Revealing the unexpected promotion effect of EuOx on Pt/CeO2 catalysts for catalytic combustion of toluene

Pt/Eu₂O₃-CeO₂ materials with different Eu concentrations were prepared and applied to toluene destruction, and the remarkable promotion impact of EuO_x on Pt/CeO₂ can be observed. The characterization results reveal that the presence of EuO_x significantly enhances the redox property, lattice O concentration, and Ce³⁺ ratio of the Pt/CeO₂ material, which facilitates the dispersion and activity of Pt active sites and thus accelerates the decomposition process of toluene. Among all catalysts, a sample with an Eu content of 2.5 at.% (Pt/EC-2.5) possesses the best catalytic activity with 0.09 vol% of toluene completely destructed at 200 °C under a relatively high GHSV of 50000 h^?1. The possible reaction pathway and mechanism of toluene combustion over Pt/Eu₂O₃-CeO₂ samples are presented according to in-situ DRIFTS, which confirms that the toluene oxidation process obeys the Mars-van Krevelen mechanism with aldehydes and ketones as primary organic intermediates.     

臭氧修饰(001)晶面TiO2纳米片及其光催化降解甲苯研究

本文系统研究了臭氧修饰对(001)主导晶面锐钛矿型TiO₂光催化剂降解甲苯性能的影响. 利用自行搭建的光催化VOCs降解装置对催化剂光降解甲苯的性能进行了测试. 通过多种表征手段，结合原位DRIFTS和DFT计算研究了臭氧表面修饰及甲苯吸附和降解机理. 结果表明，用臭氧进行表面修饰可以显著提高(001)主导晶面TiO₂光催化降解甲苯的性能. (001)晶面上丰富的5c-Ti不饱和配位是臭氧分子的吸附位点，其解离后形成的Ti-O键与H₂O分子结合，在表面生成大量孤立的Ti_5c-OH. Ti_5c-OH 是甲苯分子的吸附位，它的形成显著提高了对甲苯分子的吸附能力. 在光照下Ti_5c-OH与光生空穴结合能形成·OH自由基. 通过臭氧解离产生的O₂也可以与光生电子结合形成超氧自由基. 这些具有强氧化性活性自由基的形成促进了对气相甲苯的光催化降解速率.     

Theoretical Investigation on Photoionization and Dissociative Photoionization of Toluene

The photoionization and dissociation photoionization of toluene have been studied using quantum chemistry methods.The geometries and frequencies of the reactants,transition states and products have been performed at B3LYP/6-311++G (d,p) level,and single-point energy calculations for all the stationary points were carried out at DFT calculations of the optimized structures with the G3B3 level.The ionization energies of toluene and the appearance energies for major fragment ions,C₇H₇⁺,C₆H₅⁺,C₅H₆⁺,C₅H₅⁺,are determined to be 8.90,11.15 or 11.03,12.72,13.69,16.28 eV,respectively,which are all in good agreement with published experimental data.With the help of available published experimental data and theoretical results,four dissociative photoionization channels have been proposed:C₇H₇⁺+H,C₆H₅⁺+CH₃,C₅H₆⁺+C₂H₂,C₅H₅⁺+C₂H₂+H.Transition structures and intermediates for those isomerization processes are determined in this work.Especially,the structures of C₅H₆⁺ and C₅H₅⁺ produced by dissociative photoionization of toluene have been defined as chain structure in this work with theoretical calculations.     

CH3COOH.TiO2: An excellent catalyst for the green nitration of toluene by N2O4

The solvent-free nitration of toluene with N₂O₄ gas over solid acid catalysts is a green reaction for preparing the mono-nitrotoluene (NT) isomers. The acid-modified catalysts are more efficient than common catalysts for this type of reaction. For this purpose, a titanium dioxide (TiO₂) catalyst is synthesized with a sol-gel method and modified by acetic acid to increase catalytic properties. The acid-modified TiO₂ (CH₃COOH·TiO₂) is characterized by different analyses. To optimization of toluene nitration conditions, reaction temperature (X₁) (30 < X₁ < 60 °C), N₂O₄/toluene molar ratio (X₂) (0.5 < X₂ < 2), and the amount of catalyst (X₃) (0.05 < X₃ < 0.3 g) factors were investigated by Minitab software with the CCD-RSM. Three responses including the selectivity of meta-NT isomer (S_m), the ratio of para-NT to ortho-NT selectivity (S_p/o), and the selectivity of by-products (S_bp) were considered for the optimization. Statistical parameters were applied to evaluate the goodness of fitting for the models. Optimum values for X₁, X₂, and X₃ parameters are 57.9 °C, 1.91, and 0.25 g, respectively. The conversion of toluene under these conditions is 93.2%. The comparison of S_m, S_p/o, and S_bp in CH₃COOH.TiO₂ (1.51%, 0.8, and 5.48%, respectively) with Fe₂O₃ (8.5%, 0.43, and 20.57%, respectively), SiO₂ (8.43%, 0.48, and 16.24%, respectively), TiO₂ (5.9%, 0.57, and 13.87%, respectively), TiO₂–Fe₂O₃ (4.72%, 0.64, and 9.18%, respectively), and TiO₂–SiO₂ (4.42%, 0.67, and 5.73%, respectively) catalysts show that this catalyst has a low S_m and S_bp as well as a higher S_p/o than other mentioned catalysts. The mechanism of the mentioned reaction is reviewed in the presence of CH₃COOH·TiO₂ catalyst. The high stability of the CH₃COOH·TiO₂ is proved by the reusability test, and it is found that its stability against inactivation is more than the TiO₂ catalyst.     

