Methanol oxidation catalysts comprising an outer Pt-shell with an inner Ni-core supported on carbon, (Pt-Ni/C), were prepared with either crystalline or amorphous Ni core structures. Structural comparisons of the two forms of catalyst were made using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and methanol oxidation activity compar...

Photolysis of [Ni(II)(μ-Cl)Cl(IPr)](2) (IPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene) activates the Ni-Cl bonds to furnish [Ni(I)(μ-Cl)(IPr)](2). Consistent with this photochemistry, a TD-DFT calculation for square planar Ni(ii) centre reveals that light excitation leads to the population of orbitals with σ*(Ni-Cl) character.

[Ni(L(1))Fe((t)BuNC)4](PF6)2 is a robust Ni(II)Fe(II) complex that undergoes a reversible one-electron reduction. Spectroscopic and theoretical studies show that [Ni(L(1))Fe((t)BuNC)4](+) is an unprecedented Ni(I)Fe(II) species that reproduces the electronic configuration of the Ni-L state of the [NiFe] hydrogenases.

For SOFCs to be main means of power generation, they should be able to exploit wide variety of fuels. Among Ni-cermets, Ni-YSZ is the state-of-the-art materials for the anode in SOFC which is the fuel electrode. But sulphur impurity present in different gaseous fuels (e.g Biogas), depending on its concentration, is highly poisonous to the stability and electrochemical performance of the Ni cata...

High concentrations of nickel (Ni) are harmful to humans and animals. Ni targets a number of organs and produces multiple toxic effects. Apoptosis is important in Ni-induced toxicity of the kidneys, liver, nerves, and immune system. Apoptotic pathways mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Fas, and c-Myc participate in Ni-induced cell apoptosis. How...

Two new end-to-end (EE) cyanate bridged 1D coordination polymers of Ni(II) are isolated which contain linear (180°) Ni-N-C and Ni-O-C angles in Ni-NCO-Ni bridges and show ferromagnetic (F) coupling in agreement with the reported theoretical model for linear EE bridges.

We investigated accumulation of elements (Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, Pb, and Zn) in leaves of different ages for 11 evergreen woody plant species from serpentine soils of New Caledonia. Species were classifi ed into four categories of Ni accumulation ability: one species was a non-accumulator (<100 mg Ni/ kg), three were accumulators (100–1000 mg Ni/kg), two were hyperaccumulators (1000–...

Multicopper oxidases (MCOs) catalyze the 4e(-) reduction of O(2) to H(2)O. The reaction of the fully reduced enzyme with O(2) generates the native intermediate (NI), which undergoes a slow decay to the resting enzyme in the absence of substrate. NI is a fully oxidized form, but its spectral features are very different from those of the resting form (also fully oxidized), because the type 2 and ...

Using density-functional theory, we predict stable alloy configurations (ground states) for a 1 nm Pt-Pd cuboctahedral nanoparticle across the entire composition range and demonstrate their use as tunable alloy catalysts via hydrogen-adsorption studies. Unlike previous works, we use simulated annealing with a cluster expansion Hamiltonian to perform a rapid and comprehensive search that encompa...