This paper details the electrochemical investigation of a deuteroporphyrin dimethylester (DPDE) rhodium(III) ((DPDE)Rh(III)) complex, immobilized within a MWCNT/Nafion electrode, and its integration into a molecular catalysis-based glucose fuel cell. The domains of present (DPDE)Rh(I), (DPDE)Rh-H, (DPDE)Rh(II), and (DPDE)Rh(III) were characterized by surface electrochemistry performed at a broad pH range. The Pourbaix diagrams (plots of E(1/2) vs pH) support the stability of (DPDE)Rh(II) at intermediate pH and the predominance of the two-electron redox system (DPDE)Rh(I)/(DPDE)Rh(III) at both low and high pH. This two-electron system is especially involved in the electrocatalytic oxidation of alcohols and was applied to the glucose oxidation. The catalytic oxidation mechanism exhibits an oxidative deactivation coupled with a reductive reactivation mechanism, which has previously been observed for redox enzymes but not yet for a metal-based molecular catalyst. The MWCNT/(DPDE)Rh(III) electrode was finally integrated in a novel design of an alkaline glucose/O(2) fuel cell with a MWCNT/phthalocyanin cobalt(II) (CoPc) electrode for the oxygen reduction reaction. This nonenzymatic molecular catalysis-based glucose fuel cell exhibits a power density of P(max) = 0.182 mW cm(-2) at 0.22 V and an open circuit voltage (OCV) of 0.64 V.

Rare-earth aluminates having the general formula LnMAl11O19 with Ln3+ = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, and M2+ = Mg, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe have been synthetized. This paper is devoted to mixed compounds of the series La1−xNdx Mg Al11O19 of which large single crystals have been obtained by the flame fusion method. A full refinement of the pure lanthanum compound (x = 0) having a quasimagnetoplumbite structure has been performed (final R = 0.039). Spectroscopic investigations of the (La, Nd) aluminate have allowed the measurement of fluorescence yield and lifetime of Nd3+ in the host lattice as a function of the neodymium content. Additional results have been obtained on the magnetic anisotropy, from susceptibility measurements performed on the Nd3+ aluminate in the temperature range 4–300 K.

Bi-Fe-O thin films are grown by liquid-injection metal-organic (MO)CVD on (001) SrTiO 3 substrates using two different bismuth precursors, Bi(tmhd) 3 and Bi(mmp) 3 . The precursor Bi(mmp) 3 is found to be more effective for Bi incorporation in the films. Epitaxial BiFeO 3 films are obtained and no evidence for secondary phases such as Fe 2 O 3 or Bi 2 O 3 is found by X-ray diffraction (XRD) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. However, the presence of a multiple binding environment for Fe 3+ is shown from the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses.