Evidence of the Core-Shell Structure of (Photo)magnetic CoFe Prussian Blue Analogue Nanoparticles and Peculiar Behavior of the Surface Species.

We report on a comparative study of 5.5 nm (embedded in an ordered mesoporous silica matrix) and 100 nm (free) (photo)magnetic CoFe Prussian blue analogue (PBA) particles. Co and Fe K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and magnetic measurements point out a core-shell structure of the particles in their ground states.

Weak Ferromagnetic Interaction at the Surface of the Ferrimagnetic RbCo[Fe(CN)]·11HO Photoexcited State.

CoFe Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) are well-known for their magnetic bistability tuned by external stimuli. The photoswitching properties are due to the electron transfer from Co-NC-Fe to Co-NC-Fe linkage, accompanied by the spin change of the Co ions (HS stands for high spin and LS for low spin). In this work, we investigated 100 nm particles of the RbCo[Fe(CN)]·11HO PBA (named RbCoFe).

Co(2+)@Mesoporous Silica Monoliths: Tailor-Made Nanoreactors for Confined Soft Chemistry.

Mesoporous silica monoliths with various ordered nanostructures containing transition metal M(2+) cations in variable amounts were elaborated and studied. A phase diagram depicting the different phases as a function of the M(2+) salt/tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) and surfactant P123/TMOS ratios was established. Thermal treatment resulted in mesoporous monoliths containing isolated, accessible M(2+) species or condensed metal oxides, hydroxides, and salts, depending on the strength of the interactions between the metal species and the ethylene oxide units of P123.

In situ site-selective transition metal K-edge XAS: a powerful probe of the transformation of mixed-valence compounds.

We present herein the first in situ site-selective XAS experiment performed on a proof-of-principle transformation of a mixed-valence compound: the calcination of the K0.1Co(II)4[Co(III)(CN)6]2.7·20H2O Prussian Blue analogue (containing Co(2+) and Co(3+) ions in two different Oh sites) into Co3O4 (containing Co(2+) ions in a Td site and Co(3+) in an Oh site).