This work investigates the relationship between the local structure and physical properties of a set of classical (MgTiO3, CaTiO3, SrTiO3, and BaTiO3) and complex ((1-x)Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-x(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3[BZT-BCT], Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 [NBT]) perovskite electroceramics. The materials in this work were synthesized via standard solid state ceramic synthesis, the structure was investigated through a number of...
Dielectric ceramics designed for capacitor applications for use in extreme environments, such as high temperatures, high voltages, or high-pressure environments, are in great demand. Existing capacitor technology fails to perform within these extreme conditions or such environments. The development of new dielectric ceramic materials for high temperature capacitor applications is...
A new group of lead free piezoelectric perovskite solid solutions, (1-x)Bi(B'B")O₃-xABO₃, were obtained via solid-state processing techniques. The solubility of unstable perovskite Bi(B'B")O₃ compounds into stable perovskite compounds was found to be related to the tolerance factor of the ABO₃ perovskite endmembers. The morphotropic phase boundary (MBP) in perovskite solid...
Relaxor characteristic of the solid solution (1-x)BaTiO₃-(x)Bi(Zn₁/₂Ti₁/₂)O₃ (BTBZT) was investigated in this research. X-ray diffraction technique and Raman spectroscopy revealed the crystal structure of BT-BZT at various compositions. For compositions with x ≤ 0.08, the solid solutions exhibited clear tetragonal symmetry and transitioned to pseudo-cubic symmetry as the content of...
The problem of this study was to develop and validate an instrument
that would measure vocational teacher trainees and practitioners'
attitudes toward handicapped learners. The item pool consisted
of 90 items which addressed three major dimensions of attitudes
toward handicapped vocational students: handicapping conditions,
characteristics of these conditions, and the...
Better Bones and Balance (BBB) is a community-based exercise program to improve bone health and reduce fall risk among older adults. Prior research has shown that when the program is delivered by researchers under controlled conditions, participants improved strength and balance, and maintained bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip....
Advances in energy technologies and electronics have typically occurred through either heightened performance or cost reduction. This dissertation explores both routes through a series of fundamental material studies that may contribute to the enabling of next generation devices. Solution based syntheses and deposition of chemical products offer a low cost...
Two perovskite materials (Bi0.5(A)0.5)(Sc0.5Nb0.5)O3, where A = K+ and Na+ were synthesized phase pure for the first time. Their structures were determined by indexing synchrotron X-ray diffraction data and subsequent combined Rietveld refinement on neutron and synchrotron X-ray diffraction data revealing significant disorder on the A-sites of these materials. A...
At the intersection of basic science research and clinical relevance, cancer metastasis and cell invasion is a multifaceted problem that has been investigated for the past several decades. Importantly, cancer cell plasticity, the ability of a single cell to change its phenotype without genetic mutations in response to environmental cues,...
It has been well established that ferroelectric to relaxor crossover in piezoelectric ceramics exhibit promising electromechanical and dielectric properties over a wide temperature range, applying sensors and actuators transducers and such. A plethora of research has reported giant strain in various lead-free piezoelectric ceramics and attributed the reasoning to the...