Conversion of Methane into Methanol and Ethanol over Nickel Oxide on Ceria–Zirconia Catalysts in a Single Reactor

The conversion of methane into alcohols under moderate reaction conditions is a promising technology for converting stranded methane reserves into liquids that can be transported in pipelines and upgraded to value‐added chemicals. We demonstrate that a catalyst consisting of small nickel oxide clusters supported on ceria–zirconia (NiO/CZ) can convert methane to methanol and ethanol in a single, steady‐state process at 723 K using O₂ as an abundantly available oxidant. The presence of steam is required to obtain alcohols rather than CO₂ as the product of catalytic combustion. The unusual activity of this catalyst is attributed to the synergy between the small Lewis acidic NiO clusters and the redox‐active CZ support, which also stabilizes the small NiO clusters.     

pH reversible micelle transition of a tertiary amine-based gemini surfactant in aqueous solution

In this work, we prepared a tertiary amide-based gemini surfactant (DSTAPA), which contained two pH-sensitive tertiary amide head groups. Then the molecule state distribution and self-assembly transition of the surfactant in aqueous solution were investigated under different pH conditions. The DSTAPA molecules were on the states of double cationic (DSTAPAH²⁺), single cationic (DSTAPAH⁺), and double tertiary amine groups (DSTAPA) under acidic, neutral, and basic conditions, respectively. With the variation of the molecule states, the sample was water-like below pH of 6.8 and immediately transformed to gel-like fluid between pH of 6.8 and 7.8, then changed to white precipitate with the further increase of pH value. Furthermore, the microstructure and regulation mechanism were investigated by rheological measurements, dynamic light scattering, and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. The appearance and micelle transitions of the DSTAPA aqueous solution are actually owing to the spherical–worm-like micelle transition, leading to dramatic viscosity increase and hydrogel formation. This transition was completely reversible and repeated for at least three cycles. Finally, a reasonable mechanism of the transition was proposed based on the viewpoints of the molecular states and micelle structures. The DSTAPA aqueous system with pH-reversible property has a great potential application in oil and gas production.     

Ultrathin Co3S4 Nanosheets that Synergistically Engineer Spin States and Exposed Polyhedra that Promote Water Oxidation under Neutral Conditions

Development of efficient and affordable electrocatalysts in neutral solutions is paramount importance for the renewable energy. Herein, we report that the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance of Co₃S₄ under neutral conditions can be enhanced by exposed octahedral planes and self‐adapted spin states in atomically thin nanosheets. A HAADF image clearly confirmed that the active octahedra with Jahn–Teller distortions were exposed exclusively. Most importantly, in the atomically thin nanosheets, the spin states of Co³⁺ in the octahedral self‐adapt from low‐spin to high‐spin states. As a result, the synergistic effect endow the Co₃S₄ nanosheets with superior OER performance, with exceptional low onset overpotentials of circa 0.31 V in neutral solutions, which is state‐of‐the‐art among inorganic non‐noble metal compounds.     

Novel metallocene catalysts for syndiotactic polystyrene

A series of new half-metallocene complexes of titanium containing siloxy ligands and a new bimetallic titanocene complex (compound 1) with a crystallographically determined structure have been prepared. When activated with methylaluminoxane (MAO), they showed high activities toward polymerization of styrene with high syndiotacticity. Origin of the high activity and syndiotacticity found in this work was investigated systematically by comparison with polymerization results using other known complexes.     

Reactivity of the Hydroxy Groups in Melezitose and Their Selective Protection

The reactivity of melezitose hydroxy groups was studied by tritylation in pyridine with subsequent acetylation. After partial detritylation of the products, acetyl group transfer from position 4 to 6 was observed. The structure of the prepared melezitose derivatives was established on the basis of their IR, ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹H-¹H COSY NMR, and mass spectra (fast atom bombardment), as well as from the results of model calculations performed with the aid of SGI Indigo Molecule-Pattern-Work-Station software package (Biosym) where the potential energy function was approximated with the CVFF potential. The reactivity of primary hydroxy groups in melezitose was found to decrease in the following order: 6' > 6 6' > 1'.     

Surface modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes by O2 plasma

The surface modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by O₂ plasma was carried out in this study. In order to achieve a relatively homogeneous treatment of MWCNTs powder, a rotating barrel fixed between the two discharge electrodes was used. The effect of plasma treatment parameters, such as power, time, and positions of samples (inside and outside the barrel), on the morphology and structure of MWCNTs surface was systematically analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the direct discharge (outside the barrel) could result in not only a quick grafting of polar functional groups but also an easy damage of MWCNTs after longer time, particularly under intensive power. It was found that the surface of MWCNTs powder might be changed in three steps—expansion (loosed structure formed), peel off and oxidization with increasing of treatment time during the irradiation. In this way, a complete purification of MWCNTs powder could be finished within 30 min via plasma treatment. Our work suggested that plasma treatment could be a simple and nonpolluting method for a large scale purification of MWCNTs.     

Cu-DNAzyme facilitates highly sensitive immunoassay

A simple Cu-DNAzyme system is used for signal transduction of a CuO nanoparticle-labeled immunoassay, which makes the immunoassay fast, simple, cost-effective, and sensitive, thus promising for biomedical applications and point-of-care testing.     

Criteria for the field boundaries of an axially symmetric ultrawideband radiator

Criteria for the near and far electromagnetic fields of ultrawideband radiation are considered based on a numerical simulation. To estimate the field boundaries for ultrawideband radiation, it is proposed to use the condition of the maximum (near field) and minimum (far field) differences between the time dependences of the electromagnetic field components. The approach proposed has been approved for an axially symmetric radiator excited by voltage pulses of varied waveform and duration. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 9, pp. 46–50, September, 2008.