Cesare Oliva - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Cesare Oliva

Research paper thumbnail of Cr3+ electron spin resonance linewidth in ZnO—ZnCr2O4—(Pd) solid mixtures

Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions 1: Physical Chemistry in Condensed Phases, 1988

Research paper thumbnail of ST-EPR spectra of systems undergoing intramolecular chemical exchange

Journal of Magnetic Resonance (1969), 1981

Research paper thumbnail of Structural analysis of some alkaline-earth-metal–copper oxide catalysts for hydrocarbon oxidation or NO decomposition

J. Chem. Soc., Faraday Trans., 1992

Page 1. J. CHEM. SOC. FARADAY TRANS., 1992, 88(7), 1041-1048 1041 Structural Analysis of some Alk... more Page 1. J. CHEM. SOC. FARADAY TRANS., 1992, 88(7), 1041-1048 1041 Structural Analysis of some Alkaline-earth-metal-Copper Oxide Catalysts for Hydrocarbon Oxidation or NO Decomposition Lucio Forni," Cesare Oliva and Francesco P. Vatti Dip. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Single-crystal proton ENDOR of the SO–3 centre in γ-irradiated sulphamic acid

Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions 1: Physical Chemistry in Condensed Phases, 1987

Page 1. J. Chem. SOC., Faraday Trans. I, 1987, 83 (IZ), 3717-3723 Single-crystal Proton ENDOR of ... more Page 1. J. Chem. SOC., Faraday Trans. I, 1987, 83 (IZ), 3717-3723 Single-crystal Proton ENDOR of the SO, Centre in y-Irradiated Sulphamic Acid Neil M. Atherton,* Cesare Oliva,? Elizabeth J. Oliver and Dugald M. Wylie Department ...

Research paper thumbnail of Thermal decay of trapped radicals produced during the photopolymerization of diacrylates

Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions, 1990

Research paper thumbnail of Comparative Investigations on Platinum Cluster Salts

Johnson Matthey Technology Review, 2014

To evaluate future applications of metallic clusters in nanoscience and nanotechnology, the elect... more To evaluate future applications of metallic clusters in nanoscience and nanotechnology, the electronic properties of the high-nuclearity carbonyl anionic platinum cluster [Pt 19 (CO) 22 ] 4were investigated using two different organic cations. In particular, N,N'-diethyl viologen dication (Vio 2+) and N,N'-dimethyl-9,9'-bis-acridinium dication (Acr 2+) were employed as counterions, oxidising agents and characterisation probes. The reactions of [Pt 19 (CO) 22 ] 4tetra-n-butylammonium salt, (TBA +) 4 ([Pt 19 (CO) 22 ] 4-), with both (Vio 2+) and (Acr 2+), used as tetraphenylborate salts, yielded two new compounds, which were isolated. The stoichiometries and properties of these new compounds were determined and compared on the basis of infrared (IR) solution spectra, electron spin resonance (ESR) analyses, fl uorometric spectra, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry and resistivity measurements. For Vio 2+ , a cation-exchange reaction produced the fi nal compound (Vio 2+) 2 ([Pt 19 (CO) 22 ] 4-), 'PtVio', which was structurally characterised by single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. However, when using Acr 2+ , a spontaneous redox reaction occurred and a (Acr +)(TBA +) 2 ([Pt 19 (CO) 22 ] 3-) stoichiometry for the precipitated solid, 'PtAcr', was inferred from the experimental evidence, leading to an interesting 'doubly-radicalic salt'. This new type of salt, consisting of a radical anionic Pt cluster and a radical cation, is characterised by extremely simple synthesis and isolation processes and by the lowest solid-state resistivity found in high-nuclearity cluster salts with redox-active cations (1).

Research paper thumbnail of EPR analysis of La1-xMxMnO3+y (M=Ce, Eu, Sr) perovskitic catalysts for methane oxidation

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 1999

EPR analysis of (M= Ce, Eu, Sr) perovskitic La 1—x M x MnO 3'y catalysts for methane oxidati... more EPR analysis of (M= Ce, Eu, Sr) perovskitic La 1—x M x MnO 3'y catalysts for methane oxidation¤ Cesare Oliva,a* Lucio Forni,a Paolo Pasqualin,a Andrea DÏAmbrosioa and Anatoli V. Vishniakovb a Dipartimento di Chimica Fisica ed Elettrochimica e Centro CNR CSRSRC, ...

