Synthesis and structural characterization of monomeric aluminum keto-imine complexes: Catalytic activity toward CO2/styrene oxide coupling and ε-caprolactone ring opening polymerization

A series of benzoylacetone-imine ligands, PhCOCHCMeNHR ( L ¹ H , R = CH₂Ph; L ² H , R = CH₂Ph-4-Me; and L ³ H , R = CH₂Ph-4-OMe), are first synthesized following the condensation of benzoylacetone and 4-substituted benzylamine. Later, reacting L ¹ H – L ³ H with one equivalent of AlMe₃ in toluene, the monomeric Al derivatives are generated, (PhCOCHCMeNR)AlMe₂ ( 1 , R = CH₂Ph; 2 , R = CH₂Ph-4-Me; 3 , R = CH₂Ph-4-OMe). All the ligands and metal derivatives are characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals the geometry of all ligands and complex 2 . As supporting catalysts, the Al derivatives, 1 – 3 , are effective to initiate the coupling of CO₂ and styrene oxide to form cyclic carbonates. Although employing TBAI (tetra-n-butylammonium iodide), TBAC, tetrabutylammonium chloride, and TBAB (tetra butyl ammonium bromide) as cocatalyst, the optimized catalytic system exhibits the best conversion of epoxide in presence of TBAI under the reaction temperature and time, respectively, 90°C and 6 hr, respectively. The ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone is also appraised subjecting the Al derivatives, 1 – 3 , as catalysts in presence of benzyl alcohol and all the conversions of ε-caprolactone reach over 95% at the reaction condition of 100°C and 1 hr.     

Effect of blowing agent content on the structure and flame-retardant properties of rigid polyurethane foam/expanded graphite composites

Driven by global environmental issues, the development of green building materials has become an immediate focus. In this work, n-pentane was used as an environmentally friendly blowing agent to prepare flame-retardant rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF) with the addition of expandable graphite (EG) successfully, and the effect of n-pentane content on flame retardancy and compressive properties of RPUF/EG composites was investigated through limit oxygen index (LOI), vertical burning test (UL-94), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and compressive properties test. SEM results show that the content of EG and n-pentane causes a change in the cell structure of RPUF. The change of the n-pentane content has also an obvious effect on the thermal stability, flame retardancy, and specific compressive strength of RPUF/EG composites. In addition, the cell structure of RPUF matrix has an obvious influence on the distribution of EG in the composites, which indirectly affects the flame-retardant efficiency of EG. This research explores the conditions for the application of environmentally friendly RPUF and expands its application prospects.     

Removal of Zn(II) Ions from Aqueous Solution Using BPHA‐Impregnated Polyurethane Foam

Zn(II) ions sorption onto N‐Benzoyl‐N‐Phenylhydroxylamine (BPHA) impregnated polyurethane foam (PUF) has been studied extensively using radiotracer and batch techniques. Maximum sorption (～98%) of Zn(II) ions (8.9 × 10^?6 M) onto sorbent surface is achieved from a buffer of pH 8 solution in 30 minutes using 7.5 mg/mL of BPHA‐impregnated polyurethane foam at 283 K. The sorption data follow Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin‐Radushkevich (D‐R) isotherms. The Langmuir constants Q = 18.01 ± 0.38 μ mole g^?1 and b = (5.39 ± 0.98) × 10³ L mole^?1 have been computed. Freundlich constants 1/n = 0.29 ± 0.01 and C_m = 111.22 ± 12.3 μ mole g^?1 have been estimated. Sorption capacity 31.42 ± 1.62 μ mole g^?1, β = ?0.00269 ± 0.00012 kJ² mole^?2 and energy 13.34 ± 0.03 kJ mole^?1 have been evaluated using D‐R isotherm. The variation of sorption with temperature yields ΔH = ?77.7 ± 2.8 k J mole^?1, ΔS = ?237.7 ± 9.3 J mole^?1 K^?1 and ΔG = ?661.8 ± 117.5 k J mol^?1 at 298 K reflecting the exothermic and spontaneous nature of sorption. Cations like Fe(III), Ce(III), Al(III), Pb(II) and Hg(II) and anions, i.e., oxalate, EDTA and tartrate, reduce the sorption significantly, while iodide and thiocyanate enhanced the sorption of Zn(II) ions onto BPHA‐impregnated polyurethane foam.     

