In situ analysis of catalyst composition during gold catalyzed GaAs nanowire growth

Semiconductor nanowires offer the opportunity to incorporate novel structures and functionality into electronic and optoelectronic devices. A clear understanding of the nanowire growth mechanism is essential for well-controlled growth of structures with desired properties, but the understanding is currently limited by a lack of empirical measurements of important parameters during growth, such as catalyst particle composition. However, this is difficult to accurately determine by investigating post-growth. We report direct measurement of the catalyst composition of individual gold seeded GaAs nanowires inside an electron microscope as they grow. The Ga content in the catalyst during growth increased with both temperature and Ga precursor flux. A direct comparison of the calculated phase diagrams of the Au-Ga-As ternary system to the measured catalyst composition not only lets us estimate the As content in the catalyst but also indicates the relevance of phase diagrams to understanding nanowire growth

Health promoting settings in primary health care - "hälsotorg": an implementation analysis

Background Sweden, like many other western countries, faces increasing rates of lifestyle related diseases and corresponding rise in costs for health care. To meet these challenges, a number of efforts have been introduced at different societal levels. One such effort is "Hälsotorg" (HS). HS is a new health promotion setting that emerged in collaboration between the Swedish County Councils and Apoteket AB, a state-owned pharmacy company. HS's overall aim was to improve population health and facilitate inhabitants' responsibility for self-care. A new National Public Health Policy, introduced in 2008, emphasizes more focus on individual's needs and responsibility as well as strong need for county councils to provide supportive environment for individual-centred health services and increased health literacy among the population. In light of this policy, there is a need to examine existing settings that can provide supportive environment for individuals at community level. The aim of this study was to explore HS's policy implementation at local level and analyse HS's activities, in order to provide a deeper understanding of HS's potential as a health promoting setting. Methods Materials included a survey and key documents related to the development and nature of HS on local and national levels. A policy analysis inspired by Walt and Gilson was used in data analysis. In addition, an analysis using the principles of health promotion in relation to HS policy process and activities was also carried out. Results The analysis illuminated strengths and weaknesses in the policy process, its actors, contextual factors and activities. The health communication approach in the analysed documents contained health promoting intentions but the health promoting approach corresponding to a health promoting setting was neither apparent nor shared among the stakeholders. This influenced the interpretation and implementation of HS negatively. Conclusions The analysis indicates that HS has potential to be a valuable health promotion setting for both population and individuals, given the strong intentions for a health and empowerment building approach that is expressed in the documents. However, for a more sustainable implementation of HS, there is need for an in- depth understanding of the health promotion approach among HS stakeholders

Zirconia-Supported Vanadium Oxide Catalysts for Ammoxidation and Oxidation of Toluene: A Characterization and Activity Study

A series of samples of vanadia supported on monoclinic zirconia were prepared with nominal loadings from a half up to sixteen theoretical vanadia layers. The samples were characterized with X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, high-resolution electron microscopy, Raman and diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy, and were used in the oxidation and the ammoxidation of toluene. At loadings in the monolayer range, Raman and infrared bands from decavanadate-like and dehydrated tetrahedral vanadia species were at ca. 990 and ca. 1025 cm−1, respectively. Raman bands at 821 and 880 cm−1 were present only at the lowest loading and are characteristic of orthovanadate and pyrovanadate species, respectively. X-ray diffraction, Raman and infrared spectroscopic results revealed formation of some crystalline V2O5 and ZrV2O7 at loadings exceeding a theoretical monolayer. In this case, consideration of Raman intensity variations allowed the conclusion that additional non-crystalline vanadia must be present. According to high-resolution electron micrographs, this vanadia consists of an amorphous overlayer, 4–8 atomic layers thick. In toluene oxidation zirconia-supported vanadia compared with crystalline V2O5 was found less selective for benzaldehyde formation. In toluene ammoxidation, on the other hand, vanadia on zirconia was found to possess good activity and selectivity for benzonitrile formation. Amorphous vanadia was the most active structure on zirconia, while the selectivities for nitrile and aldehyde formations were almost independent of the loading for one theoretical layer and above

