We investigated the microstructure, crystal structure, dielectric, and elecromechanical strain properties of lead-free BaTiO₃ (BT)-modified (Bi_1/2Na_1/2)TiO₃-SrTiO₃ (BNT-ST) piezoelectric ceramics. Samples were prepared by a conventional ceramic processing route. Temperature dependent dielectric properties confirmed that a phase transition from a nonergodic relaxor to an ergodic relaxor was induced when the BT concentration reached 1.5 mol%, interestingly, where the average grain size reached a maximum value of 4.5 μm. At the same time, enhanced electromechanical strain (S_max/E_max = 600 pm/V) was obtained. It is suggested that the induced ferroelectric-relaxor phase transition by the BT modification is responsible for the enhancement of electromechanical strain in 1.5 mol% BT-modified BNT-ST ceramics.

Bulk-sized PbTiO₃ (PT), which is widely known as a high-performance ferroelectric oxide but cannot be fabricated into a monolithic ceramic due to its high c/a ratio, was successfully prepared with a high tetragonality by partially substituting Ni ions for Pb ions using a solid-state reaction method. We found that Ni-doped PT was well-fabricated as a bulk monolith with a significant c/a ratio of ~1.06. X-ray diffraction on as-sintered and crushed samples revealed that NiTiO₃ secondary phase was present at the doping level of more than 2 at.%. Scanning electron microscopic study showed that NiTiO₃ secondary phase grew on the surface of PT specimens regardless of the doping level possibly due to the evaporation of Pb during sintering. We demonstrated that an unconventional introduction of Ni ions into A-site plays a key role on the fabrication of bulk PT, though how Ni ion functions should be studied further. We expect that this study contributes to a further development of displacive ferroelectric oxides with a high c/a ratio.

In this study, the following results were obtained by analysis of electric properties with FT-IR, DSC, XRD, and SEM, in the range of temperature 30~160℃ and frequency 0.1~200 kHz, when filling agent (0~100 phr) and silicone oil (0~12 phr) were added to raw silicone rubber. In the case of 100 phr mixed samples, the relative dielectric constant εr gradually decreased from 4.3 to 3.96 as frequency increased, and the dielectric loss tan δ decreased to 0.01 at 300 Hz, then increased to 0.022 at 30 kHz, then decreased to 200 kHz. The FT-IR analysis identified the same binding structure according to the chemical composition of added silica (SiO₂). Through DSC analysis, we could determine the change of heat quantity and the glass transition temperature of each specimen. In the XRD analysis, it was found that the images SiO₂, TiO₂, and Fe₂O₃ appeared for specimens with 0%, 50% and 100% filling agent. Finally, the SEM analysis confirmed that particles of 0.5 to 1.5 μm size with silica (SiO₂) mixing were dispersed evenly.

Thermal and structural stability in the glass transition region of chalcogenide glasses has been investigated in terms of thermodynamics for application to various optoelectronic devices. In this study, the compositions of Ge_xSb₂₀Se_80-x (x = 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30) were selected to investigate the glass stability according to germanium ratios. The chalcogenide bulks were fabricated by using a traditional melt-quenching method. Thin films were deposited by a thermal evaporation system, maintaining the deposition ratio of 3~5 A in order to have uniformity. The thermal and structural properties were measured by a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The DSC analysis provided thermal parameters and theoretical glass region stabilities. The XRD analysis supported the theoretical stabilities because of where the crystallization peak data occurred.

This paper focuses on thermal properties of a newly prepared composite material by nano-silica and micro-silica mixture. Nano-silica and micro-silica mixture composites were made by dispersing surface treated nano-silica (average radius: 10 nm) and micro-size silica in epoxy resin. To investigate the effects of nano-silica and micro-size silica mixture(ENMC), the glass transition temperature (Tg), coefficients of thermal expansion(CTE) and elastic modulus of DMA properties by DSC, TMA and DMA devices were measured for the ENMC according to increase nano-silica addition contents and EMC. All properties of the neat epoxy were improved by the addition of micro-silica, which was improved much further by the addition of surface treated nano-silica to the EMC system.