Exceptionally Slow, Long-Range, and Non-Gaussian Critical Fluctuations Dominate the Charge Density Wave Transition.

(TaSe_{4})_{2}I is a well-studied quasi-one-dimensional compound long-known to have a charge-density wave (CDW) transition around 263 K. We argue that the critical fluctuations of the pinned CDW order parameter near the transition can be inferred from the resistance noise on account of their coupling to the dissipative normal carriers. Remarkably, the critical fluctuations of the CDW order parameter are slow enough to survive the thermodynamic limit and dominate the low-frequency resistance noise. The noise variance and relaxation time show rapid growth (critical opalescence and critical slowing down) within a temperature window of ϵ≈±0.1, where ϵ is the reduced temperature. This is very wide but consistent with the Ginzburg criterion. We further show that this resistance noise can be quantitatively used to extract the associated critical exponents. Below |ϵ|≲0.02, we observe a crossover from mean-field to a fluctuation-dominated regime with the critical exponents taking anomalously low values. The distribution of fluctuations in the critical transition region is skewed and strongly non-Gaussian. This non-Gaussianity is interpreted as the breakdown of the validity of the central limit theorem as the diverging coherence volume becomes comparable to the macroscopic sample size. The large magnitude critical fluctuations observed over an extended temperature range, as well as the crossover from the mean-field to the fluctuation-dominated regime highlight the role of the quasi-one-dimensional character in controlling the phase transition.

Aminoisophthalate Bridged Cd(II)-2D Coordination Polymer: Structure Description, Selective Detection of Pd2+ in Aqueous Medium, and Fabrication of Schottky Diode.

Photoluminescence activity of coordination polymers (CPs) has evoked intricate applications in the field of materials science, especially sensing of ions/molecules. In the present study, 2,3,5,6-tetrakis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine (tppz) and 5-aminoisophthalate (HAIPA-) coordinated to Cd(II) to architect a coordination polymer, {[Cd(HAIPA)(tppz)(OH)]·3H2O}n (CP1) which unveils blue emission in an aqueous acetonitrile (98% aqueous) suspension. The emission is selectively quenched by Pd2+ only without interference in the presence of as many as 16 other cations. The structure of CP1 shows the presence of a free -COOH group, and the interlayer (-CO)O(2)···O(7) (OC-) distance, 4.242 Å, along with the π···π interactions (3.990, 3.927 Å), may make a cavity which suitably accommodates only Pd2+ (van der Waal's radius, 1.7 Å) through the Pd(II)-carboxylato (-COO-Pd) coordination. The stability of the composite, [CP1 + Pd2+] may be assessed from the fluorescence quenching experiment, and the Stern-Volmer constant (KSV) is 7.2 × 104 M-1. Therefore, the compound, CP1, is a promising sensor for Pd(II) in a selective manner with limit of detection (LOD), 0.08 µM. The XPS spectra of CP1 and [CP1 + Pd2+] have proven the presence of Pd2+ in the host and the existence of a coordinated -COO-Pd bond. Interestingly, inclusion of Pd2+ in CP1 decreases the band gap from 3.61 eV (CP1) to 3.05 eV ([CP1 + Pd2+]) which lies in the semiconducting region and has exhibited improved electrical conductivity from 7.42 × 10-5 (CP1) to 1.20 × 10-4 S m-1 ([CP1 + Pd2+]). Upon light irradiation, the electrical conductivities are enhanced to 1.45 × 10-4 S m-1 (CP1) and 3.81 × 10-4 S m-1 ([CP1 + Pd2+]); which validates the highly desired photoresponsive device applications. Therefore, such type of materials may serve as SDG-army (sustainable development goal) to battle against the environmental issues and energy crisis.