Preparation of Solid Superacid Catalysts and Oil Oxidative Desulfurization Using K<Subscript>2</Subscript>FeO<Subscript>4</Subscript>

A \(\rm{SO_4^{2-}}\)/MCM-41 superacid catalyst was prepared by impregnation and characterized by various methods. A novel procedure for oxidative desulfurization of simulated light fuel oil using K₂FeO₄ over \(\rm{SO_4^{2-}}\)/MCM-41 was developed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and low-angle X-ray diffractometry (XRD) show that the material synthesized by the precipitation-sol-hydrothermal method is mobil composition of matter no. 41 (MCM-41). Thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) shows that when the calcination temperature is higher than 300°.     

Reaction of the novel Ru<Subscript>3</Subscript>(CO)<Subscript>10</Subscript>[Ph<Subscript>2</Subscript>P(CH<Subscript>2</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript>Si(OEt<Subscript>3</Subscript>)]<Subscript>2</Subscript> complex on SBA-15 and MCM-41 mesoporous silicas

The reaction of Ru₃(CO)₁₂ with 2(diphenylphosphino)ethyl-triethoxysilane (DPTS) in hydrocarbons, leads to the functionalized Ru₃(CO)_12−n [Ph₂P(CH₂)₂Si(OEt₃)] _n (n = 1,2) complexes. The complex with two phosphine substituents was chemically anchored on mesoporous silicas, SBA-15 and MCM-41, in order to obtain two hybrid materials characterized by a different localization of the metal centre on the surface of the porous supports. A detailed investigation of the cluster, before and after chemical anchoring on the mesoporous silicas, was pursued. Particular attention was also devoted to the study of the morphological, structural and textural properties of the metal-functionalised silicas (Ru/SBA-15 and Ru/MCM-41) by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and N₂ physisorption analysis.     

Degradation and adsorption of rhodamine B and phenol on TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/MCM-41

TiO₂/MCM-41 composites with various titania content were prepared by loading titania into the mesopores of MCM-41 molecular sieves by sol-gel method, and were used as photocatalysts to degrade Rhodamine B (RhB) and phenol. The efficiency of organic contaminants removal was increased significantly compared with pure TiO₂. Ti/Si ratio, namely, the content of TiO₂ was determined by ICP-AES method. TiO₂/MCM-41 composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and N₂ adsorption techniques. Experimental results demonstrated that most of the RhB was adsorbed instead of being degradated by TiO₂/MCM-41 due to the large specific surface area of MCM-41, while most of phenol was degradated. It turned out that the TiO₂/MCM-41 with the highest Ti/Si ratio of 0.8220 (wt) had the highest catalytic activity.     

Adsorption of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-containing gas mixtures over amine-bearing pore-expanded MCM-41 silica: application for CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> separation

Adsorption of CO₂, N₂, CH₄ and H₂ on triamine-grafted pore-expanded MCM-41 mesoporous silica (TRI-PE-MCM-41) was investigated at room temperature in a wide range of pressure (up to 25 bar) using gravimetric measurements. The material was found to exhibit high affinity toward CO₂ in comparison to the other species over the whole range of pressure. Column-breakthrough dynamic measurements of CO₂-containing mixtures showed very high selectivity toward CO₂ over N₂, CH₄ and H₂ at CO₂ concentrations within the range of 5 to 50%. These conditions are suitable for effective removal of CO₂ at room temperature from syngas, flue gas and biogas using temperature swing (TS) or temperature-pressure swing (TPS) regeneration mode. Moreover, TRI-PE-MCM-41 was found to be highly stable over hundreds of adsorption-desorption cycles using TPS as regeneration mode.     

Triamine-grafted pore-expanded mesoporous silica for CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> capture: Effect of moisture and adsorbent regeneration strategies

Adsorption of carbon dioxide (CO₂) was investigated on triamine-grafted, pore-expanded MCM-41 mesoporous silica (TRI-PE-MCM-41). Measurements of adsorption capacity using mass spectrometry showed an enhanced CO₂ adsorption capacity in humid streams compared to dry CO₂. This was corroborated with breakthrough experiments, which also showed that TRI-PE-MCM-41 offered a practically infinite selectivity towards CO₂ over nitrogen. Cyclic measurements of pure CO₂ and CO₂:N₂ = 10:90 mixture using different regeneration modes showed that amine-grafted PE-MCM-41 is particularly suitable for CO₂ removal using temperature swing adsorption (TSA) at adsorption temperatures higher than ambient, while temperature-vacuum swing adsorption (TVSA) may be attractive at ambient temperature.     

