In this study, nanocrystalline (18–28 nm) perovskite-like bismuth ferrite rare earth-doped powders (Bi_0.9RE_0.1FeO₃, where RE = La (BLaFO), Eu (BEuFO), and Er (BErFO)) were obtained by microwave-assisted modification of solution combustion synthesis (SCS). The influence of high load La³⁺, Eu³⁺, and Er³⁺ doping on structural, optical, and electrical properties of BiFeO₃ was investigated. It was found that rare earth doping along with fast phase formation and quenching significantly distorts the crystal cells of the obtained materials, which results in the formation of mixed rhombohedral- (R3c-) orthorhombic (Pbnm) crystal structures with decreased lengths of Bi-O and Fe-O bonds along with a decreasing radius size of doping ions. This promotes reduction of the optical band gap energy and suppression of ionic polarization at high frequencies and results in enhanced dielectric permittivity of the materials at 1 MHz.

Raman investigations were carried out during an isothermal transformation of deeply supercooled liquid $n$-butanol, recently interpreted as a polyamorphic transition. Raman spectra indicate that the newly emerging state is a mixed crystal-liquid state, and not another amorphous state. The long-range order in crystallites was identified as reflecting that of the crystal. The time dependence of the O-H stretch spectrum indicates that the transformation is driven by the formation of a two-dimensional H-bonded network, according to the archetypal-layered structures of normal alcohols. The origin of the frustration of the crystallization in $n$-butanol can be explained from the consideration that the rearrangement of the hydrogen-bonded molecules is unavoidably prevented by the very low molecular mobility of the system only two degrees above $T_g$.

We present soft x-ray spectroscopy measurements and electronic structure calculations of ZnTiO${}_3$, a ternary oxide that is related to wurtzite ZnO and rutile TiO${}_2$. The electronic structure of ZnTiO${}_3$ was calculated using a variety of exchange-correlation functionals, and we compare the predicted band gaps of this material obtained from each functional with estimates from our experimental data and optical gaps quoted from the literature. We find that the main hybridizations in the electronic structure of ZnTiO${}_3$ can be predicted from the electronic structures of the two binary oxides. We further find that ZnTiO${}_3$ has weaker O 2p-Zn 3d repulsion than in ZnO, resulting in a relatively lower valence band maximum and consequently a larger band gap. Although we find a significant core hole shift in the measured O $K$ XAS of ZnTiO${}_3$, we provide a simple empirical scheme for estimating the band gap that may prove to be applicable for any $d$ ${}^{10}$-$d$ ${}^0$ ternary oxide, and could be useful in finding a ternary oxide with a band gap tailored to a specific energy.