Electrical conductivity of Sr2-xVMoO6-y (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2) double perovskites has been investigated in a reducing atmosphere at temperatures up to 800 °C. This material has a key application in solid oxide fuel cell anodes as a mixed ion and electron conductor. A solid state synthesis technique was used to fabricate materials and crystal structure was verified through x-ray diffraction. Subsequent to conventional sintering in a reducing environment, elemental valence states were indentified through x-ray photoemission spectroscopy on the double perovskite material before and after annealing in a hydrogen environment. Samples exhibited metallic like conduction with electrical conductivities of 1250 S/cm (Sr2VMoO6-y′), 2530 S/cm (Sr1.8VMoO6-y″), and 3610 S/cm (Sr1.9VMoO6-y‴) at 800 °C in 5% H2/95% N2, with a substantial increase in conductivity upon cooling to room temperature. Room temperature electrical conductivity values for Sr1.9VMoO6-y‴ make it a candidate as the highest electrically conductive oxide known. Highly insulating secondary surface phases, Sr3V2O8, and SrMoO4, begin to reduce at 400 °C in a hydrogen environment, as confirmed by X-ray photoemission and thermal gravimetric analysis. This reduction, from V5+ and Mo6+ to lower valence states, leads to a large increase in sample electrical conductivity.
We describe the principles of macroscopic charged particle detection in the laboratory and their connections to concepts taught in the physics classroom. Electrostatic dust accelerator systems, capable of launching charged dust grains at hypervelocities (1–100 km/s), are a critical tool for space exploration. Dust grains in space typically have large speeds relative to the probes or satellites that encounter them. Development and testing of instruments that look for dust in space therefore depends critically on the availability of fast, well-characterized dust grains in the laboratory. One challenge for the experimentalist is to precisely measure the speed and mass of laboratory dust particles without disturbing them. Detection systems currently in use exploit the well-known effect of image charge to register the passage of dust grains without changing their speed or mass. We describe the principles of image charge detection and provide a simple classroom demonstration of the technique using soup cans and pith balls.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.