Thesis (M.S.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2008. / Description based on contents viewed May 30, 2008; title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 50-51).

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-108). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

The literature review indicates that studies on the structures and properties of perovskites materials have shown attractive applications in the fields of energy, catalysts and sensing materials for fuel cell and sensing industries. Kinetic phenomena in thin film systems, such as solid state amorphization and interface reactions due to diffusion during thin film deposition, are introduced indicating that thermal stability is a concern in thin film sensor device application. The principle of traditional methods of materials characterization is briefly discussed. Emphasis is placed on the functions of analytical transmission electron microscopy. / The SrFeO3/SiO2/Si and SrFeO3/Al 2O3 thin film systems have been studied using transmission electron microscopy. The thin films of SrFeO3 were grown by pulsed laser deposition. For the SrFeO3/SiO2/Si system, TEM characterization showed that the microstructure of the film deposited at room temperature contained crystalline and amorphous layers. Silicon diffusion into SrFeO3 films occurred at the SiO2 interface. The silicon-induced interfacial reactions resulted in phase transformations and the growth of complex crystalline and amorphous phases. The principal compositions of these phases were Sr(Fe,Si)12O19, SrOx and amorphous [Sr-Fe-Si-O]. / The films in the SrFeO3/Al2O3 system were deposited onto single crystal and sintered polycrystalline Al2O 3 substrates at room temperature and 700°C and subjected to annealing for various periods of time at 700-1000°C. TEM characterization showed that the morphology of the film varied with changes in deposition temperature: a columnar structure was produced at room temperature and layers containing crystalline grains were produced at 700°C. The interfacial structures of the films remained unchanged below 700°C. Interfacial reactions were observed following annealing at 850°C for 5 hours. The phase transformation at the interface was characterized for the film annealed at 1000°C for 5 hours, for which the principal phases were identified as SrAl2-xFe xO4 and SrFe12-yAlyO19. As a result, an isothermal section at 1000°C of a ternary phase diagram for SrO-Al2O3-Fe2O3 is proposed. Evaluation for thin film conductometric sensing applications indicated that the untreated films deposited at 700°C onto both single crystal and sintered Al2O3 substrates exhibited a similar temperature dependency of conductivity in air and a p-type gas sensor response to oxygen and propane at 500°C.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-212).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-167).

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Two main subjects are addressed in this study. The ability of a bright red material with metallic behaviour to be used as a visible light photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution and the feasibility of visible light photocatalytic water splitting using Z-schemes constituted from different kinds of photocatalysts and materials used as mediators. Strontium niobate (Sr₁₋ₓNbO₃) is an A-site deficient perovskite with intense red colour. It is an unusual material that displays both metallic type conduction and- as we present- photocatalytic activity. Specifically, photocatalytic visible light hydrogen production with oxalic acid as a sacrificial reagent is achieved from this material even without the need for a co-catalyst or other alteration. This photocatalytic activity is screened with time and related to different parameters that might influence it, like crystal structure, surface area and surface chemistry. The crystal structure of strontium niobate is A site stoichiometry dependant and the materials acquires a cubic symmetry for Sr≤ 0.92 and orthorhombic for 0.92≤ Sr≤ 0.97. The change of crystal structure from cubic to orthorhombic symmetry seems to have a negative effect on the photocatalytic activity, as the NbO₆ octahedra become distorted and unfavourable for d-orbital overlapping. The highest photocatalytic activity is exhibited at the turning point of one structure to the other. Increase in the photocatalytic activity is also exhibited by enlarging the surface area through ball milling, nevertheless, a clear trend for surface area effect on activity is not obtained among samples with different Sr content. Additionally, an enrichment of Sr on the surface of strontium niobate is observed by XPS, which apart from the fact that seems to be a governing factor improving stability it is also considered a key point for the exhibited photocatalytic activity altogether. Full water splitting under visible light from Z-schemes is studied by fabricating three general categories of systems. These three different categories depend on the mediator used to fabricate the Z-schemes and are: redox couple Z-schemes (with Fe⁺³/Fe⁺²), solid mediator Z-schemes (with GO) and no mediator Z-schemes. The materials used as photocatalysts for the fabrication of the Z-schemes are: Sr₀.₉₂NbO₃ for hydrogen production and both WO₃ and BiVO₄ independently for oxygen production. The photocatalytic activity for water splitting is evaluated in production of hydrogen and oxygen with time and the ratio of their production rates is frequently checked to see whether the ideal hydrogen to oxygen 2:1 is achieved. The general idea acquired from the results of all the three types of systems is that, water splitting with Z-schemes is a complicated process and in most cases governed by many subreactions. More specifically, in all cases of redox couple Z-schemes we got hydrogen to oxygen ratio imbalances and with the most prominent one being the lack of hydrogen production. Thankful is the fact that a certain type of system, the one consisting of WO₃ as oxygen photocatalyst and Fe⁺² as initial mediator species gives results very close to the ideal one and with a high degree of reproducibility indicating this way the probable formation of a Z-scheme that has overcome more of the imbalances. In between the two other categories, solid mediator and no mediator Z-schemes, subreactions seem to be the governing factor hence imbalances are always present. A case study in the no mediator Z-schemes on an attempt to investigate sources of imbalances, reveals that a big source of imbalance is most probably from the trapping of protons from WO₃.

No description available.