Nanoalloy catalysis and magnetic and optical properties: general discussion

Materials like iron, nickel, and cobalt consist of magnetic domains, within which the magnetic dipoles are arranged parallel to each other. The magnetic dipoles are rigidly aligned in the same direction within a domain by quantum mechanical coupling among the atoms. This coupling is so strong that even thermal agitation at room temperature cannot break it. The result is that each domain has a net dipole moment. However, some materials have weaker coupling, and are ferromagnetic at lower...

Color in Coordination Complexes
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...

Paramagnets are materials with unpaired electrons that possess a finite magnetic moment. In the absence of a magnetic field, these moments are randomly oriented, and thus the net moment is zero. Under an external field, a torque acting on the moments tends to align them along the field's direction. However, the random thermal motion of electrons produces a torque opposite to the external field and tries to disorient the moments. These two competing effects align only a few moments along the...