Correction: Enhanced electrocaloric effect, energy storage density and pyroelectric response from a domain-engineered lead-free BaTi0.91Sn0.08Zr0.01O3 ferroelectric ceramic.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/D2RA04914G.].

Enhanced electrocaloric effect, energy storage density and pyroelectric response from a domain-engineered lead-free BaTi0.91Sn0.08Zr0.01O3 ferroelectric ceramic.

A BaTi0.91Sn0.08Zr0.01O3 (BTSZ) ceramic was prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method. Its structural, dielectric, ferroelectric, and pyroelectric properties were carefully studied. The Rietveld refinement was used to characterize the structural proprieties of the synthesized ceramic. The microstructure was observed by scanning electron microscopy. Phase transitions observed in the temperature dependent dielectric permittivity (ε r-T and tan δ-T) showed a transition close to room temperature, resulting in improved piezoelectric, pyroelectric and electrocaloric performance. In addition, it was found that an electric field poling process changed the character of ε r-T and tan δ-T plots. Resonance modes in the polarized state, where maximum power transmission was achieved, were observed in the impedance spectrum. The extra-slim hysteresis loops revealed a relatively low coercive field and hysteresis loss related to the diffuse phase transition, which can significantly improve energy storage efficiency up to 75% at 100 °C. To characterize the electrocaloric effect (ECE), indirect and direct methods based on the thermodynamic approach were used. Both methods results showed good consistency and revealed a large ECE peak evolving along the phase diagram. Furthermore, pyroelectric figures of merit (FOMs) for voltage responsivity (F v), current responsivity (F i), energy harvesting (F E), new energy harvesting and detectivity (F d) were calculated. Finally, thermal energy harvesting (N D) was determined by using the Olsen cycle. The obtained maximum N D was 233.7 kJ m-3 when the Olsen cycle operated at 25-100 °C and 0-30 kV cm-1. This study introduces not only a technique to produce a high performance ceramic for refrigeration devices, but also broadens the range of applications for BT-based lead-free ferroelectrics beyond actuators, sensors, and energy harvesting to solid-state cooling.

Large magnetocaloric effect in manganese perovskite La0.67-x Bi x Ba0.33MnO3 near room temperature.

La0.67-x Bi x Ba0.33MnO3 (x = 0 and 0.05) ceramics were prepared via the sol-gel method. Structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric effects have been systematically studied. X-ray diffraction shows that all the compounds crystallize in the rhombohedral structure with the R3̄c space group. By analyzing the field and temperature dependence of magnetization, it is observed that both samples undergo a second order magnetic phase transition near T C. The value of T C decreases from 340 K to 306 K when increasing x from 0.00 to 0.05, respectively. The reported magnetic entropy change for both samples was considerably remarkable and equal to 5.8 J kg-1 K-1 for x = 0.00 and 7.3 J kg-1 K-1 for x = 0.05, respectively, for µ 0 H = 5 T, confirming that these materials are promising candidates for magnetic refrigeration applications. The mean-field theory was used to study the magnetocaloric effect within the thermodynamics of the model. Satisfactory agreement between experimental data and the mean-field theory has been found.

Electrical conductivity and dielectric behaviour of nanocrystalline La0.6Gd0.1Sr0.3Mn0.75Si0.25O3.

An La0.6Gd0.1Sr0.3Mn0.75Si0.25O3 ceramic was prepared via a solution-based chemical technique. X-ray diffraction study confirms the formation of the compound in the orthorhombic structure with the Pnma group space. Dielectric properties have been investigated in the temperature range of 85-290 K with the frequency range 40 Hz to 2 MHz. The conductivity spectra have been investigated by the Jonscher universal power law: σ(ω) = σ dc + Aω n , where ω is the frequency of the ac field, and n is the exponent. The deduced exponent 'n' values prove that a hopping model is the dominating mechanism in the material. Based on dc-electrical resistivity study, the conduction process is found to be dominated by a thermally activated small polaron hopping (SPH) mechanism. Complex impedance analysis (CIA) indicates the presence of a relaxation phenomenon and allows us to modelize the sample in terms of an electrical equivalent circuit. Moreover, the impedance study confirms the contribution of grain boundaries to the electrical properties.

Electrical transport and giant magnetoresistance in La0.75Sr0.25Mn1-xCrxO3 (0.15, 0.20 and 0.25) manganite oxide.

We have investigated the influence of chromium (Cr) doping on the magneto-electrical properties of polycrystalline samples La0.75Sr0.25Mn1-xCrxO3 (0.15 ≤ x ≤ 0.25), prepared by the sol-gel method. Comparison of experimental data with the theoretical models shows that in the metal-ferromagnetic region, the electrical behavior of the three samples is quite well described by a theory based on electron-electron, electron-phonon and electron-magnon scattering and Kondo-like spin dependent scattering. For the high temperature paramagnetic insulating regime, the adiabatic small polaron hopping (SPH) model is found to fit well the experimental curves.