Alkane oxygenation with H2O2 catalysed by FeCl3 and 2,2′-bipyridine

The H₂O₂-FeCl₃-bipy system in acetonitrile efficiently oxidises alkanes predominantly to alkyl hydroperoxides. Turnover numbers attain 400 after 1 h at 60 °C. It has been assumed that bipy facilitates proton abstraction from a H₂O₂ molecule coordinated to the iron ion (these reactions are stages in the catalytic cycle generating hydroxyl radicals from the hydrogen peroxide). Hydroxyl radicals then attack alkane molecules finally yielding the alkyl hydroperoxide.     

The analysis of C4–C11 hydrocarbons in naphtha and reformate with a new apolar fused silica column

This paper deals with the separation of alkanes, naphthenes, and aromatic compounds in naphtha and reformate, on a newly developed apolar high resolution GC column. The selectivity of this apolar phase has been compared with those of squalane, DB-1, and SE-30. A total of 95 hydrocarbons were reliably identified, mostly by GC-MS. Repeated measurements of Kováts retention indices are presented as evidence for the reproducible manufacture of fused silica columns coated with this phase.     

Mutual Solubilities of Water and Alkanes

Summary.  The evaluation of mutual solubility data for systems water with n-alkanes, isoalkanes, and cycloalkanes along the three phase line is reported and a formula for the prediction of solubility of alkanes in water is developed. Then a cubic equation of state with an added term, which accounts for hydrogen bonding is used for correlation of liquid–liquid equilibrium data and for prediction of solubility of water in hydrocarbons using alkane in water solubility data. Comparison of the predicted and experimental solubilities is performed using all accessible experimental data. With this approach it is possible to predict the solubilities of water in alkanes with good accuracy over the temperature range up to about 20 K below critical temperature. Solubility of alkanes in water can also be calculated using experimental data for solubility of water in alkanes but results of these calculations are more sensitive to experimental errors of the data. Corresponding author: E-mail: macz@ichf.edu.pl Received August 5, 2002; accepted (revised) September 13, 2002 Published online March 13, 2003 RID="a" ID="a" Dedicated to Prof. Dr. H. Gamsj?ger on the occasion of his 70^th birthday anniversary     

Considerations on the dependence of gas–liquid chromatographic retention of n-alkanes with the carbon number

The contributions to the free energy change involved in the chromatographic retention of n-alkanes, which are functions of the solute chain length, are discussed with the aid of recent advances in chain statistics. In the context of a simplified theoretical analysis, a discussion is promoted on the molecular nature of the observed slight deviations from linearity of ln t_R′ vs. n. A non-linear function ln t_R′(n) is derived from the application of the generalized Van der Waals fluid partition function to the liquid stationary phase. The excluded volume, particularly its dependence on n, is analyzed through the theory of Flory for dilute solutions of chain molecules.     

Formation of supported size-controlled nanoparticles of sulfated zirconia

Methods of the preparation of catalysts for alkane skeletal isomerization based on uniform nanoparticles of sulfated zirconia anchored to different supports were investigated. These catalysts were characterized by using the ICP, HRTEM and BET techniques. The activities of the catalysts in the reaction of n-butane isomerization were measured and compared with those of bulk catalysts.     

The Effect of Alkane Chain Length on the Liquid–Liquid Critical Temperatures of Oligostyrene/Linear-Alkane Mixtures

Summary. Upper critical solution temperatures (UCSTs) for liquid–liquid demixing in a set of mixtures of linear alkanes (pentane (N ₁=5) to pentacontane (N ₁=50)) with an oligostyrene (1241amu, N ₂=12) are reported. We find strong correlation between the Hildebrand solubility parameters of the alkanes and the UCST. Correlations are developed which enable predictions concerning the miscibility of mixtures of compounds with longer chains.     

Plasma-Chemical Conversion of Lower Alkanes with Stimulated Condensation of Incomplete Oxidation Products

Oxidative conversion of a mixture of natural gas and oxygen in a barrier-discharge plasma-chemical reaction was investigated experimentally. The process was conducted at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The discharge was initiated by high-voltage pulses of 50–100 s duration at a repetition frequency of up to 2 kHz. The principal feature of the process was that in the plasma-chemical reactor conditions were created which stimulated the condensation of the products of incomplete oxidation of methane that resulted in the formation of aerosol even from nonsaturated vapor. The removal of intermediate reagents from the gaseous phases into the aerosol prevented them from further oxidation. Depending on the experimental conditions, the mass percentage of the components of the condensate formed varied within the following limits: formic acid from 20 to 40%, methanol from 8 to 15%, methylformate from 4 to 8%, and water from 40 to 60%. The conversion process has been realized on a laboratory setup of average power up to 1 kW. In the single-pass mode, a 57% degree of conversion of the mixture has been achieved. The energy value of the condensate is 15–20 kWh/kg.     

