Magnetic Materials and Superconductors

We end this book with an overview of a topic that has immense promise but is still in the laboratory stage of development, namely, high temperature superconductivity Since superconductivity is intimately related to magnetic phenomena in solids, a brief consideration of magnetochemistry is prerequisite. 

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In Chapter 17, we introduce "electronic organic materials". The goal there is to describe new structures with novel electronic properties. These structures can be put to use as conducting or magnetic materials, and even organic superconductors. We will return to the interaction of light with matter in Chapter 17 when we describe photoresists and non-linear optics. 

The metal oxo unit (M=0) is a fundamental constituent of both soluble molecular clusters and of complex solid materials. The practical interest in the molecular species reflects applications to homogeneous catalysis, heterogeneous catalysis, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, magnetic materials, and materials synthesis. Likewise, the solid metal oxides exhibit a remarkable range of properties, with applications to high-temperature ferroelectrics, frequency doubling nonlinear optics, electrode materials in solid-state batteries, high-temperature superconductors, catalysis, sorption, and ceramics. 

XPS has been used in almost every area in which the properties of surfaces are important. The most prominent areas can be deduced from conferences on surface analysis, especially from ECASIA, which is held every two years. These areas are adhesion, biomaterials, catalysis, ceramics and glasses, corrosion, environmental problems, magnetic materials, metals, micro- and optoelectronics, nanomaterials, polymers and composite materials, superconductors, thin films and coatings, and tribology and wear. The contributions to these conferences are also representative of actual surface-analytical problems and studies [2.33 a,b]. A few examples from the areas mentioned above are given below more comprehensive discussions of the applications of XPS are given elsewhere [1.1,1.3-1.9, 2.34—2.39]. 

Other fields for RBS analysis include optical and dielectric materials, hard and protective coatings, superconductors, and magnetic materials. 

Pillai V, Kumar P, Hou M J, Ayyub P, Shah DO (1995) Preparation of Nanoparticles of Silver-Halides, Superconductors and Magnetic-Materials Using Water-in-Oil Microemulsions as Nano-Reactors. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 55 241-269... 

Figure 6.32 The relationship between temperature, magnetic field and current density in a Type II superconductor. Reprinted, by permission, from W. Callister, Materials Science and Engineering An Introduction, 5th ed., p. 699. Copyright 2000 by John Wiley Sons, Inc.

Available results on the preparation, characterization, and utilization of metallic and catalytic particles (Sect. 3), semiconductor particles and particulate films (Sect. 4), conductors and superconductors (Sect. 5), magnetism and magnetic particles and particulate films (Sect. 6), and advanced ceramic materials (Sect. 7) will constitute the main body of the monograph. An attempt will be made to cover these materials exhaustively. 

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