Research paper thumbnail of Percolative small-polarons conduction regime in Ce1−xGdxO2−x/2, probed by the EPR spectral intensity of Gd3+

Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 2004

EPR analysis is carried out with Ce1−xGdxO(4−x)/2 (x=0.1; 0.2) nanopowders aiming at obtaining in... more EPR analysis is carried out with Ce1−xGdxO(4−x)/2 (x=0.1; 0.2) nanopowders aiming at obtaining information about their oxidation and reduction properties. The EPR spectrum of these systems is composed of a single feature. The first derivative peak-to-peak spectral intensity decreases at higher temperatures, but this trend deviates from that of Curie's law with the x=0.1 sample, at difference with the x=0.2

Research paper thumbnail of Characterisation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and cotton fibres after cold SF6 plasma treatment

Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2001

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and cotton fibres, treated in an appositely set up RF SF6 plas... more Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and cotton fibres, treated in an appositely set up RF SF6 plasma reactor under different operating conditions, were characterised by XPS, EPR, DSC, XRD, ATR analyses, water contact angle and water droplet roll-off angle measurements. The ageing ...

Research paper thumbnail of Photocatalytic removal of ethanol and acetaldehyde by N-promoted TiO2 films: The role of the different nitrogen sources

Catalysis Today, 2011

Pure and N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles are obtained by a combination of wet and thermal procedures, ... more Pure and N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles are obtained by a combination of wet and thermal procedures, starting from TiCl3 and alkoxide precursors; the N-source is both inorganic (NH3) and organic (triethylamine). Samples are characterized for their bulk, surface, optical and magnetic properties. Ab initio calculations of the electronic properties of the doped samples are performed. Sample thin films are tested for

Research paper thumbnail of N-doped TiO2 from TiCl3 for photodegradation of air pollutants

Research paper thumbnail of EPR and XRD as probes for activity and durability of LaMnO3 perovskite-like catalysts

Catalysis Communications, 2000

Four dierent LaMnO 3 perovskites were prepared by dierent procedures, characterised and tested fo... more Four dierent LaMnO 3 perovskites were prepared by dierent procedures, characterised and tested for the catalytic ameless combustion of methane. EPR and XRD have been found useful probes for testing activity and durability of the catalysts, respectively. Broader EPR lines correspond to more active catalysts, while high crystallinity indicates long-lived samples.

Research paper thumbnail of Reciprocal and real space analysis of local disorder in Al doped SmBa 2 Cu 3 O 6 superconductor

Relations between structure and physical properties in REBa2Cu3O6+d (RE-123) High Temperature Sup... more Relations between structure and physical properties in REBa2Cu3O6+d (RE-123) High Temperature Superconductors (RE = Y, Ln; 0 < d < 1) are not fully understood. As an example, the effect of long range or local Cu-O chain ordering on the superconducting properties has still to be unambiguously probed by experiment [1]. A suitable way to handle this problem is to perform cation substitutions for copper in RE-123 and study the physical and structural properties of the doped materials. Aluminium seems to be an optimal substituent as it is a non-magnetic ion and it substitutes for copper only on one of the two crystallographic non-equivalent positions, Cu1 (0,0,0) [2]. As a part of a wider study on the relation between the short/long range structure and the physical properties of Al doped REBa2Cu3O6+d, the attention in the present work is focused on the structural disorder induced by Al-doping in SmBa2Cu3-xAlxO6+d\uf02e\uf020 For this purpose samples of SmBa2Cu3-xAlxO6+d\uf02e\uf020\uf0280< d < 1, x = 0, 0.15, 0.33) have been investigated by means of X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) at the ID31 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, as a function of aluminium concentration, oxygen non-stoichiometry d and temperature. The XRPD data have been refined also in real space through the analysis of the pair distribution function (PDF) thanks to the high counting statistics and to the wide Q range (Qmax ~ 18 \uc5-1). In highly doped samples the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic phase transition is inhibited because the local tetrahedral environment for Aluminium inhibits the formation of long Cu-O chains while oxidising. The actual length of Cu-O chains (at d ~ 1) is a function of both aluminium concentration and clustering. The aluminium insertion induces local disorder due to heavy ion displacements as it can be evaluated comparing the atomic thermal factors (Uiso) of doped and undoped samples and by the PDF analysis

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of M ion oxidation state in Sr1−xMxTiO3±δ perovskites in methane catalytic flameless combustion

Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical, 2006

Sr1-x Mx TiO3 (x = 0 or 0.1; M = K or Gd) have been compared as catalysts for the flameless com... more Sr1-x Mx TiO3 (x = 0 or 0.1; M = K or Gd) have been compared as catalysts for the flameless combustion of methane. The samples were prepared both by traditional sol-gel (SG) and by flame-hydrolysis (FH) procedure. All the catalysts possessed the perovskite-like structure, with some SrCO3 as impurity with Sr0.9K0.1TiO3 prepared by SG procedure. All the samples prepared by FH were better catalysts than those prepared by SG. A further improvement in the catalytic activity was obtained with M = K, but only at temperatures lower than 550°C. X-band and Q-band EPR spectroscopies provided an explanation of this observation, based on the high mobility of surface O3species on the surface of the (FH) Sr0.9K0.1TiO3 sample.

Research paper thumbnail of Catalytic Activity for Methane Flameless Combustion and Thermal Stability of Nano-Sized Lanthanum Cobaltites Doped with Ce, Pr and Tb

Solid State Phenomena, 2007

... e-mail: a kruk_s@mail.ru, b avish@muctr.edu.ru, c lucio.forni@unimi.it, d cesare.oliva@unimi.... more ... e-mail: a kruk_s@mail.ru, b avish@muctr.edu.ru, c lucio.forni@unimi.it, d cesare.oliva@unimi. it Keywords: perovskite, flame-spray pyrolysis, catalytic methane combustion, ... Noble metals, especially Pd, are known to be the most active catalysts for methane flameless combustion. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Interplay of structural and magnetic nanoscale phase separation in layered cobaltites

Physical Review B, 2015

We report on the structural, electronic, and magnetic phases of a previously unexplored region in... more We report on the structural, electronic, and magnetic phases of a previously unexplored region in the phase diagram of GdBaCo 2 O 5+δ (δ = 0.57 and 0.63). Despite a homogenous average structure displayed by both the samples, the orthorhombic highly oxygenated GdBaCo 2 O 5.63 shows clear signatures of structural nanoscale phase separation. By combining a pair distribution function with photoluminescence and electron spin resonance techniques, we found that the nanoscale phase separation is induced by an inhomogeneous distribution of ferromagnetic Co 3+ − Co 4+ clusters embedded in an antiferromagnetic Co 3+-rich matrix. In addition, we uncovered a phase evolution involving the collapse of the orthorhombic strain below room temperature. The origin of this noncanonical transition seems to be associated with the interplay of the observed nanoscale phase separation and a new magnetic phase transition occurring below T ∼ 180 K.

Research paper thumbnail of Modulation of Cu-O chain length in SmBa 2 Cu 3 O 6+δ , by Al doping and clustering

Zeitschrift für Kristallographie Supplements, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Structural effects of interaction between lanthanum cuprate and cerium dioxide

In the present work the structural effects of La 2 CuO 4 doping with CeO 2 , or of supporting the... more In the present work the structural effects of La 2 CuO 4 doping with CeO 2 , or of supporting the former on the latter, have been investigated. It was found that lanthanum oxide possesses a very good solubility in cerium dioxide in the presence of copper oxide, forming a solid solution. According to our experimental data, at 1050°C and in the presence of copper oxide (over 1.5% mass), the boundary for the existence of the Ce 19z La z O 29z /29C phase falls between z "0.398 and z "0.462. Copper oxide itself has a very low, but appreciable solubility in this system. The excess of CuO strongly increases the rate of formation of the solid oxides solution, due to its relatively low melting point.

Research paper thumbnail of Electron Spin Resonance and Atomic Force Microscopy Study on Gadolinium Doped Ceria

Journal of Spectroscopy, 2015

A combined electron spin resonance (ESR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) study on Ce1−xGdxO2−x/... more A combined electron spin resonance (ESR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) study on Ce1−xGdxO2−x/2samples is here presented, aimed at investigating the evolution of the ESR spectral shape as a function ofxin a wide composition range. At lowx=0.02, the spectrum is composed of features atgeff≈2; 2.8; 6. With increasingx, this pattern merges into a singlegeff≈2broad ESR curve, which assumes a Dysonian-shaped profile atx≥0.5, whereas, at thesexvalues, AFM measurements show an increasing surface roughness. It is suggested that the last could cause the formation of surface polaritons at the origin of the particular ESR spectral profile observed at these high Gd doping levels.

