Determination of Nb(V), V(V), Co(II), Fe(III), Ni(II), Ru(III) and Pd(II) as their 4-(5-nitro-2-pyridylazo) resorcinol chelates by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography

This paper reports the separation and determination of Nb(V), V(V), Co(II), Fe(III), Ni(II), Ru(III) and Pd(II) by reversed-phase HPLC using the new reagent, 4-(5-nitro-2-pyridylazo) resorcinol (5-NO₂-PAR) as a precolumn derivatization reagent. On a C₁₈ column, the seven metal chelates can be separated quantitatively with methanol/water (5248, v/v) containing 15 mmol/l pH 5.0 acetate buffer and 10 mmol/l tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBA·Br). The detection limits for Nb(V), V(V), Co(II), Fe(III), Ni(II), Ru(III) and Pd(II) are 0.65 ppb, 0.94 ppb, 0.10 ppb, 0.15 ppb, 0.18 ppb, 3.02 ppb and 2.35 ppb, respectively when the ratio of signal to noise (S/N) is 3. This method is simple and rapid, and has been used in the analysis of rain and liquor with satisfactory results.     

Photoelectrochemical oxidation behavior of organic substances on TiO2 thin-film electrodes

The photoelectrocatalytic oxidation characteristics of salicylic acid, formic acid and methanol on anodized nanoporous titanium dioxide (TiO₂) thin-films were investigated by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization techniques. From dark to ultraviolet illumination, the open circuit potential (OCP) and film resistance of TiO₂ films decreased markedly. A general equivalent circuit model was proposed for the photoelectrochemical system anodic TiO₂ thin-film electrode/test solution. The photoelectrochemical oxidation process of the organic compounds showed similar impedance features at OCP and was controlled by the charge transfer step. According to the polarization curves of the base solution and organic solutions, the kinetic rate curves for the photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of pure organic species were obtained as a function of the potential bias. One photooxidation peak was first observed at a bias potential of ca. 0.26 V for these species with low concentrations.     

Optimization of reagent consumption in TEMPO-mediated oxidation of Eucalyptus cellulose to obtain cellulose nanofibers

Eucalyptus cellulose is usually pre-treated by oxidation with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO), NaBr and NaClO at pH 10.5 and 25 °C before the mechanical process required to obtain cellulose nanofibers (CNFs). In this study, different aspects to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of the TEMPO-mediated oxidation are analyzed. The optimization was carried out at different reaction times by modifying both the concentration of the NaClO and the amount of the catalysts (TEMPO and NaBr). Results show that the carboxyl groups increased up to 1.1 mmol/g with 5 mmol NaClO/g after 50 min, and that the catalyst concentration can be reduced to 0.025 mmol TEMPO/g and 0.5 mmol NaBr/g to minimize costs while maintaining the high fibrillation degree of the CNFs. The kinetic of the reaction can be considered as zero-order with respect to NaClO, and as first order with respect to cellulose. As a result of this work, the catalyst doses are reduced up to 75% compared to the most widely used catalyst doses (0.1 mmol/g TEMPO and 1 mmol/g NaBr), obtaining highly fibrillated CNFs with a lower environmental impact. This reduction of catalyst doses will reduce the costs and facilitate the implementation of CNF production at industrial scale.

Graphical abstract

     

Studies on the Reaction of α‐Chloroformylarylhydrazine Hydrochloride with Imidazole and 1,2,4‐Triazole

α‐Imidazolformylarylhydrazine 2 and α‐[1,2,4]triazolformylarylhydrazine 3 have been synthesized through the nucleophilic substitution reaction of 1 with imidazole and 1,2,4‐triazole, respectively. 2,2′‐Diaryl‐2H,2′H‐[4,4′]bi[[1,2,4]‐triazolyl]‐3,3′‐dione 4 was obtained from the cycloaddition of α‐chloroformylarylhydrazine hydrochloride 1 with 1,2,4‐triazole at 60 °C and in absence of n‐Bu₃N. The inducing factor for cycloaddition of 1 with 1,2,4‐triazole was ascertained as hydrogen ion by the formation of 4 from the reaction of 3 with hydrochloric acid. 4 was also acquired from the reaction of 3 with 1 and this could confirm the reaction route for cycloaddition of 1 with 1,2,4‐triazole. Some acylation reagents were applied to induce the cyclization reaction of 2 and 3.1 possessing chloroformyl group could induce the cyclization of 2 to give 2‐aryl‐4‐(2‐aryl‐4‐vinyl‐semicarbazide‐4‐yl)‐2,4‐dihydro‐[1,2,4]‐triazol‐3‐one 6. 7 was obtained from the cyclization of 2 induced by some acyl chlorides. Acetic acid anhydride like acetyl chloride also could react with 2 to produce 7D . 5‐Substituted‐3‐aryl‐3H‐[1,3,4]oxadiazol‐2‐one 8 was produced from the cyclization reaction of 3 induced by some acyl chlorides or acetic acid anhydride. The 1,2,4‐triazole group of 3 played a role as a leaving group in the course of cyclization reaction. This was confirmed by the same product 8 which was acquired from the reaction of 1 , possessing a better leaving group: Cl, with some acyl chlorides or acetic acid anhydride.     

