Pt nanoparticles deposited over carbon nanotubes for selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde

Two kinds of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with different inner diameter (less than 10 nm: CNTs-1 and between 60 and 100 nm: CNTs-2) were used as catalyst supports. The platinum particles were simply deposited on the outside surface (CNTs-1) and inside (CNTs-2) and were easily reduced to Pt⁰ by refluxing. The catalysts exhibit high activities in the selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde which contains both CC and CO bonds. But the selectivity of these two catalysts was quite different under same reaction conditions. The high selective hydrogenation of CO bond was observed over catalyst 3%Pt/CNTs-2, while the completely hydrogenation of both CC and CO bonds was found over catalyst 3%Pt/CNTs-1.     

Synthesis and reactivity of an 2-azabutadiene-based π-conjugated dithioether: Formation of a N,S-ligated molybdenum chelate complex and C,N,S-pincer complexes of palladium and platinum

Nucleophilic attack of sodium isopropylthiolate on 4,4-dichloro-1,1-diphenyl-2-azabuta-1,3-diene [Cl₂CC(H)–NCPh₂}] (1) affords the 2-azabutadiene derivative [(i-PrS)₂CC(H)–NCPh₂] (2). Upon irradiation of Mo(CO)₆ in THF in the presence of 2, the chelate complex cis-[(OC)₄Mo{(i-PrS)₂CC(H)–NCPh₂}] (3) is obtained. Coordination on Mo occurs through the imine nitrogen and a thioether group. Polydentate dithioether 2 acts as N,C,S-pincer ligand after orthometallation reaction with Pd(II) or Pt(II). The molecular structures of 2 and (C,N,S)-[(i-PrS)₂CC(H)–NC(Ph)C₆H₄)PtCl] (4b) have been determined by X-ray diffraction studies.     

Preparation and characterization of carboximidate iron(II) complexes

The reactions of C₅H₄NCHNNHC(O)Ph (1) with Fe(II) chloride gave [Fe₂(C₅H₄NC(OEt)NNHC(O)Ph)₂(μ-OEt)₂Cl₂]) (2) in ethanol and [Fe₂(C₅H₄NC(OMe)NNHC(O)Ph)₂(μ-OMe)₂Cl₂] (3) in methanol as well as [Fe(C₅H₄NCHNNHC(O)Ph)Cl₂] (4) in tetrahydrofuran, respectively. The X-ray diffraction analysis reveals their structures and complex 4 is proposed as an intermediate of formation of complexes 2 and 3.     

Unsymmetrical cyrhetrenyl and ferrocenyl azines derived from 5-nitrofurane: Synthesis,structural characterization and electrochemistry

A new series of unsymmetrical cyrhetrenyl and ferrocenyl azines that were monosubstituted [(η⁵-C₅H₄)–C(R)N–NCH(5-NO₂–2-C₄H₂O)]M {with MRe(CO)₃ and RH (1a) or RMe (1b); MFe(η⁵-C₅H₅) and RH (2a) or RMe (2b)} and disubstituted [Fe{(η⁵-C₅H₄)–C(Me)N–NCH(5-NO₂–2-C₄H₂O)}₂] (3a) were prepared by condensation reactions of the corresponding organometallic hydrazone [(η⁵-C₅H₄)–C(R)N–NH₂)]M with 5-nitro-2-furaldehyde. The ¹H and ¹³C{¹H} NMR spectra indicated that these compounds adopted an (E,E)-configuration about the ˃CN − bond and an s-trans conformation about the N1–N2 bond, and this result was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analyses of 1a and 2b. The opposite electronic effects of the organometallic fragments correlate with the co-planarity of the [(η⁵-C₅H₄)–C(R)N–NCH(5-NO₂–2-C₄H₂O)] system, the reduction potential of the nitro group (E_1/2) and the chemical shifts of the iminic carbons.     