Important Components Needed in Today’s Global Society From a Cross-Cultural Perspective

This article reviews the extent to which individuals from different geocultural regions view and identify affective components perceived to be important in today’s global society. Various regions of the world were categorized to ensure equivalent participation around the world. Eight geocultural regions were identified to compare responses by geographical regions to obtain information on possible differences. A questionnaire was administered to respondents in the eight geocultural regions to obtain their perceptions of important affective components needed in today’s global society. Based on this study, there were at least nine different affective components perceived to be important in today’s global society. All of the nine affective components were perceived to be important in all the geocultural regions. The component adaptability had the overall highest rating and curiosity the overall lowest rating

Enabling In Situ Studies of Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition in a Transmission Electron Microscope

The world of environmental microscopy provides the possibility to study and analyze transformations and reactions during realistic conditions to understand the processes better. We report on the design and development of a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system integrated with an environmental transmission electron microscope intended for real-time investigations of crystal growth. We demonstrate methods for achieving a wide range of precisely controlled concentrations of precursor gas at the sample, as well as for calibrating the sample partial pressure using the pressure measured elsewhere in the microscope column. The influences of elevated temperature and reactive gas within the pole-piece gap are evaluated with respect to imaging and spectroscopy. We show that X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy can be strongly affected by temperatures beyond 500C, while the spatial resolution is largely unaffected by heat and microscope pressure for the relevant conditions. Finally, the influence of the electron beam on the investigated processes is discussed. With this work, we aim to provide crucial input in the development of advanced in situ electron microscopy systems for studies of complex reactions in real time under realistic conditions, for instance as used during formation of semiconductor crystals

Carbon monoxide oxidation on nanostructured CuOx/CeO2 composite particles characterized by HREM, XPS, XAS, and high-energy diffraction

Nonstoichiometric CuO x /CeO 2 nanocomposite particles have been synthesized by inert gas condensation (IGC) over the whole compositional range (2 to 98 at.% Cu). The composition influences greatly the formation of various nanostructures, such as core-shells. A wide range of techniques were used to characterize the catalysts: high-resolution TEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, as well as high-energy diffraction (HED) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES and EXAFS) using synchrotron radiation. Catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide was performed on catalysts with equal specific surface area, using both a batch reactor and a fixed-bed flow reactor. X-ray absorption spectroscopy showed that copper was present as a mixture of Cu(I) and Cu(II) species ranging from ca. 36% Cu(I) in one of the fresh samples to less than 5% in the activated samples. The coordination of Cu(I) was found to be mostly linear 2-coordinate as in the model compound Cu 2 O or alternatively 3-coordinate planar, while Cu(II) was found to present a mixture of tetrahedral and highly distorted octahedral coordination. EXAFS showed that both copper species were part of a very dispersed and highly disordered structure. The main chemical factors that control the activity for the oxidation of carbon monoxide are (i) the nanostructured morphology, (ii) the X-ray crystallinity as determined by HED, and (iii) the dispersion of copper at the surface. These three factors can be tailored during the IGC synthesis, but they can also change during the thermal activation. Copper ions migrate toward the particle surface and create new and highly dispersed superficial copper species/clusters, accompanied by a slight reduction of the CeO 2 surface. This favorable morphological evolution, or diminutive structural rearrangement, which was not adequately resolved by HREM, can be monitored as a shift of the light-off temperature. The wide variation in X-ray crystallinity between the catalysts can be used to quantify the processes occurring during the thermal activation. Easily reducible, high-energy surfaces of CeO 2 are better in stabilizing extremely dispersed copper species by a close synergistic interaction, which promotes a rapid change of valency and supply of oxygen. © 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).status: publishe