MoO<Subscript>2</Subscript>(acac)<Subscript>2</Subscript> supported on MCM-41: An efficient and reusable catalyst for alkene epoxidation with <Emphasis Type="Italic">tert</Emphasis>-BuOOH

A new heterogeneous catalyst prepared by immobilization of MO₂(acac)₂ on Mobil Catalytic Material, MCM-41, is reported. This catalyst, MoO₂(acac)₂-MCM-41, was successfully applied for efficient epoxidation of olefins with tert-BuOOH in 1,2-dichloroethane as solvent. The catalyst was characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV-Vis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This catalyst can be reused several times without significant loss of its catalytic activity.     

Novel nanocomposite membranes prepared with PVC/ABS and silica nanoparticles for C<Subscript>2</Subscript>H<Subscript>6</Subscript>/CH<Subscript>4</Subscript> separation

Composite membranes based on polyvinyl chloride and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) copolymer have been prepared and then filled with 2–8 wt % of silica nanoparticles. Membranes were fabricated by solution casting method using dimethylacetamide. The performance of prepared membranes were studied for methane and ethane at the feed pressure of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0 bar at 35°C. By increasing the percentage of ABS, permeability of methane and ethane increased. In addition, by adding the silica nanoparticles in the membrane, permeability of gas increased in all cases. The highest gas pair selectivity for C₂H₆/CH₄ could be obtained from PVC/BS (20 wt %) which loaded with 8 wt % of silica nanoparticles. The results of this study suggest that high performance gas separation nanocomposite membranes can be attained by adopting a judicious combination of blending technique for polymeric membrane, optimized loading percentage, and feed operating conditions.     

Application of RuO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Nanoparticles as Catalyst in Preparation of Indolo[3,2-a]Carbazoles

RuO₂ nanoparticles were readily prepared from RuCl₃·3H₂O via the formation of Ru-hydroxide precursor, followed by calcination at 550 °C. Under similar conditions, uniform dispersion of spherical RuO₂ nanoparticles over the surface of MCM-41 was also obtained. The synthesized materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area measurements, and magnetic measurements (VSM). The obtained RuO₂ nanoparticles found application as catalyst in preparation of indolo[3,2-a]carbazoles from the reaction of indoles and benzils. Under mild reaction conditions, satisfactory yields of the desired products were obtained. Stabilization of RuO₂ nanoparticles over the surface of MCM-41 (RuO₂–MCM41), however, had the advantage of easy recycling, although a slight decrease in efficiency after five successive runs was observed.     

Protein separation on a polar-copolymerized C<Subscript>8</Subscript> stationary phase

A novel polar-copolymerized C₈ stationary phase composed of octyl and chloropropyl (C₈-C₃Cl)-bonded silica has been developed for protein separation. Separation of standard proteins on this homemade column was investigated and compared with separation on a Waters Symmetry 300 C₄ column. Results indicated that the chromatographic performance of the homemade column in the separation of proteins was excellent. The new polar copolymerized C₈ stationary phase enabled glycoprotein separation with good resolution and reproducibility. It was also used for purification of ovalbumin glycoprotein in order to improve identification of the protein.     

Obtaining of Ni<Subscript>0.65</Subscript>Zn<Subscript>0.35</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>/SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanocomposites by thermal decomposition of complex compounds embedded in silica matrix

This article presents the results of our investigation on the obtaining of Ni_0.65Zn_0.35Fe₂O₄ ferrite nanoparticles embedded in a SiO₂ matrix using a modified sol–gel synthesis method, starting from tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), metal (Fe^III,Ni^II,Zn^II) nitrates and ethylene glycol (EG). This method consists in the formation of carboxylate type complexes, inside the silica matrix, used as forerunners for the ferrite/silica nanocomposites. We prepared gels with different compositions, in order to obtain, through a suitable thermal treatment, the nanocomposites (Ni_0.65Zn_0.35Fe₂O₄)_x–(SiO₂)_100–x (where x=10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 mass%). The synthesized gels were studied by differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetry (TG) and FTIR spectroscopy. The formation of Ni–Zn ferrite in the silica matrix and the behavior in an external magnetic field were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and quasi-static magnetic measurements (50 Hz).     

