A DFT study on mechanisms of CO2 coupling with propargylic alcohols using alkali carbonates

The mechanisms of CO₂ coupling with the propargylic alcohol using alkali carbonates M₂CO₃ (M = Li, Na, K, Cs) have been investigated by means of density functional theory calculations. The calculations reveal that the target product tetronic acid (TA) is yielded through two stages: (a) the formation of the α-alkylidene cyclic carbonate (αACC) intermediate via Cs₂CO₃-mediated carboxylative cyclization of the propargylic alcohol with CO₂, and (b) the conversion of the αACC intermediate with Cs₂CO₃ to produce the cesium salt of the TA. Since the overall kinetic barriers for the two stages are comparable and affordable, the excellent chemoselectivity to the TA should be primarily originated from the high thermodynamic stability of the cesium salt of the TA. Moreover, relative to the TA, the possibility to yield the by-product acyclic carbonate can be excluded due to the both kinetics and thermodynamic inferiority. This result is different from the organic base-mediated reaction. Alternatively, our calculations predict that CsHCO₃ together generated with the cesium salt of the TA might also be an available mediating reagent for the incorporation of CO₂ with the propargylic alcohol. Compared to other alkali carbonates M₂CO₃ (M = Li, Na, K), the stronger basicity of Cs₂CO₃ and the lower ionic potential of cesium ion can raise the effective concentration of the αACC intermediate, and thus the conversion of the αACC intermediate into the cesium salt of the TA can be achieved with high yield.     

Polymer nanoparticles with a sensitive CO2‐responsive hydrophilic/hydrophobic surface

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanoparticles with a sensitive CO₂‐responsive hydrophilic/hydrophobic surface that confers controlled dispersion and aggregation in water were prepared by emulsion polymerization at 50 °C under CO₂ bubbling using amphiphilic diblock copolymers of 2‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and N‐isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAAm) as an emulsifier. The amphiphilicity of the hydrophobic–hydrophilic diblock copolymer at 50 °C was triggered by CO₂ bubbling in water and enabled the copolymer to serve as an emulsifier. The resulting PMMA nanoparticles were spherical, approximately 100 nm in diameter and exhibited sensitive CO₂/N₂‐responsive dispersion/aggregation in water. Using copolymers with a longer PNIPAAm block length as an emulsifier resulted in smaller particles. A higher concentration of copolymer emulsifier led to particles with a stickier surface. Given its simple preparation and reversible CO₂‐triggered amphiphilic behavior, this newly developed block copolymer emulsifier offers a highly efficient route toward the fabrication of sensitive CO₂‐stimuli responsive polymeric nanoparticle dispersions. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 2149–2156     

Controlled synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles from a Zn(II) coordination polymer: Structural characterization,optical properties and photocatalytic activity

A zinc coordination polymer derived from pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate (PDC), {[Zn₂(PDC)₂]}_n, was successfully prepared via conventional, sonication and microwave-irradiation methods. The composition and characteristics of the obtained coordination polymers (CPs) were investigated by elemental analysis, TGA/DTA, X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic techniques. The so obtained CPs were heat-treated in the air at 600 °C for 2 h to produce ZnO of nanosized particles (NPs). It is of interest to note that the synthesis approach of the precursor greatly affects both the nanoparticle size and the structure of the resulting ZnO NPs. Moreover, the smallest particle size was associated with the sample derived from the ultrasonically prepared precursor. TEM analysis revealed that all samples have sphere-like morphologies. Structural analysis of the prepared ZnO samples was conducted and compared using Rietveld analysis of their PXRD patterns. Optical band gap calculations based on analysis of the UV–vis spectra of ZnO samples using Tauc's power law were achieved. The highest band gap of 3.63 eV was observed for ZnO sample obtained from the ultrasonically prepared precursor. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of ZnO NPs for the removal of Eosin Y color was monitored. The highest removal efficiency was recorded for ZnO originated from the ultrasonically synthesized precursor. Enhancement of removal efficiency that reached 98% was attained in only a period of 8 min. Its recycling test showed that it can be reused without structural changes over four cycling experiments.     

