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A bi-metallic titanium–tantalum carbide MXene, TixTa(4−x)C3 is successfully prepared via etching of Al atoms from parent TixTa(4−x)AlC3 MAX phase for the first time. X-ray diffractometer and Raman spectroscopic analysis proved the crystalline phase evolution from the MAX phase to the lamellar MXene arrangements. Also, the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study confirmed that the synthesized MXene is free from Al after hydro fluoric acid (HF) etching process as well as partial oxidation of Ti and Ta. Moreover, the FE-SEM and TEM characterizations demonstrate the exfoliation process tailored by the TixTa(4−x)C3 MXene after the Al atoms from its corresponding MAX TixTa(4−x)AlC3 phase, promoting its structural delamination with an expanded interlayer d-spacing, which can allow an effective reversible Li-ion storage. The lamellar TixTa(4−x)C3 MXene demonstrated a reversible specific discharge capacity of 459 mAhg−1 at an applied C-rate of 0.5 °C with a capacity retention of 97% over 200 cycles. An excellent electrochemical redox performance is attributed to the formation of a stable, promising bi-metallic MXene material, which stores Li-ions on the surface of its layers. Furthermore, the TixTa(4−x)C3 MXene anode demonstrate a high rate capability as a result of its good electron and Li-ion transport, suggesting that it is a promising candidate as Li-ion anode material.

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M-type barium hexaferrites (BaM) with the substitution of Ce–Dy ions were synthesized using the sol-gel auto-ignition method. The prepared materials were explored for their application as a permanent magnet and microwave absorbing material. The structural properties, phase evaluation, micro-strain, morphological analysis, magnetic behaviour, microwave absorbing properties and optical properties were studied by employing various techniques. The structural parameters and phase identification obtained by Rietveld refinement confirmed the formation of an M-type hexaferrite structure for pure BaM, whereas Ce–Dy substitution induced secondary phases of cubic CeO2 and ortho DyFeO3. Crystallite size obtained from Williamson–Hall plots increased from 27.1 nm to 30.8 nm with the introduction of Ce–Dy ions in BaM. The nanocrystalline nature of the prepared samples was confirmed using scanning and transmission electron microscopy techniques. Fourier transform infrared spectra of all the samples were recorded in the wavenumber range of 400–4000 cm−1 and also supported the x-ray diffraction findings by confirming the formation of samples with hexaferrite structures. Coercivity of the BaM hexaferrites improved from 4430 to 5721 Oe with the Ce–Dy substitution. A Ce–Dy substituted BaM hexaferrite sample of 3 mm thickness showed a maximum reflection loss of −16.3 dB around 16.7 GHz. Permittivity and permeability studies were carried out to understand the microwave absorption behaviour.

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The finely controlled nanostructured cubic spinel ferrites pave the way to synthesize nanomaterials with specific properties for particular applications. In this paper, we report sol-gel synthesis of Zn doped spinel Co1-xZnxFe2O4 (where x= 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3) ferrite nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction confirms the single phase cubic structure of nano ferrites with average particle size estimated between 55.38 to 32.87 nm and validated by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results (±1). The lattice parameter was found to increase with increasing Zn doping concentration. The samples exhibit normal dielectric behaviour of Maxwell-Wagner type of interfacial polarization that decreases with increasing frequency of the applied field. Temperature-dependent magnetic properties were investigated with the aid of physical property system. The hysteresis measurements of the samples show clearly enhancement in magnetic parameters as the temperature goes down to 20 K. Tuning of magnetic properties has been witnessed as a function of doping and temperature under the influence of externally applied magnetic field, has been discussed in this paper.

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