Benzene Adsorption on C<Subscript>24</Subscript>, Si@C<Subscript>24</Subscript>, Si-Doped C<Subscript>24</Subscript>, and C<Subscript>20</Subscript> Fullerenes

The absorption feasibility of benzene molecule in the C₂₄, Si@C₂₄, Si-doped C₂₄, and C₂₀ fullerenes has been studied based on calculated electronic properties of these fullerenes using Density functional Theory (DFT). It is found that energy of benzene adsorption on C₂₄, Si@C₂₄, and Si-doped C₂₄ fullerenes were in range of –2.93 and –51.19 kJ/mol with little changes in their electronic structure. The results demonstrated that the C₂₄, Si@C₂₄, and Si-doped C₂₄ fullerenes cannot be employed as a chemical adsorbent or sensor for benzene. Silicon doping cannot significantly modify both the electronic properties and benzene adsorption energy of C₂₄ fullerene. On the other hand, C₂₀ fullerene exhibits a high sensitivity, so that the energy gap of the fullerene is changed almost 89.19% after the adsorption process. We concluded that the C₂₀ fullerene can be employed as a reliable material for benzene detection.     

Ethylene polymerization and copolymerization with hexene-1 on supported metallocene catalysts based on (C<Subscript>5</Subscript>H<Subscript>5</Subscript>)<Subscript>4</Subscript>Zr and methylaluminoxane

New supported metallocene catalysts based on tetrakis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium + methylaluminoxane (MAO) were prepared and tested for ethylene polymerization and copolymerization with hexene-1. It was shown that silica gel of the Davison 952 brand is the best support for such catalysts. The maximum catalyst activity was achieved on the support impregnated with the (C₅H₅)₄Zr-MAO complex. The addition of hexene-1 into the liquid phase resulted in acceleration of polymerization and an increase in the product yield. The morphological, rheological, and other properties of polymers and copolymers were studied. The test catalytic system can be used for manufacture of low-, medium-, and high-density polyethylenes with various stress-strain characteristics.     

Relative Raman Intensities in C<Subscript>6</Subscript>H<Subscript>6</Subscript>, C<Subscript>6</Subscript>D<Subscript>6</Subscript>, and C<Subscript>6</Subscript>F<Subscript>6</Subscript>: A Comparison of Different Computational Methods

The accuracy of various computational methods (Hartree–Fock, MP2, CCSD, CAS-SCF, and several types of DFT) for predicting relative intensities in Raman spectra for C₆H₆, C₆D₆, and C₆F₆ was compared. The predicted relative intensities for ν₁ and ν₂ were compared with relative intensities measured by an FT-Raman spectrometer. While none of these methods excelled at this prediction, Hartree–Fock with a large basis set was most successful for C₆H₆ and C₆D₆, while PW91PW91 was the most successful for C₆F₆.     

Synthesis of Si-MCM-41 from ternary SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–CTAOH–H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O system via dry gel conversion route

Steam assisted dry gel conversion method was employed for the synthesis of Si-MCM-41 from ternary SiO₂:CTAOH:H₂O systems wherein fumed silica was used as a source of silica. The influence of synthesis time, molar ratios of CTAOH/SiO₂ in dry gel and the water content at the bottom of autoclave on the quality and formation of mesophases has been investigated. Powder XRD, N₂ adsorption–desorption, TEM and hydrothermal stability test were the techniques used for sample characterization. Keeping molar ratio of CTAOH/SiO₂ constant, shorter synthesis time, lower unit cell parameter and d spacing were observed when steam assisted dry gel conversion method was employed in place of conventional hydrothermal method. There exists an optimum lower limit for water content at the bottom of autoclave for reducing the synthesis period. Keeping synthesis temperature and CTAOH/SiO₂ molar ratio fixed, Si-MCM-41 with improved hydrothermal stability was obtained by steam assisted dry gel conversion route.     

