Transparent Colloids of Detonation Nanodiamond: Physical, Chemical and Biological Properties.

Aqueous suspensions (colloids) containing detonation nano-diamond (DND) feature in most applications of DND and are an indispensable stage of its production; therefore, the interaction of DND with water is actively studied. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the unique physico-chemical and biological properties of transparent colloids with low DND content (≤0.1%), which are the subject of this review. Thus, such colloids possess giant dielectric permittivity which shows peculiar temperature dependence, as well as quasi-periodic fluctuations during slow evaporation or dilution. In these colloids, DND interacts with water and air to form cottonwool-like fibers comprising living micro-organisms (fungi and bacteria) and DND particles, with elevated nitrogen content due to fixation of atmospheric N2. Prolonged contact between these solutions and air lead to the formation of ammonium nitrate, sometimes forming macroscopic crystals. The latter was also formed during prolonged oxidation of fungi in aqueous DND colloids. The possible mechanism of N2 fixation is discussed, which can be attributable to the high reactivity of DND.

Temperature- and Field-Induced Transformation of the Magnetic State in Co2.5Ge0.5BO5.

A tetravalent-substituted cobalt ludwigite Co2.5Ge0.5BO5 has been synthesized using the flux method. The compound undergoes two magnetic transitions: a long-range antiferromagnetic transition at TN1 = 84 K and a metamagnetic one at TN2 = 36 K. The sample-oriented magnetization measurements revealed a fully compensated magnetic moment along the a- and c-axes and an uncompensated one along the b-axis leading to high uniaxial anisotropy. A field-induced enhancement of the ferromagnetic correlations at TN2 is observed in specific heat measurements. The DFT+GGA calculation predicts the spin configuration of (↑↓↓↑) as a ground state with a magnetic moment of 1.37 µB/f.u. The strong hybridization of Ge(4s, 4p) with O (2p) orbitals resulting from the high electronegativity of Ge4+ is assumed to cause an increase in the interlayer interaction, contributing to the long-range magnetic order. The effect of two super-superexchange pathways Co2+-O-B-O-Co2+ and Co2+-O-M4-O-Co2+ on the magnetic state is discussed.

Fine details of crystal structure and atomic vibrations in YbB12 with a metal-insulator transition.

The crystal structure of single-crystal Kondo insulator YbB12 was studied at nine temperatures in the range 85-293 K based on X-ray diffraction data. Very weak Jahn-Teller distortions of the cubic lattice were detected at all temperatures, but did not require a revision of the structural model. Heat capacity and electrical conductivity of YbB12 single crystals were studied in the temperature range 1.9-300 K. It is found that both the structural parameters and the indicated physical properties have some specific features in the temperature range 120-160 K. The unit cell of YbB12 contracts when cooled below 160 K and expands at around 120 K. The temperature dependences of the equivalent atomic displacement parameters Ueq(T) are no longer monotonic around 140 K and should be modeled by two Einstein curves for Yb and two Debye curves for boron atoms above and below this temperature. As follows from the temperature behavior of the specific heat, coupled oscillations of Yb ions in a double-well potential lead to the appearance of a charge gap in the density of states and gradual deterioration in conductive properties of the crystal below 150 K. This metal-insulator phase transition is accompanied by a kink in the Ueq(T) curves and changes in the unit-cell values.

Effect of Multiplicity Fluctuation in Cobalt Ions on Crystal Structure, Magnetic and Electrical Properties of NdCoO3 and SmCoO3.

The structural, magnetic, electrical, and dilatation properties of the rare-earth NdCoO3 and SmCoO3 cobaltites were investigated. Their comparative analysis was carried out and the effect of multiplicity fluctuations on physical properties of the studied cobaltites was considered. Correlations between the spin state change of cobalt ions and the temperature dependence anomalies of the lattice parameters, magnetic susceptibility, volume thermal expansion coefficient, and electrical resistance have been revealed. A comparison of the results with well-studied GdCoO3 allows one to single out both the general tendencies inherent in all rare-earth cobaltites taking into account the lanthanide contraction and peculiar properties of the samples containing Nd and Sm.

Microstructure and superconducting properties of high-rate PLD-derived GdBa2Cu3O7-δ coated conductors with BaSnO3 and BaZrO3 pinning centers.

The microstructure of GdBa2Cu3O7-δ based on superconducting tapes with BaSnO3 and BaZrO3 artificial pinning centers formed by high-rate pulse laser deposition in SuperOx Japan was studied by scanning/transmission electron microscopy. The artificial pinning centers have adopted columnar morphology with average diameter of about 8 nm (BaSnO3-doped sample) and 6.5 nm (BaZrO3-doped sample) and density of 500 µm-2 for the both samples. The average length of the BaSnO3 nanocolumns is about two times higher than the BaZrO3 nanocolumns. The angular dependences of critical current in magnetic field up to 1 Tesla at 77 and 65 K have been obtained. The critical current and its anisotropy depend on artificial pinning centers presence and their type. The angular dependence of resistivity in the field up to 9 Tesla was also studied and discussed.