Diastereoselective Alkylation of (Diene-Aldehyde)Fe(CO)3 Complexes with Functionalized Zinc-Copper Reagents NuCu(CN)Znl

Addition of functionalized zinc-copper reagents to the title complexes proceeds in a highly diastereoselective fashion to afford dienol complexes. The relative configurations of adducts 3d were determined by single X-ray diffraction analysis.     

Ni(111)表面一氧化碳和氢共吸附的密度泛函理论研究

本文用密度泛函理论(DFT)的总能计算研究了一氧化碳和氢原子在Ni(111)表面上p(2×2)共吸附系统的原子结构和电子态，结果表明CO和H原子分别被吸附于两个对角p(1×1)元胞的hcp和fcc位置.以氢分子和CO分子作为能量参考点，总吸附能为2.81 eV，相应的共吸附表面功函数φ为6.28 eV.计算得到的C—O，C—Ni和H—Ni的键长分别是1.19?, 1.96?和 1.71?，并且CO分子以C原子处于hcp的谷位与金属衬底原子结合.衬底Ni(111)的最外两层的晶面间距在吸附后的相对变化分别是 关键词： Fisher-Tropsch反应 催化作用 Ni(111) p(2×2)/(CO+H) 共吸附     

超临界流体触媒作用下石墨-金刚石转变

 研究了超临界流体CO₂在石墨-金刚石转变中的触媒作用。实验中，采用Ag₂O作为流体触媒的先驱材料，在7.7 GPa压力下，Ag₂O在1 200 ℃分解成Ag和O₂，O₂与石墨套管在高温高压下反应形成CO₂超临界流体。研究结果表明，在7.7 GPa和1 500 ℃以上温度条件下，石墨在CO₂流体触媒的作用下可转变为金刚石晶体，在1 500～1 700 ℃温度范围内合成出的金刚石具有完好的八面体形貌，与天然金刚石的生长特征非常相似。     

基于同步辐射加速器的康普顿背散射γ射线源(Ⅰ)产生MeV量级γ光子的数值计算

提出在筹建的上海同步辐射装置上建造一条MeV量级γ射线束及应用站,采用μm波长的红外(或远红外)激光与储存环中3.5GeV电子束进行康普顿背散射,从而获得能区为1—25MeV的康普顿背散射γ光子束,该光子束具有高强度、高极化度(线和圆极化)、准单色、方向性好的优点,可以广泛地应用于核物理和核天体物理基础研究及相关的应用研究领域.介绍了康普顿背散射的基本原理,并结合储存环参数给出了光子束性能的数值计算结果.     

Polytetrafluoroethylene and metal structure convective-flow CO laser

A convective flow CO laser composed of polytetrafluoroethylene discharge tubes, nickel–chromium steel components, a cupric heat exchanger and other components is described. Operating in liquid nitrogen condition, output power of 60 W has been obtained from a non-selective cavity.     

Liquid–gas critical phenomena under confinement: small-angle neutron scattering studies of CO2 in aerogel

Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) is a well-established technique for investigating the behavior of confined binary liquid solutions, as it can probe the correlation length and susceptibility in pores on length scales 1 – 100 nm. We applied SANS to explore the influence of confinement on critical behavior of an individual fluid carbon dioxide (CO₂) in a highly porous aerogel. The results demonstrate that quenched disorder induced by aerogel significantly depresses density fluctuations. Despite the negligible volume occupied by aerogel (< 4%), the macroscopic phase separation of confined CO₂ into coexisting liquid and gaseous phases is suppressed and below the critical temperature of the bulk fluid frozen methastable microdomains are formed. Experimental data show that critical adsorption is as important as the effect of confinement in defining the behavior of confined fluids.