Distribution coefficients in the water-dodecane system and the heats of adsorption of C<Subscript>1</Subscript>-C<Subscript>8</Subscript> alcohols on silica

Distribution coefficients in the water-dodecane system and the heats of adsorption of C₁-C₈ alcohols on silica (Silochrom S-80) were determined by gas chromatography. At low temperatures, C₁-C₄ alcohols were largely distributed in the aqueous phase, and C₆-C₉ alcohols were predominantly dissolved in the organic phase; C₅ alcohols had intermediate properties. Permittivity was found to correlate with log K _d, which allowed us to predict the character of the distribution of alcohols in the water-oil system. The heats and isotherms of adsorption were determined for the alcohols studied. The heats of adsorption of alcohols on silica monotonically increased in the series under consideration. For C₅-C₈ alcohols, they exceeded the heat of adsorption of water. The isotherms of adsorption were described by the Freundlich equation.     

Prediction of new A<Subscript>3+</Subscript>B<Subscript>3+</Subscript>C<Subscript>2+</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> compounds

Hitherto unprepared ABCO₄ compounds (where A and B stand for tervalent metals (r _A ≥ r _B) and C stands for a divalent metal) are predicted. Criteria are found to predict the possibility for these compounds to crystallize in some type of structure (K₂NiF₄, CaFe₂O₄, YbFe₂O₄, or spinel) at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The prediction is based only on the properties of elements and simple oxides. A special software system for computer-aided analysis of information is used for calculations involving pattern recognition based on use case.     

Quantitative study of hydration of C<Subscript>3</Subscript>S and C<Subscript>2</Subscript>S by thermal analysis

This research is part of a European project (namely, CODICE project), main objective of which is modelling, at a multi-scale, the evolution of the mechanical performance of non-degraded and degraded cementitious matrices. For that, a series of experiments were planned with pure synthetic tri-calcium silicate (C₃S) and bi-calcium silicate (C₂S) (main components of the Portland cement clinker) to obtain different calcium–silicate–hydrate (C–S–H) gel structures during their hydration. The characterization of those C–S–H gels and matrices will provide experimental parameters for the validation of the multi-scale modelling scheme proposed. In this article, a quantitative method, based on thermal analyses, has been used for the determination of the chemical composition of the C–S–H gel together with the degree of hydration and quantitative evolution of all the components of the pastes. Besides, the microstructure and type of silicate tetrahedron and mean chain length (MCL) were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ²⁹Si magic-angle-spinning (MAS) NMR, respectively. The main results showed that the chemical compositions for the C–S–H gels have a CaO/SiO₂ M ratio almost constant of 1.7 for both C₃S and C₂S compounds. Small differences were found in the gel water content: the H₂O/SiO₂ M ratio ranged from 2.9 ± 0.2 to 2.6 ± 0.2 for the C₃S (decrease) and from 2.4 ± 0.2 to 3.2 ± 0.2 for the C₂S (increase). The MCL values of the C–S–H gels, determined from ²⁹Si MAS NMR, were 3.5 and 4 silicate tetrahedron, for the hydrated C₃S and C₂S, respectively, remaining almost constant at all hydration periods.     

Sorption of light fullerenes C<Subscript>60</Subscript> and C<Subscript>70</Subscript> on NORIT-AZO carbon

Sorption of fullerenes C₆₀ and C₇₀ from o-xylene, toluene, and dichlorobenzene solutions on NORIT-AZO carbons was studied.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Khimii, Vol. 77, No. 10, 2004, pp. 1638–1642.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by Semenov, Seregin, Arapov, Charykov.     

Synthesis and EPR investigation of nitroxyl derivatives of fullerenes C<Subscript>60</Subscript> and C<Subscript>70</Subscript>

Nitroxide derivatives of C₆₀ and C₇₀ were obtained by [3+2] cycloaddition of 4-(4-azidophenyl)-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-oxy-2,5-dihydroimidazol-1-oxyl to fullerenes. The products were isolated by TLC and studied by EPR and optical spectroscopy. Molecular rotation of the adducts was shown to slow down on successive addition of the nitroxides, rotational correlation times depending nearly linearly on the number of the nitroxides added. Investigation of photochemical stability of nitroxide derivatives of C₆₀ and C₇₀ in benzene-ethanol medium reveal that the dissolved oxygen quenches efficiently the excitation of nitroxide (λ = 250–400 nm). In the absence of oxygen photoexcitation converts nitroxides to diamagnetic products, presumably, hydroxylamines formed through the interaction with the solvent.