Physical stability of R-(+)-Limonene emulsions stabilized by Ulva fasciata algae polysaccharide.

The physical stability of R-(+)-Limonene emulsions stabilized by Ulva fasciata polysaccharide (UFP) was investigated in this study. Emulsion physical stability was evaluated under different polysaccharide concentrations (1%-5%, wt/wt) and pH values (3.0-11.0). The stability of R-(+)-Limonene emulsions was demonstrated by droplet size distribution, rheological properties, zeta potential and visual phase separation. R-(+)-Limonene emulsions displayed monomodal droplet size distributions, high absolute values of zeta potential and good storage stability when 3% (wt/wt) UFP was used. The rheological properties and stability of R-(+)-Limonene emulsions appeared to be dependent on polysaccharide concentration. The emulsion stability was impacted by pH. Higher zeta potential (-52.6mV) and smaller mean droplet diameter (2.45µm) were achieved in neutral liquid environment (pH 7.0). Extreme acidity caused the flocculation of emulsions, which was manifested as phase separation, while emulsions were quite stable in an alkaline environment. Through comparing the stabilities of emulsions stabilized by different emulsifiers (i.e. UFP, GA and Gelatin), the result suggested that UFP was the best emulsifying agent among them.

Linear electro-optic properties of orthorhombic PZN-8%PT single crystal.

The optical transmittance spectra of relaxor ferroelectric 0.92Pb(Zn(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-0.08PbTiO(3) (PZN-8%PT) single crystals poled along different directions have been systematically studied at room temperature. After being poled along the [011] direction, the transmittance of induced orthorhombic PZN-8%PT single crystal is more than 50% from 0.5 to 5.7 µm, which is much higher than that poled along the [001] and [111] directions. The refractive indices and linear electro-optic properties of the orthorhombic PZN-8%PT single crystal were characterized at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. Large electro-optic responses were observed, (γ33) = 220 pm/V, (γ13) = 62 pm/V, and (γ23) = 23 pm/V. Thus, orthorhombic PZN-8%PT single crystal is a promising material for high-performance electro-optic devices.

Full tensorial elastic, piezoelectric, and dielectric properties characterization of [011]-poled PZN-9%PT single crystal.

Transverse piezoelectric property of 0.91Pb(Zn(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-0.09PbTiO(3) (PZN-9%PT) single crystal poled along [011] direction under different fields have been investigated, the poling field giving the best property was between 350 and 650 V/mm at room temperature. Full tensorial elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties of PZN-9%PT single crystal poled along the [011] direction under 500 V/mm have been determined by resonance and ultrasonic methods. It was found that the electromechanical coupling coefficients k(32) and k(33) can reach 0.90 and 0.89 and the piezoelectric coefficients d(32) and d(15) are -1705 and 2012 pC/N, respectively. This complete set of physical properties can provide convenience for piezoelectric device fabrication and domain engineering studies.

Pyroelectric performances of rhombohedral 0.42Pb(In1/2)Nb1/2)O3-0.3Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.28PbTiO3 single crystals.

Relaxor-based ferroelectric single crystals xPb(In1/2)Nb1/2)O3-yPb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-(1-x-y)PbTiO3 {PIMNT [100x/100y/100(1-x-y)]} have been grown by a modified Bridgman technique. The as-grown PIMNT (42/30/28) crystal with rhombohedral perovskite-type structure shows higher Curie temperature TC ~ 187 °C, and higher ferroelectric rhombohedral-to-tetragonal phase transition temperature TRT ~ 152 °C, both about 50 °C higher than those found for 0.71Pb(In1/2)Nb1/2)O3-0.3Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.29PbTiO3 crystals. Moreover, as a core parameter of pyroelectric material, the detectivity figures-of-merit of PIMNT (42/30/28) crystal are higher than other typical relaxor-based ferroelectric crystals, which primarily stems from the lower dielectric loss, making it promising candidate for infrared detector applications.

Room temperature synthesized rutile TiO(2) nanoparticles induced by laser ablation in liquid and their photocatalytic activity.

TiO(2) nanoparticles were prepared by one-step pulsed laser ablation of a titanium target immersed in a poly-(vinylpyrrolidone) solution at room temperature. The products were systematically characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that the rutile TiO(2) nanocrystalline particles were one-step synthesized at room temperature and the mean size in diameter is about 50 nm with a narrow size distribution. A probable formation process was proposed on the basis of the microstructure and the instantaneous plasma plume induced by the laser. Photocatalytic activity was monitored by degradation of a methylene blue solution. The as-prepared rutile TiO(2) nanoparticles demonstrate a good photocatalytic performance. This work shows that pulsed laser ablation in liquid media is a good method to synthesize some nanosized materials which are difficult to produce by other conventional methods.