Phase equilibrium measurements of (methane + benzene) and (methane + methylbenzene) at temperatures from (188 to 348) K and pressures to 13 MPa

New isothermal pTxy data are reported for (methane + benzene) and (methane + methylbenzene (toluene)) at pressures up to 13 MPa over the temperature range (188 to 313) K using a custom-built (vapor + liquid) equilibrium (VLE) apparatus. The aim of this work was to investigate literature data inconsistencies and to extend the measurements to lower temperatures. For (methane (1) + benzene (2)), measurements were made along six isotherms from (233 to 348) K at pressures to 9.6 MPa. At temperatures below 279 K there was evidence of a solid phase, and thus only vapor phase samples were analyzed at these temperatures. For the (methane (1) + methylbenzene (3)) system, measurements were made along seven isotherms from T = (188 to 313) K at pressures up to 13 MPa. Along the 198 K isotherm, a significant change in the data’s p,x slope was observed indicating (liquid + liquid) equilibria at higher pressures. The data were compared with literature data and with calculations made using the Peng–Robinson (PR) equation of state (EOS). For both binary systems our data agree with much of the literature data that also deviate from the EOS in a similar manner. However, the data of Elbishlawi and Spencer (1951) for both binary systems, which appear to have received an equal weighting to other data in the EOS development, are inconsistent with the results of our measurements and data from other literature sources.     

Refractive index of benzene and methyl derivatives: temperature and wavelength dependencies

Measurements of the refractive index from 288 to 318 K at five fixed wavelengths, from 656.3 to 404.7 nm, are reported for benzene, toluene (methylbenzene), o-xylene (1,2-dimethylbenzene), m-xylene (1,3-dimethylbenzene), and p-xylene (1,4-dimethylbenzene). We also report the temperature and wavelength dependencies of the refractive index obtained from a least-squares routine. The agreement between the measured and calculated refractive indices lies within the experimental uncertainty.     

Metal-containing polyurethanes from tetradentate Schiff bases: synthesis,characterization, and biocidal activities

N,N′-bis(salicylidene)thiosemicarbazide Schiff base has been synthesized by the reaction of thiosemicarbazide with salicylaldehyde and then reacted with formaldehyde to generate phenolic groups, resulting in the formation of Schiff-base monomeric ligand. It was further incorporated with transition metals, Mn⁺², Co⁺², Ni⁺², Cu⁺², and Zn⁺², to form Schiff-base metal complex, which was then polymerized with toluene 2,4-diisocyanate to form metal-chelated polyurethanes. Monomeric ligand, its metal complexes, and its metal polychelates were characterized and compared by elemental analysis, FT-IR, ¹H NMR, thermal, and biocidal activities to evaluate the enhancement in physical and chemical properties on coordination with metal and on polymerization. SEM images of ligand and polymer metal complexes showed changes in surface morphology, while electronic spectra of polymer metal complexes were used to predict the geometry. Antimicrobial activities were determined by using agar-diffusion method with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis (bacteria), Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus flavus (yeast). The polymeric ligand had varied antibacterial and antifungal activities, enhanced after chelation and polymerization. Comparative results show that coordination of metal to the ligand enhances its physical and chemical properties which were meliorated on polymerization.     

Determination of Paint Solvents by Vapour Phase Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry.

A fast procedure has been developed for the direct determination of paint solvents. The method is based on the injection of small volumes of untreated solvent mixtures into a heated Pyrex glass reactor in which the sample is volatilized and introduced by means of a flow of nitrogen into an IR multiple pass gas cell and the spectrum in the mid-IR region is registered as a function of time. Data found for samples are interpolated in calibration graphs obtained by injecting different volumes of pure compounds which constitute the solvent mixture. A methylisobutylketone (MIBK) toluene mixture was used as test system to develop the proposed procedure. The method provides a limit of detection of the order of 1–4 μg, a relative standard deviation of the order of 0.4 to 2% for five independent measurements, and recovery percentage values from 99.8 till 103.6 %. A commercial sample of polyurethane paint solvent has been analysed by the developed procedure.     

A new torsion-rotation fitting program for molecules with a sixfold barrier: Application to the microwave spectrum of toluene

A new program is described for fitting rotation-torsion energy levels in molecules like toluene, in which the frame (C₆H₅) has C_2v symmetry and the methyl top has C_3v symmetry, i.e., for molecules where the internal rotation barrier is expanded in cos6nα, where α is the internal rotation angle and n = 1,2,…. The program is based on the theoretical framework developed by Sørensen and Pedersen in their application of the Longuet-Higgins permutation-inversion group G₁₂ to the microwave spectrum of CH₃NO₂. It is specifically designed for sixfold barrier molecules, and allows the user to select almost any symmetry-allowed torsion-rotation term for inclusion in the fitting Hamiltonian. This program leads to a very successful fit of transitions in the microwave spectrum of toluene characterized by J ? 30, K_a ? 12, and by the free-rotor quantum number ∣m∣ ? 3. In these fits we included both published and rather extensive unpublished new measurements, for which fits using other torsion-rotation programs have not been very successful. The fit presented here uses 28 parameters to give an overall standard deviation of 7.4 kHz for 372 line frequencies, and results in a much improved value for the sixfold barrier for toluene, V₆ = 13.832068(3) cal mol⁻¹.