Research paper thumbnail of Conversion of 2-methylfuran to 2-methylthiophene over molecular sieves. Part 1.?Alkaline Y-zeolites

Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions, 1990

Research paper thumbnail of Cr3+ electron spin resonance linewidth in ZnO—ZnCr2O4—(Pd) solid mixtures

Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions 1: Physical Chemistry in Condensed Phases, 1988

Research paper thumbnail of ST-EPR spectra of systems undergoing intramolecular chemical exchange

Journal of Magnetic Resonance (1969), 1981

Research paper thumbnail of Structural analysis of some alkaline-earth-metal–copper oxide catalysts for hydrocarbon oxidation or NO decomposition

J. Chem. Soc., Faraday Trans., 1992

Page 1. J. CHEM. SOC. FARADAY TRANS., 1992, 88(7), 1041-1048 1041 Structural Analysis of some Alk... more Page 1. J. CHEM. SOC. FARADAY TRANS., 1992, 88(7), 1041-1048 1041 Structural Analysis of some Alkaline-earth-metal-Copper Oxide Catalysts for Hydrocarbon Oxidation or NO Decomposition Lucio Forni,&quot; Cesare Oliva and Francesco P. Vatti Dip. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Single-crystal proton ENDOR of the SO–3 centre in γ-irradiated sulphamic acid

Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions 1: Physical Chemistry in Condensed Phases, 1987

Page 1. J. Chem. SOC., Faraday Trans. I, 1987, 83 (IZ), 3717-3723 Single-crystal Proton ENDOR of ... more Page 1. J. Chem. SOC., Faraday Trans. I, 1987, 83 (IZ), 3717-3723 Single-crystal Proton ENDOR of the SO, Centre in y-Irradiated Sulphamic Acid Neil M. Atherton,* Cesare Oliva,? Elizabeth J. Oliver and Dugald M. Wylie Department ...

Research paper thumbnail of Thermal decay of trapped radicals produced during the photopolymerization of diacrylates

Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions, 1990

Research paper thumbnail of Comparative Investigations on Platinum Cluster Salts

Johnson Matthey Technology Review, 2014

To evaluate future applications of metallic clusters in nanoscience and nanotechnology, the elect... more To evaluate future applications of metallic clusters in nanoscience and nanotechnology, the electronic properties of the high-nuclearity carbonyl anionic platinum cluster [Pt 19 (CO) 22 ] 4were investigated using two different organic cations. In particular, N,N'-diethyl viologen dication (Vio 2+) and N,N'-dimethyl-9,9'-bis-acridinium dication (Acr 2+) were employed as counterions, oxidising agents and characterisation probes. The reactions of [Pt 19 (CO) 22 ] 4tetra-n-butylammonium salt, (TBA +) 4 ([Pt 19 (CO) 22 ] 4-), with both (Vio 2+) and (Acr 2+), used as tetraphenylborate salts, yielded two new compounds, which were isolated. The stoichiometries and properties of these new compounds were determined and compared on the basis of infrared (IR) solution spectra, electron spin resonance (ESR) analyses, fl uorometric spectra, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry and resistivity measurements. For Vio 2+ , a cation-exchange reaction produced the fi nal compound (Vio 2+) 2 ([Pt 19 (CO) 22 ] 4-), 'PtVio', which was structurally characterised by single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. However, when using Acr 2+ , a spontaneous redox reaction occurred and a (Acr +)(TBA +) 2 ([Pt 19 (CO) 22 ] 3-) stoichiometry for the precipitated solid, 'PtAcr', was inferred from the experimental evidence, leading to an interesting 'doubly-radicalic salt'. This new type of salt, consisting of a radical anionic Pt cluster and a radical cation, is characterised by extremely simple synthesis and isolation processes and by the lowest solid-state resistivity found in high-nuclearity cluster salts with redox-active cations (1).

Research paper thumbnail of EPR analysis of La1-xMxMnO3+y (M=Ce, Eu, Sr) perovskitic catalysts for methane oxidation

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 1999

EPR analysis of (M= Ce, Eu, Sr) perovskitic La 1—x M x MnO 3'y catalysts for methane oxidati... more EPR analysis of (M= Ce, Eu, Sr) perovskitic La 1—x M x MnO 3'y catalysts for methane oxidation¤ Cesare Oliva,a* Lucio Forni,a Paolo Pasqualin,a Andrea DÏAmbrosioa and Anatoli V. Vishniakovb a Dipartimento di Chimica Fisica ed Elettrochimica e Centro CNR CSRSRC, ...

