Novel nano-structured films of V2O5 are prepared by pulsed laser deposition method. Nanoscaled V2O5 ridges lie on SrTiO3 substrate and construct into grid-textured structures. Structural properties of the films have been analyzed by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope. The films have enlarged surface-to-volume ratio due to the ridge-channel structure which makes them applicable to gas sensing. Therefore, gas sensors based on the V2O5 films have been assembled which present reliable sensing properties to gaseous acetone, and ethanol at room temperature. The physical-chemical reactions between adsorbed O2^– and testing gases are the possible reason for this property.
CHENG RongHUANG WeiYiLIU XiangBoLING Francis Chi ChungGAO JuNI Hao
Remarkable phenomena arise at well-defined heterostructures, composed of transition metal oxides, which is absent in the bulk counterpart, providing us a paradigm for exploring the various electron correlation effects. The functional properties of such heterostructures have attracted much attention in the microelectronic and renewable energy fields. Exotic and unexpected states of matter could arise from the reconstruction and coupling among lattice, charge, orbital and spin at the interfaces. Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy （STEM） is a powerful tool to visualize the lattice structure and electronic structure at the atomic scale. In the present study some novel phenomena of oxide heterostructures at the atomic scale are summarized and pointed out from the perspective of electron microscopy.
Scanning transmission electron microscopy（STEM） has been shown as powerful tools for material characterization,especially after the appearance of aberration-corrector which greatly enhances the resolution of STEM. High angle annular dark field（HAADF） and annular bright field（ABF） imaging of the aberration-corrected STEM are widely used due to their high-resolution capabilities and easily interpretable image contrasts. However, HAADF mode of the STEM is still limited in detecting light elements due to the weak electron-scattering power. ABF mode of the STEM could detect light and heavy elements simultaneously, providing unprecedented opportunities for probing unknown structures of materials. Atomiclevel structure investigation of materials has been achieved by means of these imaging modes, which is invaluable in many fields for either improving properties of materials or developing new materials. This paper aims to provide a introduction of HAADF and ABF imaging techniques and reviews their applications in characterization of cathode materials, study of electrochemical reaction mechanisms, and exploring the effective design of lithium-ion batteries（LIBs）. The future prospects of the STEM are also discussed.
BiFeO_3 (BFO) thin films with BaTiO_3 (BTO) or SrTiO_3 (STO) as buffer layer were epitaxially grown on SrRuO_3-covered SrTiO_3 substrates. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the BTO buffer causes tensile strain in the BFO films, whereas the STO buffer causes compressive strain. Different ferroelectric domain structures caused by these two strain statuses are revealed by piezoelectric force microscopy. Electrical and magnetical measurements show that the tensile-strained BFO/BTO samples have reduced leakage current and large ferroelectric polarization and magnetization, compared with compressively strained BFO/STO. These results demonstrate that the electrical and magnetical properties of BFO thin films can be artificially modified by using a buffer layer.
Yu FengCan WangShiLu TianYong ZhouChen GeHaiZhong GuoMeng HeKuiJuan JinGuoZhen Yang
