Improvement in gas separation properties of a polymeric membrane through the incorporation of inorganic nano‐particles

The present work tries to introduce a high‐performance nano‐composite membrane by using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as its main polymer matrix to meet some specific requirements in industrial gas separations. Different nano‐composite membranes were synthesized by incorporating various amounts of nano‐sized silica particles into the PDMS matrix. A uniform dispersion of nano‐particles in the host membranes was obtained. The nano‐composite membranes were characterized morphologically by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Separation properties, permeability, and ideal selectivity of C₃H₈, CH₄, and H₂ through the synthesized nano‐composite membranes with different nano‐particle contents (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 wt%) were investigated at different pressures (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 atm) and constant temperature (35°C). It was found out that a 2 wt% loading of nano‐particles into the PDMS matrix is optimal to obtain the best separation performance. Afterwards, sorption experiments for the synthesized nano‐composite membranes were carried out, and diffusion coefficients of the gases were calculated based on solution‐diffusion mechanism. Gas permeation and sorption experiments showed an increase in sorption and a decrease in diffusion coefficients of the gases through the nano‐composite membranes by adding nano‐particles into the host polymer matrix. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aluminumdodecatungstophosphate (AlPW12O40) as a reusable Lewis acid catalyst: Facile regioselective ring opening of epoxides with alcohols, acetic acid and thiols

AlPW₁₂O₄₀ as a recyclable Lewis acid and stable solid compound was introduced for efficient ring opening of different epoxides with thiols, acetic acid, and primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols. These processes were carried out at room temperature with high regio- and stereoselectivity.     

Characterization of Truncated <Emphasis Type="Italic">dsz</Emphasis> Operon Responsible for Dibenzothiophene Biodesulfurization in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhodococcus</Emphasis> sp. FUM94

Numerous desulfurizing bacteria from the Rhodococcus genus harbor conserved dsz genes responsible for the degradation of sulfur compounds through 4S pathway. This study describes a newly identified desulfurizing bacterium, Rhodococcus sp. FUM94, which unlike previously identified strains encodes a truncated dsz operon. DNA sequencing revealed a frameshift mutation in the dszA gene, which led to an alteration of 66 amino acids and deletion of other C-terminal 66 amino acids. The resulting DszA polypeptide was shorter than DszA in Rhodococcus sp. IGTS8 reference strain. Despite the truncation, desulfurizing activity of the operon was observed and attributed to the removal of an overlap of dszA and dszB genes, and lack of active site in the altered region. Desulfurization experiments resulted in specific production rate of 6.3 mmol 2-hydroxy biphenyl (kgDCW)^?1 h^?1 at 2 g l^?1 biocatalyst concentration and 68.8% biodesulfurization yield at 20 g l^?1 biocatalyst concentration, both at 271 μM dibenzothiophene concentration which is comparable to similar wild-type biocatalysts.     

Copper-doped silica cuprous sulfate: A highly efficient heterogeneous nano-catalyst for one-pot three-component synthesis of 1-H-2-substituted benzimidazoles from 2-bromoanilines,aldehydes, and [bmim]N3

A facile and highly efficient one-pot three-component synthesis of 1-H-2-substituted benzimidazole derivatives from readily available substrates catalyzed by copper-doped silica cuprous sulfate (CDSCS) is described. In this method, treatment of diverse 2-bromoanilines, aldehydes, and [bmim]N₃ in DMF at 110 °C in the presence of CDSCS as a highly efficient heterogeneous nano-catalyst affords the corresponding 1-H-2-substituted benzimidazoles in good to excellent yields. The CDSCS is an inexpensive and stable nano-catalyst that could be simply prepared, recovered and reused for many consecutive reaction runs without significant loss of its activity.     