Research paper thumbnail of Percolative small-polarons conduction regime in Ce1−xGdxO2−x/2, probed by the EPR spectral intensity of Gd3+

Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 2004

EPR analysis is carried out with Ce1−xGdxO(4−x)/2 (x=0.1; 0.2) nanopowders aiming at obtaining in... more EPR analysis is carried out with Ce1−xGdxO(4−x)/2 (x=0.1; 0.2) nanopowders aiming at obtaining information about their oxidation and reduction properties. The EPR spectrum of these systems is composed of a single feature. The first derivative peak-to-peak spectral intensity decreases at higher temperatures, but this trend deviates from that of Curie&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27;s law with the x=0.1 sample, at difference with the x=0.2

Research paper thumbnail of Characterisation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and cotton fibres after cold SF6 plasma treatment

Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2001

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and cotton fibres, treated in an appositely set up RF SF6 plas... more Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and cotton fibres, treated in an appositely set up RF SF6 plasma reactor under different operating conditions, were characterised by XPS, EPR, DSC, XRD, ATR analyses, water contact angle and water droplet roll-off angle measurements. The ageing ...

Research paper thumbnail of Photocatalytic removal of ethanol and acetaldehyde by N-promoted TiO2 films: The role of the different nitrogen sources

Catalysis Today, 2011

Pure and N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles are obtained by a combination of wet and thermal procedures, ... more Pure and N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles are obtained by a combination of wet and thermal procedures, starting from TiCl3 and alkoxide precursors; the N-source is both inorganic (NH3) and organic (triethylamine). Samples are characterized for their bulk, surface, optical and magnetic properties. Ab initio calculations of the electronic properties of the doped samples are performed. Sample thin films are tested for

Research paper thumbnail of N-doped TiO2 from TiCl3 for photodegradation of air pollutants

Research paper thumbnail of EPR and XRD as probes for activity and durability of LaMnO3 perovskite-like catalysts

Catalysis Communications, 2000

Four dierent LaMnO 3 perovskites were prepared by dierent procedures, characterised and tested fo... more Four dierent LaMnO 3 perovskites were prepared by dierent procedures, characterised and tested for the catalytic ameless combustion of methane. EPR and XRD have been found useful probes for testing activity and durability of the catalysts, respectively. Broader EPR lines correspond to more active catalysts, while high crystallinity indicates long-lived samples.

Research paper thumbnail of Reciprocal and real space analysis of local disorder in Al doped SmBa 2 Cu 3 O 6 superconductor

Relations between structure and physical properties in REBa2Cu3O6+d (RE-123) High Temperature Sup... more Relations between structure and physical properties in REBa2Cu3O6+d (RE-123) High Temperature Superconductors (RE = Y, Ln; 0 < d < 1) are not fully understood. As an example, the effect of long range or local Cu-O chain ordering on the superconducting properties has still to be unambiguously probed by experiment [1]. A suitable way to handle this problem is to perform cation substitutions for copper in RE-123 and study the physical and structural properties of the doped materials. Aluminium seems to be an optimal substituent as it is a non-magnetic ion and it substitutes for copper only on one of the two crystallographic non-equivalent positions, Cu1 (0,0,0) [2]. As a part of a wider study on the relation between the short/long range structure and the physical properties of Al doped REBa2Cu3O6+d, the attention in the present work is focused on the structural disorder induced by Al-doping in SmBa2Cu3-xAlxO6+d\uf02e\uf020 For this purpose samples of SmBa2Cu3-xAlxO6+d\uf02e\uf020\uf0280< d < 1, x = 0, 0.15, 0.33) have been investigated by means of X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) at the ID31 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, as a function of aluminium concentration, oxygen non-stoichiometry d and temperature. The XRPD data have been refined also in real space through the analysis of the pair distribution function (PDF) thanks to the high counting statistics and to the wide Q range (Qmax ~ 18 \uc5-1). In highly doped samples the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic phase transition is inhibited because the local tetrahedral environment for Aluminium inhibits the formation of long Cu-O chains while oxidising. The actual length of Cu-O chains (at d ~ 1) is a function of both aluminium concentration and clustering. The aluminium insertion induces local disorder due to heavy ion displacements as it can be evaluated comparing the atomic thermal factors (Uiso) of doped and undoped samples and by the PDF analysis

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of M ion oxidation state in Sr1−xMxTiO3±δ perovskites in methane catalytic flameless combustion

Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical, 2006

Sr1-x Mx TiO3 (x = 0 or 0.1; M = K or Gd) have been compared as catalysts for the flameless com... more Sr1-x Mx TiO3 (x = 0 or 0.1; M = K or Gd) have been compared as catalysts for the flameless combustion of methane. The samples were prepared both by traditional sol-gel (SG) and by flame-hydrolysis (FH) procedure. All the catalysts possessed the perovskite-like structure, with some SrCO3 as impurity with Sr0.9K0.1TiO3 prepared by SG procedure. All the samples prepared by FH were better catalysts than those prepared by SG. A further improvement in the catalytic activity was obtained with M = K, but only at temperatures lower than 550°C. X-band and Q-band EPR spectroscopies provided an explanation of this observation, based on the high mobility of surface O3species on the surface of the (FH) Sr0.9K0.1TiO3 sample.

Research paper thumbnail of Catalytic Activity for Methane Flameless Combustion and Thermal Stability of Nano-Sized Lanthanum Cobaltites Doped with Ce, Pr and Tb

Solid State Phenomena, 2007

... e-mail: a kruk_s@mail.ru, b avish@muctr.edu.ru, c lucio.forni@unimi.it, d cesare.oliva@unimi.... more ... e-mail: a kruk_s@mail.ru, b avish@muctr.edu.ru, c lucio.forni@unimi.it, d cesare.oliva@unimi. it Keywords: perovskite, flame-spray pyrolysis, catalytic methane combustion, ... Noble metals, especially Pd, are known to be the most active catalysts for methane flameless combustion. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Interplay of structural and magnetic nanoscale phase separation in layered cobaltites

Physical Review B, 2015

We report on the structural, electronic, and magnetic phases of a previously unexplored region in... more We report on the structural, electronic, and magnetic phases of a previously unexplored region in the phase diagram of GdBaCo 2 O 5+δ (δ = 0.57 and 0.63). Despite a homogenous average structure displayed by both the samples, the orthorhombic highly oxygenated GdBaCo 2 O 5.63 shows clear signatures of structural nanoscale phase separation. By combining a pair distribution function with photoluminescence and electron spin resonance techniques, we found that the nanoscale phase separation is induced by an inhomogeneous distribution of ferromagnetic Co 3+ − Co 4+ clusters embedded in an antiferromagnetic Co 3+-rich matrix. In addition, we uncovered a phase evolution involving the collapse of the orthorhombic strain below room temperature. The origin of this noncanonical transition seems to be associated with the interplay of the observed nanoscale phase separation and a new magnetic phase transition occurring below T ∼ 180 K.

Research paper thumbnail of Modulation of Cu-O chain length in SmBa 2 Cu 3 O 6+δ , by Al doping and clustering

Zeitschrift für Kristallographie Supplements, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Structural effects of interaction between lanthanum cuprate and cerium dioxide

In the present work the structural effects of La 2 CuO 4 doping with CeO 2 , or of supporting the... more In the present work the structural effects of La 2 CuO 4 doping with CeO 2 , or of supporting the former on the latter, have been investigated. It was found that lanthanum oxide possesses a very good solubility in cerium dioxide in the presence of copper oxide, forming a solid solution. According to our experimental data, at 1050°C and in the presence of copper oxide (over 1.5% mass), the boundary for the existence of the Ce 19z La z O 29z /29C phase falls between z "0.398 and z "0.462. Copper oxide itself has a very low, but appreciable solubility in this system. The excess of CuO strongly increases the rate of formation of the solid oxides solution, due to its relatively low melting point.

Research paper thumbnail of Electron Spin Resonance and Atomic Force Microscopy Study on Gadolinium Doped Ceria

Journal of Spectroscopy, 2015

A combined electron spin resonance (ESR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) study on Ce1−xGdxO2−x/... more A combined electron spin resonance (ESR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) study on Ce1−xGdxO2−x/2samples is here presented, aimed at investigating the evolution of the ESR spectral shape as a function ofxin a wide composition range. At lowx=0.02, the spectrum is composed of features atgeff≈2; 2.8; 6. With increasingx, this pattern merges into a singlegeff≈2broad ESR curve, which assumes a Dysonian-shaped profile atx≥0.5, whereas, at thesexvalues, AFM measurements show an increasing surface roughness. It is suggested that the last could cause the formation of surface polaritons at the origin of the particular ESR spectral profile observed at these high Gd doping levels.

Research paper thumbnail of Conversion of 2-methylfuran to 2-methylthiophene over molecular sieves. Part 1.?Alkaline Y-zeolites

Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions, 1990