Nonlinear optical properties in tetrametallic Fe3Mn complexes with pseudo-C3 symmetry

New type of 3D chromophores [{CpFeC₅H₄CRCH4-py}₃Mn(CO)₃]BF₄ (1) with weakly interaction subchromophore were synthesized and found to display improved nonlinearity compared with their 1D reference systems [(CpFeC₅H₄CRCH4-py)Mn(CO)₅]BF₄ (2).     

Preparation of high-temperature stable SiBCN fibers from tailored single source polyborosilazanes

Bulk SiBCN ceramics derived from polyborosilazanes of the type [B(C₂H₄SiRNH)₃]_n (1a, R = CH₃; 2a, R = H; C₂H₄ = CHCH₃, CH₂CH₂) exhibit an exceptional structural stability at high temperature. Therefore, such quaternary systems are of great scientific and technical interest as fibrous reinforcements intended for high-temperature applications. In this context, the design of novel polyborosilazanes, which display properties tailored for the preparation of SiBCN fibers, is studied. Boron-modified polysilazanes of the type [B(C₂H₄SiRNCH₃)₃]_n (1b, R = CH₃; 2b, R = H) are prepared via aminolysis of the tris(dichlorosilylethyl)boranes B(C₂H₄SiRCl₂)₃ (1, R = CH₃; 2, R = H). It is shown that the functionalisation of the precursors with NCH₃ units improves their processability (i.e. solubility) compared to that of their ammonolysed analogs [B(C₂H₄SiRNH)₃]_n (1a, R = CH₃; 2a, R = H). In addition to the influence of the NCH₃ units, the presence of the SiCH₃ functions in such polymers offers the best potential for the preparation of fibers by melt-spinning. As-spun fibers are then converted under controlled atmosphere into high-temperature stable SiBCN fibers according to the polymer-derived ceramic route.     

Thiourea-catalyzed dearomatizing [4+2] cycloadditions of 3-nitroindole

We have developed two efficient thiourea promoted dearomatizing processes involving the cycloadditions of 3-nitroindoles. The C2C3 double bond of the heteroarene can be involved as electron-poor 2π dienophile in [4+2] cycloadditions. While the uncatalyzed process requires harsh conditions, the organocatalyzed reaction takes place at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The C2C3NO motif of the heteroarene can also react as an electron-poor 4π heterodiene in [4+2] / [3+2] cycloadditions cascades, under high pressure. In contrast to Lewis acid activation, thiourea promotion thus proves efficient even under unconventional activation conditions and in the presence of acid sensitive reactants such as enol ethers.     

Investigation of bifurcated hydrogen bonds within the thermotropic liquid crystalline polyurethanes

The polyurethanes are synthesized from the biphenyl-4,4′-diol (mesogenic biphenol) and 1,3-Bis(isocyanatomethyl) cyclohexane, using (CH₂) of 2, 6 and 11 units as flexible alkylene spacer, respectively. FTIR detects the hydrogen bond in the thermotropic liquid crystalline polyurethane. FTIR spectra show a new CO absorption with lower wavenumber at around 1658 cm^?1 is assigned to “bifurcated” hydrogen bonded CO group—a CO with higher strength hydrogen bonds. The distributions of “bifurcated” hydrogen bonded CO are increased substantially along with increasing the flexible spacer length in polymer backbone. The “bifurcated” hydrogen bond existed not only at the temperature below T_g, but also existed at the temperature far higher than T_m and T_i. It almost is independent of temperature and exhibits a stable interaction (or strucuture) throughout a wide temperature range, differences from the normal liquid crystalline polyurethanes. It is worthy of predicting the thermotropic liquid crystalline polyurethane with “bifurcated” hydrogen bond would enhance its performances.     

Benzyne-functionalized graphene and graphite characterized by Raman spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis

The benzyne functionalization of chemical vapor deposition grown large area graphene and graphite was performed using a mixture of o-trimethylsilylphenyl triflate and cesium fluoride that react with the carbon surface. The reaction requires at least 2 days of treatment before the appearance of Raman and energy-dispersive X-ray spectral signatures that verify modification. Raman spectra of modified graphene and graphite show a rich structure of lines corresponding to CCC, CH, and low frequency modes of surface-attached benzyne rings.     