Evolution of catalytic activity of Au-Ag bimetallic nanoparticles on mesoporous support for CO oxidation

We report a novel Au-Ag alloy catalyst supported on mesoporous aluminosilicate Au-Ag@MCM prepared by a one-pot synthesis procedure, which is very active for low-temperature CO oxidation. The activity was highly dependent on the hydrogen pretreatment conditions. Reduction at 550-650 degrees C led to high activity at room temperature, whereas as-synthesized or calcined samples did not show any activity at the same temperature. Using various characterization techniques, such as XRD, UV-vis, XPS, and EXAFS, we elucidated the structure and surface composition change during calcination and the reduction process. The XRD patterns show that particle size increased only during the calcination process on those Ag-containing samples. XPS and EXAFS data demonstrate that calcination led to complete phase segregation of the Au-Ag alloy and the catalyst surface is greatly enriched with AgBr after the calcination process. However, subsequent reduction treatment removed Br- completely and the Au-Ag alloy was formed again. The surface composition of the reduced Au-Ag@MCM (nominal Au/Ag = 3/1) was more enriched with Ag, with the surface Au/Ag ratio being 0.75. ESR spectra show that superoxides are formed on the surface of the catalyst and its intensity change correlates well with the trend of catalytic activity. A DFT calculation shows that CO and O2 coadsorption on neighboring sites on the Au-Ag alloy was stronger than that on either Au or Ag. The strong synergism in the coadsorption of CO and O2 on the Au-Ag nanoparticle can thus explain the observed synergetic effect in catalysis.     

Spectrometric study of a-methylene aromatic araminenone and aminoketone

Thirteen α-methylene aromatic araminenone and four α-methylene aromatic aminoketones were prepared by modified Mannich reaction. On the basis of isotopic labeling, a plausible way of cleavage was proposed for the formation of the M^＋- 17 fragment peak in the MS of the α-methylene aromatic araminenone and aminoketones. The characteristic chemical shift of the olefinic protons in ^1H NMR is also discussed.     

Identifying key mononuclear Fe species for low-temperature methane oxidation

The direct functionalization of methane into platform chemicals is arguably one of the holy grails in chemistry. The actual active sites for methane activation are intensively debated. By correlating a wide variety of characterization results with catalytic performance data we have been able to identify mononuclear Fe species as the active site in the Fe/ZSM-5 zeolites for the mild oxidation of methane with H₂O₂ at 50 °C. The 0.1% Fe/ZSM-5 catalyst with dominant mononuclear Fe species possess an excellent turnover rate (TOR) of 66 mol_MeOH mol_Fe⁻¹ h⁻¹, approximately 4 times higher compared to the state-of-the-art dimer-containing Fe/ZSM-5 catalysts. Based on a series of advanced in situ spectroscopic studies and ¹H- and ¹³C- nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), we found that methane activation initially proceeds on the Fe site of mononuclear Fe species. With the aid of adjacent Brønsted acid sites (BAS), methane can be first oxidized to CH₃OOH and CH₃OH, and then subsequently converted into HOCH₂OOH and consecutively into HCOOH. These findings will facilitate the search towards new metal-zeolite combinations for the activation of C–H bonds in various hydrocarbons, for light alkanes and beyond.

The monomeric Fe species in Fe/ZSM-5 have been identified as the intrinsic active sites for the low-temperature methane oxidation.     

Double-quantum filtered heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy under magic angle spinning

We present a simple experimental method to extract the van Vleck second moment of a multiple-spin system under high-resolution condition. The idea is to incorporate a double-quantum (DQ) filter into the pulse sequence of heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy so that a DQ excitation profile can be obtained by measuring a series of 2D spectra. The effects of spinning frequency and proton decoupling are demonstrated on the measurements of two model compounds, viz. hydroxyapatite and brushite. Based on the results obtained for the model compounds, the P-31 homonuclear second moment of the apatite component in rat dentin is characterized. The method is generally suited for the study of bone, enamel and dentin.     

Hollow Fiber-Solid Phase Microextraction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Environment Water Followed by Flash Evaporation GC/MS

Chromatographia - A solid phase microextraction coupled with flash evaporation GC/MS technique was developed for the quantitative determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water...     

Calix[4]pyrrole-based Crosslinked Polymer Networks for Highly Effective Iodine Adsorption from Water

A series of calix[4]pyrrole-based crosslinked polymer networks designed for iodine capture is reported. These materials were prepared by Sonogashira coupling of α,α,α,α-tetra(4-alkynylphenyl)calix[4]pyrrole with bishalide building blocks with different electronic properties and molecular sizes. Despite their low Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas, iodine vapor adsorption capacities of up to 3.38 g g^?1 were seen, a finding ascribed to the presence of a large number of effective sorption sites including macrocyclic π-rich cavities, aryl units, and alkyne groups within the material. One particular system, C[4]P-BTP , was found to be highly effective at iodine capture from water (uptake capacity of 3.24 g g^?1 from a concentrated aqueous KI/I₂ solution at ambient temperature). Fast capture kinetics (k_obs=7.814 g g^?1 min^?1) were seen. Flow-through adsorption experiments revealed that C[4]P-BTP is able to remove 93.2 % of iodine from an aqueous source phase at a flow rate of 1 mL min^?1.