Methanol synthesis from CO2-H2 and from CO-H2 under atmospheric pressure over Pd and Cu catalysts

Under atmospheric pressure, methanol was produced from CO₂–H₂ over Pd/ZnO and from CO–H₂ over Pd/MgO catalyst. Similar support effects were observed over Cu catalysts.     

Automatic semi-microcolumn liquid chromatographic determination of catecholamines in rat plasma utilizing peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence reaction

A fully automated and highly sensitive method with a semi-microcolumn liquid chromatography system for the determination of rat plasma catecholamines (CAs) was developed. Automated on-line extraction of CAs in diluted plasma using a precolumn packed with strong acidic cation exchange resin was coupled with separation of CAs on a semi-microcolumn (250 x 1.5 mm id). fluorogenic derivatization with ethylenediamine and finally postcolumn peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection utilizing bis[2-(3,6,9-trioxadecanyloxycarbonyl)-4-nitrophenyl]oxalate (TDPO) and hydrogen peroxide. The detection limits were 0.91, 0.36 and 1.1 fmol for norepinephrine (noradrenaline), epinephrine (adrenaline) and dopamine, respectively, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. A good linearity of the calibration curve for each CA was observed in the range of 5.0 to 500 fmol for each CA using N-methyldopamine (N-MeDA) as an internal standard. The RSD for the proposed method (n = 5) were 3.7-9.5% for the intra-day assay and 6.6-10.0% for the inter-day assay. The volume of rat plasma required for the determination of CAs was 10 microliters.     

Catalytic reduction of nitrogen dioxide with propene in the presence and absence of oxygen over various metal oxides

Over metal oxides (SiO₂, ZrO₂, Al₂O₃, MgO, La₂O₃, and CaO) with-H values of metal oxide formation higher than 700 kJ/mol, C₃H₆ reacts with NO₂ in preference to O₂.     

The reaction between nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide over magnesium oxide

The title reaction was carried out with the help of the transient response method over MgO. It was concluded that no catalyst reduction occurred over this catalyst and the reaction proceeded through the reaction between adsorbed nitrous oxide and adsorbed carbon monoxide without participation of MgO oxygen.

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MgO. , - MgO.

     

A method for the measurement of catechol-O-methyltransferase activity using norepinephrine, an endogenous substrate

We propose a highly sensitive method for the measurement of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) activity with norepinephrine (NE), an endogenous native substrate. The product, normetanephrine, was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence reaction detection or, if required, less sensitive fluorescence detection. For the measurement of membrane-bound (MB)-COMT activity in the rat erythrocyte, the HPLC-peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence reaction detection was employed. Soluble (S)- and MB-COMT activities in the rat erythrocyte were 22.9 +/- 2.5 and 4.62 +/- 1.23 pmol min-1 (mg protein)-1, respectively (n = 5). The Km values obtained for S- and MB-COMT were 366 +/- 31 mumol l-1 and 12.0 +/- 1.1 mumol l-1, respectively (n = 5), suggesting that the use of NE as a substrate would give more precise information on the role of both isoenzymes. However, with dihydroxybenzoic acid as an artificial substrate, the Km values for S- and MB-COMT were similar, with values of 69.2 +/- 11.4 mumol l-1 and 72.2 +/- 9.2 mumol l-1, respectively. The proposed method is thought to be useful for the measurement of both S-COMT and MB-COMT activities, and would give us critical information on the role of metabolism of catecholamines in rat tissues.     

Effects of the Calcination and Reduction Conditions on a Cu/ZnO Methanol Synthesis Catalyst

The CuO crystallite size of the catalysts obtained from aurichalcite greatly depends on the heating rate of calcination for highly active and selective Cu/ZnO catalyst was prepared by reduction with methanol at 443 K for 17 h.     

Solution‐processable colorless polyimides derived from hydrogenated pyromellitic dianhydride with controlled steric structure

This work presents novel colorless polyimides (PIs) derived from 1R,2S,4S,5R‐cyclohexanetetracarboxylic dianhydride (H″‐PMDA). Isomer effects were also discussed by comparing with PI systems derived from conventional hydrogenated pyromellitic dianhydride, that is, 1S,2R,4S,5R‐cyclohexanetetracarboxylic dianhydride (H‐PMDA). H″‐PMDA was much more reactive with various diamines than H‐PMDA, and the former led to PI precursors with much higher molecular weights. The results can be explained from the quite different steric structures of these isomers. The thermally imidized H″‐PMDA‐based films were colorless regardless of diamines because of inhibited charge‐transfer interaction. In particular, the H″‐PMDA/4,4′‐oxydianiline system simultaneously achieved a very high T_g exceeding 300 °C, high toughness (elongation at break > 70%), and good solution processability. In contrast, the H‐PMDA‐based counterparts were essentially insoluble. The outstanding solubility of the former probably results from disturbed chain stacking by its nonplanar steric structure. An advantage of chemical imidization process is also proposed. In some cases, a copolymerization approach with an aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydride was effective to improve the thermal expansion property. The results suggest that the H″‐PMDA‐based PI systems can be promising candidates for novel high‐temperature plastic substrate materials in electronic paper displays. A potential application as optical compensation film materials in liquid crystal displays (LCD) is also proposed in this work. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

First-Principles Calculation of Lattice Dynamics of bcc and hcp Iron Under High Pressures

Lattice dynamics and electron-phonon coupling are calculated for non-magnetic hcp iron at 100 GPa by a first-principles linear response full-potential LMTO method. Superconducting transition temperature is estimated to be less than 0.5 K. For ferromagnetic bcc iron lattice dynamical calculations are performed for 9.8 GPa as well as for ambient pressure. The results of calculation reproduce well the pressure dependence of phonon dispersion curves observed by neutron scattering measurements.