Nanocomposites of tantalum-based pyrochlore nanoparticles and indium hydroxide were prepared by a hydrothermal process for UV-driven photocatalytic reactions including overall water splitting, hydrogen production from photoreforming of methanol, and CO2 reduction with water to produce CO. The best catalyst was more than 20 times more active than sodium tantalate in overall water splitting and 3...

The mathematics of gauge theories lies behind many of the most profound advances in physics in the past 200 years, from Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism to Einstein's theory of general relativity. More recently it has become clear that gauge theories also emerge in condensed matter, a prime example being the spin-ice materials which host an emergent electromagnetic gauge field. In spin-ice,...

Because of the recent development of thin film and artificial superstructure growth techniques, it is possible to control the dimensionality of the system, smoothly between two and three dimensions. In this Letter we unveil the dimensional crossover of emergent topological phenomena in correlated topological materials. In particular, by focusing on the thin film of pyrochlore iridate antiferrom...

The catalytic properties of mixed oxides with the fluorite or pyrochlore structure were investigated using CO oxidation. The presence of ions with a variable valence state, the size of the ions and especially the extent of pyrochlore ordering affect kinetic behaviour and activity of the investigated materials.

We report the magnetic characterization of the frustrated transition metal pyrochlore NaCaCo2F7. This material has high spin Co in CoF6 octahedra in a pyrochlore lattice, and disordered non-magnetic Na and Ca on the large-atom sites in the structure. Large crystals grown by the floating zone method were studied. The magnetic susceptibility is isotropic, the Co moment is larger than the spin-onl...

Topological phases of quantum matter defy characterization by conventional order parameters but can exhibit a quantized electromagnetic response and/or protected surface states. We examine such phenomena in a model for three-dimensional correlated complex oxides, the pyrochlore iridates. The model realizes interacting topological insulators, with and without time-reversal symmetry, and topologi...

While the theoretical and experimental study of topological phases of matter has experienced rapid growth over the last few years, there remain a relatively small number of material classes that have been experimentally shown to host these phases. Most of these materials contain bismuth, and none so far are oxides. In this work we make materials-specific predictions for topological phases using...

Electrons hopping on the sites of a three-dimensional pyrochlore lattice are shown to form topologically nontrivial insulating phases when the spin-orbit (SO) coupling and lattice distortions are present. Of 16 possible topological classes 9 are realized for various parameters in this model. Specifically, at half-filling an undistorted pyrochlore lattice with a SO term yields a "pristine" stron...

The electrocatalytic oxidation of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride) was demonstrated on a Nafion/lead ruthenate pyrochlore modified electrode (designated as NCME) by cyclic voltammetry. The catalytic activity of vitamin B6 was explored in terms of the higher oxidation state of ruthenium species, i.e., Py-Ru/Ru in the pyrochlore network (Py). The mediated mechanism was derived by Michaelis-M...