Effects of Praseodymium Doping on Conductivity and Oxygen Permeability of Cobalt-Free Perovskite-Type Oxide BaFeO3-δ

Among the perovskite-type oxides with symmetrical structure applied in oxygen permeable membranes, cubic phase structure is the most favorable for oxygen permeation. In order to stabilize the cubic perovskite structure of BaFeO3-δ material at room temperature, iron was partially substituted by praseodymium. BaFe1-yPryO3-δ powders were synthesized by a solid state reaction method, and sintered samples were prepared from the synthesized BaFe1-yPryO3-δ powders. X-ray diffraction results reveal that the BaFe1-yPryO3-δ samples remain cubic structure at praseodymium substitution amount of y 0.05, 0.075, 0.1. Scanning electron microscope observation indicates that the sintered samples contain only a small amount of enclosed pores and the grain size of BaFe1-yPryO3-δ increase monotonically with the increase of the praseodymium doping amount, praseodymium doping promotes the grain size growth. Tests of electrical conductivity and oxygen permeation flux show that praseodymium doping improves the conduction properties of BaFe1-yPryO3-δ and BaFe0.9Pr0.1O3-δ composition has an electrical conductivity of 6.5 S/era and an oxygen permeation of 1.112 mL/（cm^2.min） at 900 ℃, respectively. High temperature XRD in- vestigation shows that the crystal structure of BaFe0.975Pr0.025O3-δ membrane completely transform to cubic phase at 700℃. The present test results have shown that partially substitution of Fe by praseodymium in BaFeO3 can stabilize the cubic structure and improve the properties.

Self-template synthesis of peapod-like MnO@N-doped hollow carbon nanotubes as an advanced anode for lithium-ion batteries

The exploration of low-cost and high-performance transition metal oxides/carbon(TMOs/C)-based anodes to replace commercial graphite is still a huge challenge for the development of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs).In this work,MnO@N-doped hollow carbon nanotubes(MnO@NHCNT-v,v refers to the adding volume of pyrrole)hybrids are successfully prepared by a facile selftemplate strategy using Mn3O4 nanotubes(Mn3O4 NT)and pyrrole(PY)as the precursors.The morphology,structure and composition of these MnO@NHCNT-v samples are systematically investigated.And the effect of PY adding amounts on the synthesis of MnO@NHCNT-v samples is also explored.The results show that the Mn_(3)O_(4) NT works as a self-template,which releases Mn3+and guides the growth of polypyrrole(PPY)on Mn_(3)O_(4) NT.Meanwhile,it is demonstrated that the synthesis of MnO@NHCNTv hybrids can be well regulated by the added PY amounts.As a result,MnO@NHCNT-1 hybrid not only makes a good balance on the proportion of MnO and carbon matrix but also simultaneously obtains unique peapod-like structure and successful N doping in NHCNT,resulting in good electrical contact between the two components,enhanced chemical binding by Mn-N-C bonds and enough void space inside its microstructure.Benefitting from these merits,the resulting MnO@NHCNT-1 hybrid exhibits outstanding cycling stability and rate capability when used as a LIBs anode.Our work offers a good guidance on the design and preparation of low-price and high-performance TMOs/C-based LIBs anodes.