Palladized aluminum electrode covered by Prussian blue film as an effective transducer for electrocatalytic oxidation and hydrodynamic amperometry of N-acetyl-cysteine and glutathione

The mediated oxidation of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and glutathione (GL) at the palladized aluminum electrode modified by Prussian blue film (PB/Pd–Al) is described. The catalytic activity of PB/Pd–Al was explored in terms of Fe^III[Fe^III(CN)₆]/Fe^III[Fe^II(CN)₆]¹⁻ system by taking advantage of the metallic palladium layer inserted between PB film and Al, as an electron-transfer bridge. The best mediated oxidation of NAC and GL on the PB/Pd–Al electrode was achieved in 0.5 M KNO₃ + 0.2 M potassium acetate of pH 2. The mechanism and kinetics of the catalytic oxidation reactions of the both compounds were monitored by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The charge transfer-rate limiting step as well as overall oxidation reaction of NAC or GL is found to be a one-electron abstraction. The values of transfer coefficients α, catalytic rate constant k and diffusion coefficient D are 0.5, 3.2 × 10² M⁻¹ s⁻¹ and 2.45 × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹ for NAC and 0.5, 2.1 × 10² M⁻¹ s⁻¹ and 3.7 × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹ for GL, respectively. The modifying layers on the Pd–Al substrate have reproducible behavior and a high level of stability in the electrolyte solutions. The modified electrode is exploited for hydrodynamic amperometry of NAC and GL. The amperometric calibration graph is linear in concentration ranges 2 × 10⁻⁶–40 × 10⁻⁶ for NAC and 5 × 10⁻⁷–18 × 10⁻⁶ M for GL and the detection limits are 5.4 × 10⁻⁷ and 4.6 × 10⁻⁷ M, respectively.     

High surface area V-Mo-N materials synthesized from amine intercalated foams

Nanocrystalline ternary V-Mo nitrides were prepared via nitridation of amine intercalated oxide foams or bulk ternary oxides. Specific surface areas were in the range between 40 and 198 m² g⁻¹ and strongly depended on the preparation method (foam or bulk oxide). Foamed precursors were favorable for vanadium rich materials, while for molybdenum rich samples bulk ternary oxides resulted in higher specific surface areas. The materials were characterized via nitrogen physisorption at 77 K, X-ray diffraction patterns, electron microscopy, and elemental analysis.     

Improving the material quality of silicon ingots by aluminum gettering during crystal growth

We present a method for the purification of silicon ingots during the crystallization process that reduces significantly the width of the low charge carrier lifetime region at the ingot top. The back‐diffusion of impurities from the ingot top is suppressed by adding a small amount of pure aluminum into the silicon melt right at the end of the solidification. We study the aluminum gettering effect by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and Fe_i imaging. Furthermore, we present a model for aluminum gettering of Fe in the silicon ingot that is in agreement with literature data for aluminum gettering at lower temperature. The distribution of iron in the ingots with and without aluminum is fairly well predicted by a combination of this model with a model for Fe contamination from the crucible system. A simulation with varying Al content exhibits further potential for an increased yield of silicon wafers with high charge carrier lifetime. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Fabrication of polycrystalline silicon films by Al‐induced crystallization of silicon‐rich oxide films

Polycrystalline silicon (poly‐Si) films were fabricated by aluminum (Al)‐induced crystallization of Si‐rich oxide (SiO_x) films. The fabrication was achieved by thermal annealing of SiO_x /Al bilayers below the eutectic temperature of the Al–Si alloy. The poly‐Si film resulting from SiO_1.45 exhibited good crystallinity with highly preferential (111) orientation, as deduced from Raman scattering, X‐ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy measurements. The poly‐Si film is probably formed by the Al‐induced layer exchange mechanism, which is mediated by Al oxide.     

