Single-crystal, Cu-doped In x Ga1 - x N nanowires were grown on GaN/Al2O3 substrates via a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism using Ni/Au bi-catalysts. The typical diameter of the Cu:In x Ga1 - x N nanowires was 80 to 150 nm, with a typical length of hundreds of micrometers. The as-grown nanowires exhibited diamagnetism. After annealing, the nanowires exhibited ferromagnetism with saturation ma...

First-principle calculations are used to explore the use of magnetic degrees of freedom in catalysis. We use the Vienna Ab-Initio Simulation Package to investigate both L1 0-ordered FePt and CoPt bulk materials and perform supercell calculations for FePt nanoclusters containing 43 atoms. As the catalytic activity of transition-metal elements and alloys involves individual d levels, magnetic all...

An important approach in the design of new environmentally friendly materials is represented by the study of analogous systems already existing in nature. In the search for new water splitting catalysts, the corresponding natural analogue is represented by the oxygen-evolving complex of photosystem II, which is a large membrane protein complex present in photosynthetic organisms. The understand...

Magnetic, Mössbauer, and I.R. studies of nanosize particles of Fe and Co species dispersed in a cage of aluminosilicates structure, in relation to syngas (CO+H2) Fischer Tropsch conversion. The difference in the catalytic activity of such species have shown dependancy on their degree of dispersion. The carbonyl impregnation gave ultra-fine Super Paramagnetic Fe3O4, whereas the nitrate impregnat...

Since the discovery of ruthenium as a catalyst for hydrogenation reactions, Ru catalysts have been widely used in the chemical, petrochemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries, and in energy-conversion technologies. The scope of homogeneous Ru catalysts has been well-illustrated recently. However, heterogeneous catalysts can be preferable from both industrial and environmental perspectives. ...