Platinum acetate blue: synthesis and characterization.

Platinum acetate blue (PAB) of the empirical formula Pt(OOCMe)2.5±0.25, a byproduct in the synthesis of crystalline platinum(II) acetate Pt4(OOCMe)8, is an X-ray amorphous substance containing platinum in the oxidation state between (II) and (III).

Formation of active catalysts in the system: chlorocuprates-CCl4-n-C10H22.

Transformations of anionic Cu(II) chlorocomplexes have been studied under conditions of catalytic exchange reactions between carbon tetrachloride and n-alkanes. It was shown that chlorocuprates are just precursors and are easily reduced to the genuine catalysts, that is, to the respective Cu(I) complexes. Both the composition and the geometric structure of the precursor (CuCl(4)(2-)) and, probably, the active site (CuCl(3)(2-)) have been investigated by several techniques (UV-vis spectroscopy, electron spin resonance (ESR), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), and static magnetic measurements).

Synthesis and structural characterization of Se-modified carbon-supported Ru nanoparticles for the oxygen reduction reaction.

This work is part of a continued research aimed at the understanding of the promoting role of Se in the enhancement of the electrocatalytic activity of Ru in the oxygen reduction reaction. The objective of this paper is to systematically investigate the transformation of Ru nanoparticles upon their modification with the increasing amounts of Se. The Se-modified Ru/C samples with Se:Ru ratio from 0 to 1 were prepared by reacting carbon-supported Ru nanoparticles with SeO2 followed by reductive annealing and characterized using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure.

X-ray microscopy using alkali-halide crystals.

The materials on the basis of alkali-halide crystals for recording the X-ray images are developed. Their spatial resolution is 1 μm, dynamic range of recording is more than 10000. The media allow readout without erasing the image and extended storage of the image.

EXAFS study of the Fex/ZrO2 composite nanomaterials obtained by sol-gel synthesis.

The local Zr and Fe arrangements in the nanocomposite system Fe(x)/ZrO2 (x=0-0.2) obtained by sol-gel method were studied by EXAFS. The phase composition was found to vary significantly on iron loading.