Thermally stable pseudo-third-generation Grubbs ruthenium catalysts with pyridine–phosphinimine ligand

The ligand precursors 2-(R₃PN)CH₂Py (R = Ph(1a), Cy(2a)) were prepared from reaction of pyridine azide with various phosphine ligands. Reaction of 1a or 2a with RuCl₂(CHPh)(Py)₂(H₂IMes) (Py = pyridine) afforded the ruthenium alkylidene complex RuCl₂(CHPh)(PyCH₂(NPR₃))(H₂IMes) (R = Ph(1), Cy(2)). Both catalysts showed good thermal stability and latent behavior toward RCM and ROMP reactions.     

The effect of Mg(OH)2 on furfural oxidation with H2O2

The oxidation of furfural in H₂O₂ and H₂O₂–Mg(OH)₂ system were systematically investigated and a rational explanation for the reaction mechanism was proposed. 2-formyloxyfuran, from selective oxidation of HCO group in furfural, was a crucial intermediate. The addition of Mg(OH)₂ suppressed the oxidation of furan ring of furfural and enhanced selectivities of 2(5H)-furanone (44.8%) and succinic acid (38.0%). FT-IR, Gaussian calculation and experimental results indicated that the process of furfural oxidation with H₂O₂ is homogeneous, and the synergy between dissolved Mg^2 + cations and OH⁻ ions facilitates the HOO⁻ attacking the carbon atom of HCO other than the CC bound of furan ring.     

Ultraviolet,water, and thermal aging studies of a waterborne polyurethane elastomer-based high reflectivity coating

A waterborne aliphatic polyurethane-based coating was studied for accelerated ultra-violet (UV), water (WT), and thermal (TH) aging for a period of 1000 h. To monitor the coating durability, samples were tested every 200 h. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was used to monitor the chemical changes occurring during the aging process. UV–vis with integrating sphere was used to track the change in diffused reflectance, while the optical microscope and the scanning white light interferometry (SWLI) were used for surface characterization. FTIR studies of coatings subjected to UV exposure indicated a decrease in functional groups such as CONH, CH, CO, and COC. The appearance of functional groups such as NH is attributed to chain scission of the polyurethane binder in the coating. Investigation of the degradation mechanism in water and thermal aging showed physical effects through water penetration and the mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion as the primary causes of degradation. In all aging scenarios, the reduction of reflectivity was largely due to physical defects caused by the different aging mechanisms.     

Synthesis and structural characterizations of organolanthanide complexes with amino-tethered guanidinate ligand (C5H5)2Ln[H2N(CH2)3NC(NHiPr) NiPr)] (Ln = Yb,Y, Er,Dy)

Reaction of N,N′-diisopropylcarbodiimide (ⁱPrNCNⁱPr) with H₂N(CH₂)₃NH₂ and (C₅H₅)₃Ln, give (C₅H₅)₂Ln[H₂N(CH₂)₃NC(NHⁱPr) NⁱPr)] in high yields, indicating that the N–H bonds of one NH₂ group readily add to the CN double bonds of carbodiimide and one cyclopentadienyl group is eliminated to construct a novel amino-tethered guanidinate anionic ligand [H₂N(CH₂)₃N C(NHⁱPr)NⁱPr)]⁻.     

Synthesis and evaluation of molecularly imprinted polymers for nucleic acid bases using aniline as a monomer

