Conveners
Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials 2
- Abongile Bele (Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University)
Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials 2
- Edwin Mapasha (University of Pretoria)
Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials 2
- Hilary Masenda (University of the Witwatersrand)
Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials 2
- There are no conveners in this block
Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials 2
- There are no conveners in this block
Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials 2
- There are no conveners in this block
Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials 2
- There are no conveners in this block
Permanent magnets have the unique property of maintaining a high magnetic flux density when there is no external magnetic field. The ferromagnetic τ-phase MnAl intermetallic compound stands out as a promising candidate for rare earth-free magnets, attributed to its good machinability, low cost, and low density. However, the material was reported to be brittle and thermodynamically unstable. To...
Spodumene (LiAlSi2O6) is a significant source of lithium that is widely used for commercial purposes such as in batteries, particularly for electric vehicles. In natural ore deposits, spodumene is commonly found alongside feldspar as the common gangue mineral. Density functional theory computational method was used in this study to investigate the interaction of arsenate and enoate/enoic...
Magnesium-zinc ferrite (Mg1-xZnxFe2O4, for 0 ≤ x ≤1 Nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized using the glycol-thermal reaction method. The NPs were then coated with a biocompatible polymer (chitosan). The naked and coated materials were characterized for structural properties using an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), where crystallite sizes increased from an average of 12.79 nm to 14.98...
The two-component density functional theory is employed in the modelling of defects in ion implanted $SnO_2$ using positrons as probes. Since defects are localized, the local density approximation (LDA) is used which is part of DFT. Although LDA gives a good approximation of positron lifetimes and electron-positron annihilation momentum density. LDA does not consider the variational nature of...
Previous studies [1,2] reported on superconductivity (SC) observed for alloy systems with the general formula Mo$_{1-x}$Re$_x$. In order to probe this behaviour further, three samples Mo$_{73.5}$Re$_{26.5}$, Mo$_{67.1}$Re$_{32.9}$, and Mo$_{79.5}$Re$_{20.5}$ were prepared and characterized. Pure elements, 99.99 % in purity, of Mo and Re were used to synthesize the three samples utilizing the...
In this study, crystalline Sm₂Ni₂O₅ nanoparticles (SNONPs) were synthesized using both the co-precipitation and sol-gel methods to compare the influence of the synthesis’ method on the structural, chemical, thermodynamic, and magnetic properties of the material. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that samples from both methods crystallized in an orthorhombic structure of the Ima2 space...
In this study, the effect of radiation ionization on various glass compositions—40SrO–30B₂O₃–10TeO₂–20Bi₂O₃, 35SrO–30B₂O₃–10TeO₂–25Bi₂O₃, 30SrO–30B₂O₃–10TeO₂–30Bi₂O₃, 25SrO–30B₂O₃–10TeO₂–35Bi₂O₃, and 20SrO–30B₂O₃–10TeO₂–40Bi₂O₃—was investigated using Phy-X/PSD and XCOM simulation software, and validated with GEANT4 simulations. In the high-energy range of 1 MeV to 15 MeV, the mass attenuation...
We aim to establish the electronic transport properties of ultra-nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films at extremely low temperatures (specifically in the millikelvin regime) and under high magnetic fields up to 6 T in the z-axis. A dilution refrigerator was utilized to conduct the experiment in the millikelvin regime. UNCD, unlike its single-crystalline counterpart, is formed as small...
An ideal cathode coating material must exhibit excellent chemical stability, adequate electronic and ionic conductivity, a wide electrochemical stability window, and strong mechanical integrity to protect the electrode from degradation while ensuring efficient battery performance. Li₂MnO₃ has previously been used as a coating material due to its stabilizing effect on the core, but other...
In this study, the magnetic properties of two different sets of carbon nanospheres synthesised by chemical vapour deposition are reported. The morphological and structural features of the carbon nanospheres are characterised by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The magnetic measurements are performed by a state-of-the-art Physical Property Measurement System. For carbon...
Lanthanide-doped diamond couples the ultra wide band gap, high thermal conductivity and radiation hardness of the host with the rich $4f$ electron physics of the dopant, promising solid-state qubits, single-photon emitters and spin-memory elements. Supercell density functional theory treatments of the charged Ce-vacancy complexes that underlie these functionalities suffer from spurious...