Immobilization of cerium (IV) and erbium (III) in mesoporous MCM‐41: Two novel and highly active heterogeneous catalysts for the synthesis of 5‐substituted tetrazoles,and chemo‐ and homoselective oxidation of sulfides

Two well‐ordered 2D ‐ hexagonal cerium (IV) and erbium (III) embedded functionalized mesoporous MCM ‐ 41(MCM‐41@Serine/Ce and MCM ‐ 41@Serine/Er) have been developed via functionalization of mesoporous MCM ‐ 41. The surface modification method has been used in the preparation of serine‐grafted MCM ‐ 41 and led to the development of MCM‐41@Serine. The reaction of MCM‐41@Serine with Ce (NH₄)₂(NO₃)₆·2H₂O or ErCl₃·6H₂O in ethanol under reflux led to the organization of MCM‐41@Serine/Ce and MCM‐41@Serine/Er catalysts. The structures of these catalysts were determined using scanning electron microscopy, mapping, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform‐infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. These MCM‐41@Serine/Ce and MCM‐41@Serine/Er catalysts show outstanding catalytic performance in sulfides oxidation and synthesis of 5‐substituted tetrazoles. These catalysts can be recycled for seven repeated reaction runs without showing a considerable decrease in catalytic performance.     

Design,synthesis, biological evaluation,and docking study of new acridine-9-carboxamide linked to 1,2,3-triazole derivatives as antidiabetic agents targeting α-glucosidase

A new series of acridine-9-carboxamide-1,2,3-triazole derivatives 7a-m were designed, synthesized, and evaluated as novel α-glucosidase inhibitors. Acridine-9-carboxamide-1,2,3-triazole scaffold has been designed by combination of effective moieties from potent α-glucosidase inhibitors. Most of the synthesized compounds were more potent than standard inhibitor acarbose. Among the title compounds, the most potent compounds were compounds 7j , 7k , and 7a with IC₅₀ values of 120.2 ± 1.0, 151.1 ± 1.4, and 157.6 ± 1.6 μM, respectively (IC₅₀ value of acarbose = 750.0 ± 10.0 μM). Docking study of the most potent compounds demonstrated that these compounds formed stable complexes with α-glucosidase active site. Anti-α-amylase assay of compounds 7j , 7k , and 7a was performed and no activity was observed. in vitro cytotoxicity assay of the latter compounds revealed that these compounds were not cytotoxic toward human normal (HDF) and cancer (MCF-7) cell lines. ADME and toxicity prediction of compounds 7j , 7k , and 7a were also performed.     

Tunable rectification and negative differential resistance induced by asymmetric doping in phosphorene nanoribbon

By using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green's function, we present the electronic transport properties of two kinds of devices based on armchair phosphorene nanoribbons, namely, A device, and B device. In A device, the phosphorus atoms in the center of armchair phosphorene nanoribbon have been replaced by impurity atoms of the S and Si, whereas in the B device, the impurity atoms are at the edge of ribbon. The results show that the current–voltage characteristics for both devices have striking nonlinear features and the rectifying behaviors strongly depend on the positions of impurity atoms. The highest rectification ratio is obtained about 125992 at 0.8 V bias for B device. Moreover, only for A device, robust negative differential resistance is observed with a high peak–valley ratio 27500 in the bias range $[?0.2,?0.6]\text{ V}$. The mechanism of the rectification behavior is analyzed in terms of the evolution of energy levels of the related electrodes and transmission spectra as well as the projected self-consistent Hamiltonian eigenvalues with the applied bias voltage. The results indicate that the asymmetric doping of the impurity atoms can lead to a robust rectification which can be utilized to design phosphorene-base rectifier with good performance.     

Synthesis and characterization of MCM-41@XA@Ni(II) as versatile and heterogeneous catalyst for efficient oxidation of sulfides and acetylation of alcohols under solvent-free conditions

Herein, Ni(II) immobilized on modified mesoporous silica MCM-41 was designed and synthesized via a facile sequential strategy. The structure of the catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction. The thermal property of the as-synthesized materials was studied using thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis. The average particles size and morphology of MCM-41@XA@Ni(II) were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. This nanostructure catalyst was effective for the selective oxidation of sulfides and acetylation of alcohols in solvent-free conditions. The easy recyclability of the catalyst and their complete chemoselectivity toward the sulfur group of substrates in the oxidation of sulfides are important “green” attributes of this catalyst.