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1. Strengthened relaxor behavior in (1− x )Pb(Fe _0.5 Nb _0.5 )O ₃ – x BiFeO ₃

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C9TC05883D  

   Prah, Uroš; Dragomir, Mirela; Rojac, Tadej; Benčan, Andreja; Broughton, Rachel; Chung, Ching-Chang; Jones, Jacob L.; Sherbondy, Rachel; Brennecka, Geoff; Uršič, Hana (March 2020, Journal of Materials Chemistry C)

   null (Ed.)

   A systematic study of (1− x )Pb(Fe 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 – x BiFeO 3 ( x = 0–0.5) was performed by combining dielectric and electromechanical measurements with structural and microstructural characterization in order to investigate the strengthening of the relaxor properties when adding BiFeO 3 into Pb(Fe 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 and forming a solid solution. Pb(Fe 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 crystalizes in monoclinic symmetry exhibiting ferroelectric-like polarization versus electric field ( P–E ) hysteresis loop and sub-micron-sized ferroelectric domains. Adding BiFeO 3 to Pb(Fe 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 favors a pseudocubic phase and a gradual strengthening of the relaxor behavior of the prepared ceramics. This is indicated by a broadening of the peak in temperature-dependent permittivity, narrowing of P–E hysteresis loops and decreasing size of ferroelectric domains resulting in polar nanodomains for x = 0.20 composition. The relaxor behavior was additionally confirmed by Vogel–Fulcher analysis. For the x ≥ 0.30 compositions, broad high-temperature anomalies are observed in dielectric permittivity versus temperature measurements in addition to the frequency-dispersive peak located close to room temperature. These samples also exhibit pinched P–E hysteresis loops. The observed pinching is most probably related to the reorganization of polar nanoregions under the electric field as shown by synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements as well as by piezo-response force microscopy analysis, while in part affected by the presence of charged point defects and anti-ferroelectric order, as indicated from rapid cooling experiments and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, respectively. 

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2. Kinetics of the Topochemical Transformation of (PbSe) _m (TiSe ₂ ) _n (SnSe ₂ ) _m (TiSe ₂ ) _n to (Pb _0.5 Sn _0.5 Se) _m (TiSe ₂ ) _n

   https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.8b10681  

   Sutherland, Duncan R.; Merrill, Devin R.; Ditto, Jeffrey; Moore, Daniel B.; Medlin, Douglas; Johnson, David C. (January 2019, Journal of the American Chemical Society)
3. Emergent properties in the natural composite Ni ₂ MnSb _0.5 Al _0.5

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ab7c9f  

   Samanta, Tamalika; Salas, D; Srihari, V; Karaman, I; Bhobe, P A (May 2020, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics)
4. 2D Homologous Series SrFM _n BiS _n+2 (M = Pb, Ag _0.5 Bi _0.5 ; n = 0, 1) and Commensurately Modulated Sr ₂ F ₂ Bi _2/3 S ₂

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00663  

   Chen, Haijie; McClain, Rebecca; Shen, Jiahong; He, Jiangang; Malliakas, Christos D.; Spanopoulos, Ioannis; Zhang, Chi; Zhao, Chendong; Wang, Yang; Li, Qiang; et al (May 2022, Inorganic Chemistry)
5. Exploring Photothermal Pathways via in Situ Laser Heating in the Transmission Electron Microscope: Recrystallization, Grain Growth, Phase Separation, and Dewetting in Ag _0.5 Ni _0.5 Thin Films

   https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927618015465  

   Wu, Yueying; Liu, Chenze; Moore, Thomas M.; Magel, Gregory A.; Garfinkel, David A.; Camden, Jon P.; Stanford, Michael G.; Duscher, Gerd; Rack, Philip D. (December 2018, Microscopy and Microanalysis)

   Abstract A new optical delivery system has been developed for the (scanning) transmission electron microscope. Here we describe the in situ and “rapid ex situ ” photothermal heating modality of the system, which delivers >200 mW of optical power from a fiber-coupled laser diode to a 3.7 μ m radius spot on the sample. Selected thermal pathways can be accessed via judicious choices of the laser power, pulse width, number of pulses, and radial position. The long optical working distance mitigates any charging artifacts and tremendous thermal stability is observed in both pulsed and continuous wave conditions, notably, no drift correction is applied in any experiment. To demonstrate the optical delivery system’s capability, we explore the recrystallization, grain growth, phase separation, and solid state dewetting of a Ag 0.5 Ni 0.5 film. Finally, we demonstrate that the structural and chemical aspects of the resulting dewetted films was assessed. 

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