Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism 

About: Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism is an academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Superconductivity & Magnetization. It has an ISSN identifier of 1557-1939. Over the lifetime, 6338 publications have been published receiving 45391 citations. The journal is also known as: Superconductivity and novel magnetism.

Synthesis and Superconductivity of New BiS2 Based Superconductor PrO0.5F0.5BiS2

Abstract: We report synthesis and superconductivity at 3.7 K in PrO0.5F0.5BiS2. The newly discovered material belongs to the layered sulfide based REO0.5F0.5BiS2 compounds having a ZrCuSiAs-type structure. The bulk polycrystalline compound is synthesized by the vacuum encapsulation technique at 780 ∘C in a single step. Detailed structural analysis has shown that the as synthesized PrO0.5F0.5BiS2 is crystallized in a tetragonal P4/nmm space group with lattice parameters a=4.015(5) A, c=13.362(4) A. Bulk superconductivity is observed in PrO0.5F0.5BiS2 below 4 K from magnetic and transport measurements. Electrical transport measurements showed superconducting transition temperature (Tc) onset at 3.7 K and Tc(ρ=0) at 3.1 K. The hump at Tc related to the superconducting transition is not observed in the heat capacity measurement and rather a Schottky-type anomaly is observed at below ∼6 K. The compound is slightly semiconducting in a normal state. Isothermal magnetization (MH) exhibited typical type II behavior with a lower critical field (Hc1) of around 8 Oe.

Physics of Silicene Stripes

Abstract: Silicene, a monolayer of silicon atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice, is the challenging hypothetical reflection in the silicon realm of graphene, a one-atom thick graphite sheet, presently the hottest material in condensed matter physics. If existing, it would also reveal a cornucopia of new physics and potential applications. Here, we reveal the epitaxial growth of silicene stripes self-aligned in a massively parallel array on the anisotropic silver (110) surface. This crucial step in the silicene “gold rush” could give a new kick to silicon on the electronics road-map and open the most promising route towards wide-ranging applications. A hint of superconductivity in these silicene stripes poses intriguing questions related to the delicate interplay between paired correlated fermions, massless Dirac fermions and bosonic quasiparticles in low dimensions.

A Novel One-Pot Combustion Synthesis and Opto-magnetic Properties of Magnetically Separable Spinel Mn x Mg 1 − x Fe 2 O 4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) Nanophotocatalysts

Abstract: Magnetically separable spinel Mn x Mg1−xFe2O4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) nano-photocatalysts was synthesized by a facile microwave-assisted combustion method. The formation of single-phase cubic spinel structure was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses. The morphology of the samples consists of sphere-like nanoparticles (NPs) structure, which was confirmed by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) analyses. The energy band gap of the samples was confirmed by UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS) study and the band gap of pure MgFe2O4 sample is 2.02 eV, and it is increased with increasing the amount of Mn2+ dopant, due to the decrease of particle size. The magnetic measurements (VSM) showed ferromagnetic behavior for all compositions. The present study leads to enhance the photocatalytic activity of spinel Mn x Mg1−xFe2O4 NPs with the addition of TiO2 catalyst using the photo-decomposition of 4-chloro phenol (4-CP) under visible light. It was found that the combined nanocomposite (NCs) Mn x Mg1−xFe2O4-TiO2photocatalysts exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity than that of pure TiO2 or Mn x Mg1−xFe2O4. The enhanced photocatalytic ability of Mn x Mg1−xFe2O4-TiO2 NCs could be attributed to the interconnected heterojunction of spinel Mn x Mg1−xFe2O4 and TiO2 catalysts.

Electromagnetic Properties and Humidity-Sensing Studies of Magnetically Recoverable LaMg x Fe 1−x O 3−δ Perovskites Nano-photocatalysts by Sol-Gel Route

Abstract: Nanostructured perovskite mixed metal oxides, LaMg x Fe1−x O 3−δ (x= 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0), were synthesized successfully by a simple sol-gel route. The formation of single-phase perovskite oxides structure was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The average crystallite size of the samples was evaluated using Sherrer’s formula. The presence of functional groups and metal oxide bonds was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface adsorption studies showed better surface area of the compositions, which was further, evidenced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Room temperature vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis was confirmed that the superparamagnetic nature and the magnetization values decreased with increase in Mg-dopant. The samples were subjected to dc electrical conductivity studies at room temperature. The dc resistance measurements as a function of relative humidity (RH) at 5, 31, 51, 79, and 98 % were carried out on sintered discs at 25 ∘C under static conditions, which sensitivity factor S f (R 5% / R 95%) were calculated for LaMg x Fe1−x O 3−δ . The temperature-dependent conductance was also carried out in the range of 100–300 ∘C as suggested, and the activation energy was determined. Sample LaMgFe-4 (x= 0.6) possessed the highest humidity-sensing factor (12,926.03 ± 387), while LaFeO3 (x= 0) possessed the lowest sensitivity factor (41.66 ± 3). The response and recovery characteristics were studied for LaMgFe-4, which exhibited a very good narrow hysteresis loop. The photocatalytic degradation (PCD) of methylene blue (MB) dye was investigated under UV-visible light and the sample LaMgFe-4 showed better PCD efficiency than other samples, due to the smaller particle size and higher surface area.

A Novel Synthesis of Zn2+-Doped CoFe2O4 Spinel Nanoparticles: Structural, Morphological, Opto-magnetic and Catalytic Properties

Abstract: Zn2+-doped CoFe2O4 (Zn x Co1−x Fe2O4: where x= 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) spinel nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by microwave combustion method using nitrates of cobalt, zinc, and iron as the starting materials and urea used as the fuel. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern analyses showed that all composition was found to have pure cubic spinel structure with well crystalline nature. The average crystallite size of the samples was found to be in the range of 25.43 and 29.46 nm. The lattice parameter increased from 8.432 to 8.441 A with increasing the Zn2+ content, due to the smaller ionic radius of Co2+ substituted by larger ionic radius of Zn2+, which was determined by Rietveld analysis. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) analyses were used to study the morphological variation, and the results showed a nano-sized spherical-shaped particle-like morphology. The band gap (E g) of the undoped CoFe2O4 was estimated to be 2.69 eV from UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). With the increase of Zn2+ dopant, the E g value decreased from 2.61 to 2.01 eV, due to the difference of particle size of the samples. The magnetic hysteresis (M−H) loop confirmed the ferromagnetic nature of undoped CoFe2O4 with magnetization (M s) of 64.85 emu/g, and it is decreased with increasing the Zn2+ content in CoFe2O4 spinel, which was confirmed by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). All composition of spinel Zn x Co1−x Fe2O4 samples were successfully tested as catalyst for the conversion of benzyl alcohol, which has resulted 91.73 and 95.82 % conversion efficiency of CoFe2O4 and Zn0.4Co0.6Fe2O4 nano-catalysts, respectively.