RESUMO
This study focuses on designing and evaluating scaffolds with essential properties for bone regeneration, such as biocompatibility, macroporous geometry, mechanical strength, and magnetic responsiveness. The scaffolds are made using 3D printing with acrylic resin and iron oxides synthesized through solution combustion. Utilizing triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) geometry and mask stereolithography (MSLA) printing, the scaffolds achieve precise geometrical features. The mechanical properties are enhanced through resin curing, and magnetite particles from synthesized nanoparticles and alluvial magnetite are added for magnetic properties. The scaffolds show a balance between stiffness, porosity, and magnetic responsiveness, with maximum compression strength between 4.8 and 9.2 MPa and Young's modulus between 58 and 174 MPa. Magnetic properties such as magnetic coercivity, remanence, and saturation are measured, with the best results from scaffolds containing synthetic iron oxides at 1% weight. The viscosity of the mixtures used for printing is between 350 and 380 mPas, and contact angles between 90° and 110° are achieved. Biocompatibility tests indicate the potential for clinical trials, though further research is needed to understand the impact of magnetic properties on cellular interactions and optimize scaffold design for specific applications. This integrated approach offers a promising avenue for the development of advanced materials capable of promoting enhanced bone regeneration.
RESUMO
We report on the synthesis and characterization of V2O5 nanoparticles grown using a sol-gel method at different calcination temperatures. We observed a surprising reduction in the optical band gap from 2.20 to 1.18 eV with increasing calcination temperature from 400 to 500 °C. Raman and X-Ray diffraction measurements indicated slight changes in the lattice parameters induced by the growth process. However, density functional theory calculations of the Rietveld-refined and pristine structures revealed that the observed optical gap reduction could not be explained by structural changes alone. By introducing oxygen vacancies to the refined structures, we could reproduce the reduction of the band gap. Our calculations also showed that the inclusion of oxygen vacancies at the vanadyl position creates a spin-polarized interband state that reduces the electronic band gap and promotes a magnetic response due to unpaired electrons. This prediction was confirmed by our magnetometry measurements, which exhibited a ferromagnetic-like behavior. Our findings suggest that oxygen vacancies play a crucial role in band gap reduction and the promotion of a ferromagnetic-like response in an otherwise paramagnetic material. This provides a promising route to engineer novel devices.
RESUMO
In this work, a detailed study of structural, electrical and magnetic characterization of (GaMn)Sb diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) is presented. (GaMn)Sb thin films were grown by DC magnetron co-sputtering method as an innovative procedure to fabricate III-V DMS. The presence of unusual Mn2Sb2 and Mn2Sb secondary phases, induced by substrate temperature and deposition time, were revealed through XRD measurements. Magnetization measurements allow determining crossover between a paramagnetic-like to a ferromagnetic-like behavior controlled by secondary phases. It was found that both, the magnetic remanence and magnetic coercivity, increases with substrate temperature. Interestingly, the magnetic response is paramagnetic at lower deposition times and substrate temperatures, and XRD measurements suggest the absence of Mn2Sb and Mn2Sb2 in secondary phases. For longer deposition times or higher substrate temperature, XRD shows the presence of Mn2Sb2 and Mn2Sb phases and ferromagnetic-like behavior. The DC resistivity of our samples was characterized and the carrier density was determined by Hall measurements and, in contrast with the reported in other studies, found them to be a p-type semiconductor with carrier densities as big as one order of magnitude larger than reported values. From the ferromagnetic-like samples, evidence of an anomalous Hall-effect in the sample was found, with higher magnetic saturation and a anomalous Hall conductivity of 2380 S/cm. All the results point to a contribution of the secondary phases to the overall magnetic response of the samples used, and suggest the importance of studying the formation of secondary phases in the growth of DMS, especially, for the case of (GaMn)Sb where Mn ion can have multiple oxidation states.
RESUMO
Multiferroic materials are at the core of voltage-controlled spintronic devices. Therefore, an understanding of the underlying electronic correlations and their effects associated with their complex energy landscape is an important and ongoing task. One key parameter in oxide-based perovskite multiferroics is their sensitivity to strain effects under confinement. Here, we report on the ferromagnetism induced by strain-engineering at the nanoscale on BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles. By controlling synthesis parameters, we were able to modify the BFO lattice parameters up to 0.15% and as a consequence, induce ferromagnetism in otherwise antiferromagnetic bulk BFO. In order to understand the driving mechanisms behind such an effect, we performed density functional theory calculations (DFT) using the BFO parameters obtained from the experiment. We found that small distortions of the structural lattice parameters of the order of 0.01% are sufficient to induce a significant spin imbalance close to the Fermi energy at the Fe sites. This may explain the appearance of weak ferromagnetism in strained BFO thin films reported earlier and offers a new route to novel voltage-controlled spintronic devices based on multiferroic materials.
RESUMO
BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using the sol-gel method at different calcination temperatures from 400 °C to 600 °C. XRD studies have confirmed that all BFO NPs show distorted rhombohedral crystals that match the R3c space group. We found evidence of local structural strain that develops with increasing particle size as suggested by TEM and Raman spectroscopy measurements. Magnetic measurements suggest that NPs have two distinct regimes: a ferromagnetic-like one at low temperatures and a superparamagnetic-like one at room temperature. The crossover temperature increases with NPs size, suggesting a size-dependent blocking magnetic regime. Similarly, local piezoelectric measurements at room temperature in single NP have confirmed a ferroelectric order with a NP size-dependent d33 coefficient. An analysis of both the ferroelectric and the magnetic results suggest that ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity coexist at room temperature in NPs. Our results lead to the possibility of tailoring the ferroic order in multifunctional materials by means of NP size.