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Semiconducting gallium nitride (GaN) quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized at low temperatures (650 °C), using ammonia flow without any organogallium precursor compound, assisted and controlled by an ordered mesoporous silica MCM-41 as host matrix. The final materials exhibit an intense blue shift of the band gap energy compared to the three-dimensional (3D) GaN. MCM-41 hosted GaN QD synthesis is also reported from pyrolysis of an organic precursor, tris(dimethylamido)gallium(III), at 365 °C under ammonia flow, with the largest band gap blue shift reported for such synthesized GaN of 0.6 eV. The QDs, involving inorganic precursor, exhibit an average X-ray diffraction estimated diameter of 12.6 A and crystallize in the zinc blende lattice with cubic symmetry (β-GaN), whereas the hexagonal system is thermodynamically preferred. QDs, based on organic precursor, have hexagonal symmetry (α-GaN, wurtzite structure) with an average diameter of 20.6 A. Spectroscopic and structural characterization of the QD-MCM com...

MgO supported bimetallic catalysts containing a combination of Fe and Ni metals in 1:1 ratio at varying loadings (from 1 to 50 wt.%) were prepared by a wet impregnation method. Carbon nanotubes were synthesized over the prepared catalysts by the catalytic decomposition of acetylene for different reaction conditions. The effect of reaction temperature, reaction time and metal loading to the yield, structural perfection and morphology of the synthesized carbon products was investigated using a combination of XRD, DTA/DTG, Raman spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. The results revealed that both the selection of the growing conditions and the metal loading are critical for the nature of the synthesized carbon nanotubes and can assign their yield and their overall quality. The synthesized carbon nanotubes exhibit extended crystallinity while they were synthesized at high yields.

Clay-carbon nanotube composites were prepared by employing the catalytic chemical vapor deposition method (CCVD) over different transition metal oxides supported on montmorillonite. Various analytical techniques including SEM, TEM, XRD and DTA/TGA were used for the characterization of the final composite materials. The morphology, quality and structure of the produced nanotubes is shown to be dependent on the type of transition metals.

In the present work we employed various transition metals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) loaded on different smectite clays (laponite and montmorillonite) as catalysts in synthesis of carbon nanostructures (mainly nanotubes) and we report the effect of the nature of the catalytic centers and type of aluminosilicate layers in the morphology, quality and structure on the final products. Owing to their unique swelling, ion-exchange and intercalation properties smectite clays were easily. uniformly and reproducibly loaded with metal cations. Different homoionic forms of montmorillonite and laponite were prepared containing first-row transition metals and the synthesis of carbon nanostructures was carried out at 700 degrees C using an acetylene/nitrogen mixture. A variety of analytical techniques (XRD, Raman. SEM, TEM and thermal analysis) were used to fully characterize the final materials. Iron-, cobalt-, nickel- and manganese-exchanged clays showed to be effective catalysts for the production of carbon nanotubes, while acetylene decomposition over copper-exchanged clays resulted to the creation of carbon spheres. The resulting hybrid systems are particularly attractive for polymer reinforcing applications since the combined action of clay-carbon nanotubes in polymer matrixes can provide outstanding properties to the resulting composite materials. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Materials Science and Engineering B-Advanced Functional Solid-State Materials

The present study focuses on the effect of the metal-modification method (ion-exchange or impregnation) and of the type of dealumination procedure (steaming, AHFS) of zeolite-Y on the quantity, quality and properties of the carbon nanotubes that are formed on the supported iron or cobalt oxides. Severe dealumination of zeolite-Y by steaming, which induced secondary meso/macropores, resulted in significant decrease in the carbon nanotube formation activity of the metal-impregnated zeolite-Y catalysts, while moderate dealumination by ammonium hexafluorosilicate had a less pronounced effect. The micro-Raman spectra revealed the presence of high quality as-grown CNTs with low degree of disordered.