The formation of molecularly imprinted polymers in aqueous media is often less effective particularly when the non-covalent approach of molecular imprinting is followed. The reduced efficiency is said to be due to the interference of water molecules in the formation of H-bonding between the template molecules and monomers. The feasibility of the formation of imprinted polymers in water is demonstrated here using aniline as monomer. Nuclei acid bases namely, thymine, cytosine, adenine and uracil were used as the templates. Polyaniline (PAN) formed in the presence of the templates molecules subsequently showed affinity towards the respective bases. The interesting phenomenon observed was the considerable variation in the extent of adsorption of the template molecules by the respective imprinted PAN. The extent of uptake of thymine and uracil by the imprinted polymers was nearly identical and was much higher than the amount of cytosine or adenine adsorbed by the corresponding polymers. Since the polymers were prepared under similar conditions, the extent of adsorption of all the four template molecules was expected to be comparable. Infrared spectra showed the formation of H-bonding between CO groups of the templates and amino groups of the PAN. Thymine and uracil contain two CO groups enabling stronger H-bonding resulting in the formation of more affinity sites leading to improved adsorption. The uptake of adenine was found to be less since it does’ not contain any CO groups to engage in H-bonding with PAN. The variation in adsorption of the print molecules by the respective molecularly imprinted polymers was attributed to the probability of forming H-bonding of the template molecules with the imprinted matrices. The equilibrium adsorption was found to attain with in an hour. The study shows that PAN is a suitable matrix for the creation of affinity sites for water soluble molecules through molecular imprinting.     

Palladium (II) and platinum (II) complexes containing organometallic thiosemicarbazone ligands: Synthesis,characterization, X-ray structures and antitubercular evaluation

A new series of palladium (II) and platinum (II) complexes containing ferrocenyl and cyrhetrenyl thiosemicarbazone ligands were synthesized and characterized. The two-step reaction of the organometallic thiosemicarbazones with i) K₂MCl₄ and ii) PPh₃ and their subsequent recrystallization from CH₂Cl₂/hexane yielded the binuclear complexes [Mˋ{ML_n(η⁵-C₅H₄)C(H)NNC(S)NHR}–(Cl)(PPh₃)] (M′Pd, Pt; ML_nRe(CO)₃, FeCp; RH, CH₃). The structures of the products were inferred from elemental analyses and IR, ¹H and ³¹P NMR spectroscopies. The molecular structures of 2b and 3d were confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis. All complexes were screened in vitro against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and exhibited only moderate activity in the low micromolar range.     

In situ FT-IR study of thiophene adsorbed on the surface of sulfided Mo catalysts

The hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of thiophene and its derivatives by Mo-based catalysts shows significant economic benefits in crude oil processing and refining. Several Mo-based catalysts have been successfully used for HDS reaction despite of unclear catalytic mechanism. Thereby we use in situ FT-IR technique to investigate the adsorption of thiophene on the surface of supported and dispersed sulfided Mo catalysts. The results demonstrate that thiophene can be adsorbed on the catalyst surface through coordination of S atom, CC and CC with the unsaturated Mo^d+ sites located on the edge planes of MoS₂-like structures, forming four different complexes. These adsorption manners were also proved by theoretical calculation with the density functional method (DFT). The calculated binding energy of η²(S) complex is larger than other complexes, suggesting that thiophene preferred to being adsorbed on the catalyst surface through the coordination of CC with unsaturated Mo^d+ sites. The formation of coordinated complexes can decrease the aromaticity of thiophene ring and weaken CS bond, which could promote the HDS reaction.     

High efficient adsorption of gold ions onto the novel functional composite silica microspheres encapsulated by organophosphonated polystyrene

The novel functional composite silica microspheres encapsulated by organophosphonated polystyrene (SGPSNP) has been successfully synthesized. SGPSNP was employed to adsorb Au(III) from simulated wastewater, and it exhibited excellent performance, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 980.39 mg/g at 35 °C. The adsorption process optimization was performed using response surface methodology (RSM), and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the quadratic model demonstrated that the model was highly significant. Moreover, the regeneration capacities of SGPSNP were investigated, and it has been found that the adsorption capability remains high after several cycles of adsorption–desorption.     

