Coupling FeSe2 with CoSe: an effective strategy to create stable and efficient electrocatalysts for water oxidation.

A novel CoSe/FeSe2 nanohybrid electrocatalyst was prepared by a simple one-step hydrothermal method. Owing to the unique interface structure, abundant internal defects, good hydrophilia and electrical coupling effects between different components, the hybrid shows enhanced oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performances, better than those of the individual CoSe and FeSe2.

Nanoscale characterization and magnetic property of NiCoCu/Cu multilayer nanowires.

NiCo/Cu multilayer nanowires have been successfully fabricated by a pulse electrodeposition technique using anodic aluminum oxide templates, and their chemistry, crystal structure and magnetic properties characterized at the nanoscale. It was found that each individual nanowire had a regular periodic structure. The NiCo/Cu nanowires also displayed a continuous morphology, smooth surface and polycrystalline fcc structure. EDX elemental mappings confirmed the presence of nickel, cobalt and copper, which appear clearly with a periodic distribution throughout the samples. Both the NiCo and Cu layers were polycrystalline and the average length of the interlayers between NiCo and Cu layers was approximately 3-4 nm. The NiCo/Cu nanowire arrays had an easy axis parallel to the length of wire and exhibited a curling magnetization reversal mechanism. This study highlights the basis morphological, structural and chemical information for NiCoCu/Cu multilayer nanowires, which is critical for their applications in nanodevices and nanoelectronics.

The Faraday rotation angle of Ni nanowire arrays: its dependence on photon energy and nanowire size.

The magneto-optical properties of Ni nanowire arrays embedded in anodic aluminum oxide templates are studied, for a selection of photon energies, as a function of their diameter and length for the first time. This was achieved by the determination of Stokes parameters of the transmitted light. The magneto-optical response is found to differ considerably from that of the bulk material. At all photon energies studied, a linear association of the Faraday rotation angle with nanowire length has been observed; moreover, a proportional relationship between rotation angle per unit length and nanowire diameter has also been also observed, consistent with our earlier work on Fe and Co nanowires. The relationship between the Faraday rotation angle per unit length with different nanowire diameters and photon energy has been found to exhibit clear spectroscopic structure.