波导适用型铝锗酸盐玻璃中铥离子上转换荧光光子输出与量子产率定量

制备了适用于钾钠离子交换波导的Tm~(3+)/Yb~(3+)掺杂铝锗酸盐玻璃,利用积分球配以光纤光谱仪在975nm激光泵浦下对玻璃的上转换荧光进行测试,解析出样品的绝对荧光特征参量。测试与计算结果显示,在380℃的KNO3熔盐中,Tm~(3+)/Yb~(3+)掺杂的铝锗酸盐玻璃的钾钠离子交换有效扩散系数为0.070μm~2/min,热离子交换过程易于控制。铝锗酸盐玻璃样品中,Tm~(3+)主要发出477 nm蓝光和806 nm近红外光,其中近红外光为支配性发射。绝对荧光参数和激发功率密度呈正相关,当功率密度达到1 482 W/cm2时,三光子上转换蓝光的绝对光谱功率、净发射光子数和量子产率分别为269μW、6.46×10~(14)/s和1.43×10~(-4),双光子近红外光上转换对应的3个参量分别为4 024μW、1.63×10~(16)/s和3.61×10~(-3)。基于波导适用型铝锗酸盐玻璃中Tm~(3+)上转换荧光的绝对化表征,为进一步研发光电子器件和激光材料提供了有益的数据参考。     

Reactivity of molecular oxygen with aluminum clusters: Density functional and Ab Initio molecular dynamics simulation study

Dissociative adsorption of molecular oxygen (O₂) on aluminum (Al) clusters has attracted much interest in the field of surface science and catalysis, but theoretical predictions of the reactivity of this reaction in terms of barrier height is still challenging. In this regard, we systematically investigate the reactivity of O₂ with Al clusters using density functional theory (DFT) and atom‐centered density matrix propagation (ADMP) simulations. We also calculate potential energy surfaces (PESs) of the reaction between O₂ and Al clusters to estimate the barrier energy of this reaction. The M06‐2X functional gives the barrier energy in agreement with the one calculated by coupled cluster singles and doubles with perturbed triples (CCSD(T)) while the TPSSh functional significantly underestimates the barrier height. The ADMP simulation using the M06‐2X functional predicts the reactivity of O₂ with the Al cluster in agreement with the experimental findings, that is, singlet O₂ readily reacts with Al clusters but triplet O₂ is less reactive. We found that the ability of a DFT functional to describe the charge transfer appropriately is critical for calculating the barrier energy and the reactivity of the reaction of O₂ with Al clusters. The M06‐2X functional is relevant for investigating chemical reactions involving Al and O₂. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

2-羟基萘甲醛苯甲酰腙衍生物对Al~(3+)的裸眼识别和荧光传感

设计合成了化合物4-羟基苯甲酰-(2-羟基萘甲醛)腙(L)探针,经金属离子识别研究发现探针L对Al~(3+)具有良好的荧光增强识别效果且不受其它金属离子的干扰,且识别过程中溶液的颜色发生了明显变化,可以实现Al~(3+)的可视法检测,核磁滴定、job-plot、基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱(MALDI-TOF)等实验结果显示,探针L与Al~(3+)以摩尔比2∶1的方式进行配位。通过对紫外滴定数据的非线性拟合分析,探针L与Al~(3+)的结合常数为1.3×10~4L/mol,最低检测限为3.71×10~(-6)L/mol。因此,该腙类衍生物作为Al~(3+)的荧光及比色探针,识别体系线性范围较宽,检测限低,在痕量Al~(3+)的检测方面具有潜在的应用价值。