Catalytic reactions of dioxygen with ethane and methane on platinum clusters: Mechanistic connections,site requirements,and consequences of chemisorbed oxygen

C₂H₆ reactions with O₂ only form CO₂ and H₂O on dispersed Pt clusters at 0.2–28 O₂/C₂H₆ reactant ratios and 723–913 K without detectable formation of partial oxidation products. Kinetic and isotopic data, measured under conditions of strict kinetic control, show that CH₄ and C₂H₆ reactions involve similar elementary steps and kinetic regimes. These kinetic regimes exhibit different rate equations, kinetic isotope effects and structure sensitivity, and transitions among regimes are dictated by the prevalent coverages of chemisorbed oxygen (O^*). At O₂/C₂H₆ ratios that lead to O^*-saturated surfaces, kinetically-relevant CH bond activation steps involve O^*O^* pairs and transition states with radical-like alkyls. As oxygen vacancies (¹) emerge with decreasing O₂/alkane ratios, alkyl groups at transition states are effectively stabilized by vacancy sites and CH bond activation occurs preferentially at O^** site pairs. Measured kinetic isotope effects and the catalytic consequences of Pt cluster size are consistent with a monotonic transition in the kinetically-relevant step from CH bond activation on O^*O^* site pairs, to CH bond activation on O^** site pairs, to O₂ dissociation on ^** site pairs as O^* coverage decrease for both C₂H₆ and CH₄ reactants. When CH bond activation limits rates, turnover rates increase with increasing Pt cluster size for both alkanes because coordinatively unsaturated corner and edge atoms prevalent in small clusters lead to more strongly-bound and less-reactive O^* species and lower densities of vacancy sites at nearly saturated cluster surfaces. In contrast, the highly exothermic and barrierless nature of O₂ activation steps on uncovered clusters leads to similar turnover rates on Pt clusters with 1.8–8.5 nm diameter when this step becomes kinetically-relevant at low O₂/alkane ratios. Turnover rates and the O₂/alkane ratios required for transitions among kinetic regimes differ significantly between CH₄ and C₂H₆ reactants, because of the different CH bond energies, strength of alkylO^* interactions, and O₂ consumption stoichiometries for these two molecules. Vacancies emerge at higher O₂/alkane ratios for C₂H₆ than for CH₄ reactants, because their weaker CH bonds lead to faster scavenging of O^* and to lower O^* coverages, which are set by the kinetic coupling between CH and OO activation steps. The elementary steps, kinetic regimes, and mechanistic analogies reported here for C₂H₆ and CH₄ reactions with O₂ are consistent with all rate and isotopic data, with their differences in CH bond energies and in alkyl binding, and with the catalytic consequences of surface coordination and cluster size. The rigorous mechanistic interpretation of these seemingly complex kinetic data and cluster size effects provides useful kinetic guidance for larger alkanes and other catalytic surfaces based on the thermodynamic properties of these molecules and on the effects of metal identity and surface coordination on oxygen binding and reactivity.     

Low energy synthesis of nitrogen functionalized graphene/nanoclay hybrid via submerged liquid plasma approach

This study demonstrates that hard black (HB) (74% carbon, 26% clay; diameter: 0.5 mm) and 4 black (4B) (84% carbon, 16% clay; diameter: 0.5 mm) pencil carbon rods as electrode materials can produce highly dispersive nitrogen-doped few layer graphene/nanoclay hybrids (nanoclay-NFLG). The formation of nanoclay-NFLG was induced by applying high electrical potential across the pencil carbon rod and a platinum sheet electrode submerged in acetonitrile solvent. Electron microscopic analysis shows that in the HB- and 4B-nanoclay-NFLG, the nanoclay (size: >3 nm) was intercalated between the multilayer (>6 layers) of functionalized graphene. Raman spectra of HB- and 4B-nanoclay-NFLG shows a marginal increase in disorder compared to that of pure HB and 4B pencil carbon rods, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies indicate the presence of pyridinic (NC) and pyrrolic (CHNH) nitrogen in both HB- and 4B-nanoclay-NFLG, which was also confirmed by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy studies. The pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen present in HB- and 4B-nanoclay-NFLG gives distinct redox peaks in cyclic voltammogram, with high specific capacitances of 40 and 111 F/g, respectively, obtained at the scan rate of 5 mV/s.