Application of Inhibitor‐Loaded Halloysite Nanotubes in Active Anti‐Corrosive Coatings

Halloysite particles are aluminum‐silicate hollow cylinders with a length of 0.5–1 µm, an outer diameter of ca. 50 nm and a lumen of 15 nm. These nanotubes are used for loading and sustained release of corrosion inhibitors. The inhibitor is kept inside the particles infinitely long under dry conditions. Here, halloysite nanotubes filled with anticorrosive agents are embedded into a SiO_x–ZrO_x hybrid film. An aluminum plate is dip‐coated and immersed into 0.1 M sodium chloride aqueous solution for corrosion tests. A defect in the sol–gel coating induces pitting corrosion on the metal accompanied by a strong anodic activity. The inhibitor is released within one hour from halloysite nanotubes at corrosion spots and suppresses the corrosion process. The anodic activity is successfully restrained and the protection remains for a long time period of immersion in NaCl water solution. The self‐healing effect of the sol–gel coating doped with inhibitor‐loaded halloysite nanotubes is demonstrated in situ via scanning vibrating electrode technique measurements.     

Effect of the degree of zeolite recrystallization into micro–mesoporous materials on their catalytic properties in petroleum refining and petroleum chemistry processes

It has been shown that by varying the degree of recrystallization of zeolites, it is possible to obtain mesostructured zeolites (RZEO-1), micro–mesoporous nanocomposites (RZEO-2), and mesoporous materials with zeolite fragments (RZEO-3). The main features of the effect of recrystallization degree of MOR, BEA, and FER zeolites on their catalytic properties in the processes of cracking of 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene, skeletal isomerization of butene-1, hydroisomerization of n-alkanes, alkylation of benzene with dodecene-1, alkylation of naphthalene with cyclohexene, and disproportionation of cumene have been revealed. It has been found that each type of catalytic reaction requires a micro–mesoporous catalyst with an optimal degree of recrystallization. Zeolites RZEO-1 are the most efficient in the reactions that require strong acidity; zeolites RZEO-2 are the most promising in consecutive reactions and reactions that proceed in pore mouths; and RZEO-3 are optimal for transformations of bulky molecules.     

Synthesis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-methylaniline over molecular sieve catalysts

The preparation of N-methylaniline in two various processes: alkylation of aniline with methanol and hydroalkylation of nitrobenzene with methanol has been studied. Bifunctional molecular sieves containing metal copper as the hydrogenating component and zeolites BEA, MOR, MFI, FAU (Y) and mesoporous material MCM-41 as an alkylating component were used as catalysts. It has been shown that the modification of samples with copper nitrate increases the number of Lewis acid sites and decreases the number of Brønsted acid sites as copper embeds into cation exchange positions. It has been determined that the catalyst modification with copper increases the activity and enhances the selectivity towards N-alkylated products.     

Holographic projection of arbitrary light patterns with a suppressed zero-order beam

We present what is to our knowledge a novel technique for efficient suppression of the zero-order beam inherent in light patterns projected via phase-only computer-generated holograms (CGHs). Encoding a CGH on a spatial light modulator (SLM) with a limited fill factor produces a disturbing zero-order beam at the optical axis. Here, we propose to derive a CGH, which includes holographic information to project a corrective beam that destructively interferes with the zero-order beam. The CGH for projecting arbitrary light patterns plus a corrective beam are derived using the Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm where the iterations impose both amplitude and phase constraints for the target field pattern at the Fourier plane. As proof of principle, we analyze the viability of the technique by simulating the performance when applied on a practical SLM with a limited fill factor, fixed number of phase-shifting pixels, and wavefront distortion associated with the surface roughness of the SLM.