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Börje Johansson

Publications and source records attributed to Börje Johansson.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Optimization of ionic conductivity in doped ceria.

Oxides with the cubic fluorite structure, e.g., ceria (CeO2), are known to be good solid electrolytes when they are doped with cations of lower valence than the host cations. The high ionic conductivity of doped ceria makes it an attractive electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells, whose prospects as an environmentally friendly power source are very promising. In these electrolytes, the current is carried by oxygen ions that are transported by oxygen vacancies, present to compensate for the lower charge of the dopant cations. Ionic conductivity in ceria is closely related to oxygen-vacancy formation and migration properties. A clear physical picture of the connection between the choice of a dopant and the improvement of ionic conductivity in ceria is still lacking. Here we present a quantum-mechanical first-principles study of the influence of different trivalent impurities on these properties. Our results reveal a remarkable correspondence between vacancy properties at the atomic level and the macroscopic ionic conductivity. The key parameters comprise migration barriers for bulk diffusion and vacancy-dopant interactions, represented by association (binding) energies of vacancy-dopant clusters. The interactions can be divided into repulsive elastic and attractive electronic parts. In the optimal electrolyte, these parts should balance. This finding offers a simple and clear way to narrow the search for superior dopants and combinations of dopants. The ideal dopant should have an effective atomic number between 61 (Pm) and 62 (Sm), and we elaborate that combinations of Nd/Sm and Pr/Gd show enhanced ionic conductivity, as compared with that for each element separately.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Structural phase transitions in heavy alkali metals under pressure.

We performed a theoretical study of the crystal structures of cesium and rubidium under high compressions. Our results confirm the recent high-pressure experimental observations of new complex crystal structures for the Cs III and Rb III phases. The calculated transition pressures agree extremely well with the measured data. Thus, it is now certain that the famous isostructural phase transition in cesium is actually a new crystallographic phase transition. A d-orbital occupation number of about 0.52 is crucial for the occurrence of these complex structures.

Cesium↗
PubMed2004

Oxidation of plutonium dioxide.

The physics and chemistry of the actinide elements form the scientific basis for rational handling of nuclear materials. In recent experiments, most unexpectedly, plutonium dioxide has been found to react with water to form higher oxides up to PuO(2.27), whereas PuO(2) had always been thought to be the highest stable oxide of plutonium. We perform a theoretical analysis of this complicated situation on the basis of total energies calculated within density functional theory combined with well-established thermodynamic data. The reactions of PuO(2) with either O(2) or H(2)O to form PuO(2+delta) are calculated to be endothermic: that is, in order to occur they require a supply of energy. However, our calculations show that PuO(2+delta) can be formed, as an intermediate product, by reactions with the products of radiolysis of water, such as H(2)O(2).

Models, Chemical↗
PubMed2003

Ferromagnetism above room temperature in bulk and transparent thin films of Mn-doped ZnO.

The search for ferromagnetism above room temperature in dilute magnetic semiconductors has been intense in recent years. We report the first observations of ferromagnetism above room temperature for dilute (<4 at.%) Mn-doped ZnO. The Mn is found to carry an average magnetic moment of 0.16 mu(B) per ion. Our ab initio calculations find a valance state of Mn(2+) and that the magnetic moments are ordered ferromagnetically, consistent with the experimental findings. We have obtained room-temperature ferromagnetic ordering in bulk pellets, in transparent films 2-3 microm thick, and in the powder form of the same material. The unique feature of our sample preparation was the low-temperature processing. When standard high-temperature (T > 700 degrees C) methods were used, samples were found to exhibit clustering and were not ferromagnetic at room temperature. This capability to fabricate ferromagnetic Mn-doped ZnO semiconductors promises new spintronic devices as well as magneto-optic components.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Stability of the body-centred-cubic phase of iron in the Earth's inner core.

Iron is thought to be the main constituent of the Earth's core, and considerable efforts have therefore been made to understand its properties at high pressure and temperature. While these efforts have expanded our knowledge of the iron phase diagram, there remain some significant inconsistencies, the most notable being the difference between the 'low' and 'high' melting curves. Here we report the results of molecular dynamics simulations of iron based on embedded atom models fitted to the results of two implementations of density functional theory. We tested two model approximations and found that both point to the stability of the body-centred-cubic (b.c.c.) iron phase at high temperature and pressure. Our calculated melting curve is in agreement with the 'high' melting curve, but our calculated phase boundary between the hexagonal close packed (h.c.p.) and b.c.c. iron phases is in good agreement with the 'low' melting curve. We suggest that the h.c.p.-b.c.c. transition was previously misinterpreted as a melting transition, similar to the case of xenon, and that the b.c.c. phase of iron is the stable phase in the Earth's inner core.

Journal Article↗