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U and Th isotopic composition have been proven to be a valuable tool in environmental science, oceanography, hydrology, geology, nuclear forensics, and science-based archaeology. These applications require simultaneous detection of both minor and major isotopes at high accuracy. Often, the amount of sample or concentration of U and Th are …

Bismuth ferrite, BiFeO3 (BFO), has been recognized as a promising lead-free material for high-temperature piezoelectric applications due to its high Curie temperature of 825 °C. However, the practical use of BFO has been limited in particular by its elevated electrical conductivity. In addition, BFO shows the characteristics of ferroelectric hardening, …

The process of protein folding describes the transition by which an unordered polypeptide chain attains its functional native three-dimensional structure. A detailed understanding of the principles which govern the protein folding, such as conformational preferences of amino acid residues, the neighbour residue effect and the solvent effects, remains an important …

Sodium niobate (NaNbO3) is the end member of several alkaline niobate-based solid solutions, which represent an important group of environment-friendly lead-free piezoceramics. Even though alkaline niobates are of considerable technological importance, problems in obtaining high densities and a fine-grained microstructure are still reported and not much is known about the …

Presented work is a study of magnetic iron oxide (referred to as spinel) coating synthesis. The coatings were synthesized on the surfaces of selected core nanoparticles with heterogeneous nucleation during the co-precipitation of the Fe3+/Fe2+ ions. The work is divided into three parts. The first part comprise the synthesis of …

This work presents experimental studies of ordering phenomena, electromechanical and electrocaloric properties in single crystal, ceramic and solid solution relaxor ferroelectrics and single crystal ferroelectric materials. The main aim of investigations is to prove the existence of a liquid-vapor critical point in these systems and to verify its impact on …

Laser ablation (LA) is a versatile technique that can be used for the elemental analysis of diverse materials as well as for synthesis purposes, i.e. for pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of a wide range of materials. Analysis and synthesis will only be successful if the ablated material can be stoichiometrically …

In this thesis we present the development of the device for the removal of carbon deposits in fusion reactors. Amorphous hydrogenated carbon deposits (a-C:H) represent a major problem for smooth operation of future fusion reactors with divertors containing carbon tiles, because they cause retention of radioactive tritium. There are techniques …

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) in nanoparticle form has recently gained a lot of attention, in both the scientific and industrial communities. This is due to the fact that it exhibits various interesting chemical and physical characteristics, for example, a high photocatalytic activity and the absorption of incident UV light. Many applications …

This thesis presents the results of our experimental work in the field of new advanced materials such as liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), electrocalorics and magnetoelectrics. In the first part, the conversion of thermal to mechanical energy is addressed in LCEs. The three important, newly discovered, chemical and physical parameters for …