Fast solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry procedure for oil fingerprinting. Application to the Prestige oil spill

A rapid and simple fractionation procedure using solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges was developed for an accurate determination of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum residues and further application in chemical fingerprinting of oil spills by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Among the adsorbents evaluated, SiO2/C3-CN exhibited the best selectivity, providing, by elution with n-hexane (4 ml) and n-hexane-CH2Cl2 (1:1) (5 ml), two well-resolved aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon fractions, with recoveries of 97 +/- 7.2 and 99.7 +/- 13.9%, respectively. The SPE fractionation procedure was compared with the conventional silica-alumina adsorption chromatography showing similar results but practical advantages in terms of reproducibility, analysis time, solvent reduction and cost. Moreover, is particularly suitable for routine analysis with a high sample throughput. The developed methodology was tested in the characterization of fuel-oil samples collected along the Spanish north-west coast, after the Prestige oil spill accident.     

MoO3和Nb2O5助剂对Pt/ZrO2催化剂上短链烷烃燃烧反应的不同促进作用

贵金属Pt催化剂具有高活性和热稳定性,广泛应用于催化挥发性有机物的完全氧化反应(燃烧反应).短链烷烃(甲烷、乙烷、丙烷等)化学性质稳定,是最难氧化的一类有机物,常用作考察燃烧反应催化剂性能的模型反应物.然而,目前报道的研究工作通常仅限于针对某一种烷烃底物的催化燃烧,系统考察催化剂以及助剂对不同短链烷烃的催化燃烧活性鲜有报道.在短链烷烃中,甲烷只有C–H键;而其它烷烃除了C–H键;还有C–C键.因此,研究催化剂对甲烷、乙烷和丙烷燃烧反应催化性能的差异性,对于认识催化剂上C–H键和C–C键的活化具有非常重要的意义.本文制备了MoO3或Nb2O5修饰的Pt/ZrO2催化剂并用于短链烷烃的燃烧反应.研究发现,MoO3助剂对甲烷燃烧有明显的抑制作用,但对乙烷,丙烷和正己烷燃烧反应具有促进作用,促进作用随着烷烃碳链的增长逐渐增加;Nb2O5助剂对甲烷、乙烷、丙烷和正己烷燃烧反应均具有促进作用,然而促进作用随着碳链的增长而逐渐减弱.MoO3和Nb2O5助剂的不同促进作用与助剂影响催化剂表面酸性以及Pt物种的氧化或还原态有关.NH3-TPD结果表明,MoO3助剂可以显著增加Pt/ZrO2催化剂表面强酸位点数量,而Nb2O5助剂可以显著增加Pt/ZrO2催化剂表面中强酸位点数量.HTEM结果表明,两种助剂的添加都不会明显改变Pt物种的颗粒尺寸.在Pt-Mo/ZrO2催化剂上,MoO3覆盖部分Pt物种形成丰富的Pt-MoO3界面,促进了金属Pt物种和强表面酸性位点的生成,提高了丙烷燃烧反应活性;Pt-Nb/ZrO2催化剂上载体表面的部分Nb2O5被Pt物种包覆,使得生成的表面Pt-Nb2O5界面低于Pt-Mo/ZrO2催化剂,但由于催化剂表面酸性位的提升,也促进了丙烷燃烧反应活性的提高.XPS结果表明,在甲烷燃烧反应中,Pt-Nb/ZrO2催化剂上Ptn+物种能够更加稳定地存在,这可能是Nb2O5助剂提高Pt-Nb/ZrO2催化剂上甲烷燃烧活性的关键.而Pt-Mo/ZrO2催化剂上Ptn+物种在甲烷反应中可以更容易地被还原,并且由于MoO3的包裹导致暴露的Pt位点数量降低,使催化剂催化甲烷燃烧的活性受到抑制.可见,MoO3助剂更有利于C–C键活化,而Nb2O5助剂更有利于高键能的C–H键活化.综上,本文系统性地研究MoO3助剂和Nb2O5助剂对Pt/ZrO2催化剂上不同短链烷烃的燃烧反应的影响,证实了两种助剂的促进作用与碳链长度的关系是截然不同的.     

Microemulsions: Effect of alkyl chain length of alcohol and alkane

In microemulsions consisting of four components, i.e. detergent — water — oil — cosurfactant, the free energy of transfer from the continuous oil phase to the interfacial region for the cosurfactant is reported. From the effect of temperature on the free energy, the entropy and the enthalpy values are also reported. The effect of chain length of the alcohol (cosurfactant) is also described. It is further shown, that if the oil phase consists of hexadecane, then the free energy changes as a linear function of the number of carbon atoms in the cosurfactant. On the other hand, if the oil phase is benzene, the cosurfactant chain length has very little effect. These data are analyzed with respect to the microemulsion structure and stability.