilting instabilities associated with M3+ and R4+ to generate a predicted suite of Jahn-Teller structure types that includes many of the known structures of manganites, vanadates, Cu and Cr halides. Order-parameter coupling and possible phase transitions are described using Landau free-energy expansions, and general expressions for the relationships between symmetry-adapted spontaneous strains and particular order-parameter components are presented. These provide a general formal framework for determining structural evolution across multi-component order-parameter space and for characterizing the influence of tilting instabilities on Jahn-Teller instabilities or of Jahn-Teller ordering on octahedral tilting.

Symmetry rules and strain/order-parameter relationships for coupling between octahedral tilting and cooperative Jahn-Teller transitions in ABX3 perovskites. II. Application.

The structural evolution of selected perovskites containing Jahn-Teller cations has been investigated in the light of a formal analysis of symmetry hierarchies for phase transitions driven by octahedral tilting and Jahn-Teller cooperative distortions. General expressions derived from the strain/order-parameter coupling relationships allowed by symmetry are combined with observed changes in lattice parameters to reveal details of order-parameter evolution and coupling. LuVO3, YbVO3, YVO3 and CeVO3 are representative of systems which develop Jahn-Teller ordering schemes associated with irreducible representations M2+ and R3+ of the space group Pm3m. Tilting of their octahedra is associated with M3+ and R4+. The Pnma (M3+ + R4+ tilting) <--> P2(1)/a (M3+ + R4+ tilting, R3+ Jahn-Teller order) transition below room temperature is close to second order in character. Shear strains which depend primarily on tilt angles show little variation, implying that there is only weak coupling between the tilting and Jahn-Teller order parameters. The subsequent P2(1)/a <--> Pnma (M3+ + R4+ tilting, M2+ Jahn-Teller order) is first order in character, and involves either a reduction in the R4+ tilt angle or a change in the strength of tilt/Jahn-Teller order-parameter coupling. In LaMnO3, the isosymmetric Pnma (M3+ + R4+ tilting) <--> Pnma (M3+ + R4+ tilting, M2+ Jahn-Teller order) transition can be described in terms of a classical first-order transition conforming to a 246 Landau expansion with negative fourth-order coefficients. Strain evolution in Ba-doped samples suggests that the transition becomes second order in character and reveals a new strain relaxation mechanism in LaMnO3 which might be understood in terms of local strain heterogeneities due to the disordering of distorted MnO6 octahedra. Transitions in PrAlO3 and La(0.5)Ba(0.5)CoO3 illustrate the transformation behaviour of systems in which the Jahn-Teller ordering scheme is associated with the irreducible representation Gamma3+. Overall, coupled tilting + Jahn-Teller phase transitions in perovskites conform to mean-field behaviour, consistent with the underlying role of strain in promoting long interaction lengths.

The antigen-specific memory CD8+ T-cell response induced by BCG in cattle resides in the CD8+gamma/deltaTCR-CD45RO+ T-cell population.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a worldwide leading cause of death among infectious diseases. Development of safer and more efficacious vaccines requires a basic understanding of the protective mechanisms induced by BCG. Here we show that vaccination of cattle with BCG induces CD8+gamma/deltaTCR-CD45RO+ T-cells that can produce IFN-gamma, up-regulate transcription and expression of perforin, lyse BCG-infected monocyte-derived macrophages (MoMvarphi) and contribute to a reduction in the number of intracellular mycobacteria. We also observed BCG-induced CD8+ responses in vivo. After infection of cattle with Mycobacterium bovis, CD8+gamma/deltaTCR-CD45RO+ cells responded more strongly to M. bovis-infected MoMvarphi than to BCG-infected MoMvarphi. These results indicate that the antigen-specific CD8+ memory response resides in the CD8+gamma/deltaTCR-CD45RO+ cell population.

Crystal structures and phase transition in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))(Mn(1-y)Co(y))O(3) (y = 0 and 0.2): the influence of Jahn-Teller distortion.

We have studied the crystal structures of (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))(Mn(1-y)Co(y))O(3) (y = 0 and 0.2) using neutron diffraction. Both (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))MnO(3) and (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))(Mn(0.8)Co(0.2))O(3) have a tetragonal structure in space group I4/mcm at room temperature, and the octahedral tilt angle around the c-axis is nearly the same. The only significant difference is the shape of the Mn(Co)O(6) octahedron: it is elongated in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))MnO(3) due to the cooperative Jahn-Teller (JT) effect, but essentially regular in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))(Mn(0.8)Co(0.2))O(3) due to the absence of JT-active Mn(3+) ions. With increasing temperature, both compounds undergo a continuous phase transition at around 400 °C to a cubic structure in [Formula: see text], with no indication of a distinct transition in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))MnO(3) from the removal of the static JT distortion. In addition, the temperature dependence of the octahedral tilt angle is very similar in the two samples, implying that the JT distortion has minimal effect on the octahedral tilting and the phase transition to cubic. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis indicates that the Ce oxidation state is predominantly 4+ in both samples. The electrical conductivity is higher in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))MnO(3) than in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))(Mn(0.8)Co(0.2))O(3) in the temperature range studied (100-900 °C).