Trimethylsilylation of framework Brønsted acid sites in microporous zeolites and silico-aluminophosphates

Framework-bound alkoxy groups are well-studied intermediates in zeolite chemistry, but their low stability complicates their spectroscopic study in high-temperature reactions such as alkylation or dealkylation. Taking advantage of the much higher bond strength of Si-O versus C-O, we synthesized trimethylsilylated zeolites by reacting them with phenyltrimethylsilane in a catalytic flow reactor at 648 K. In favorable cases, the reaction accurately titrated the acid sites, and 29Si and 13C MAS NMR spectra of the derivatized catalysts measured at room temperature confirmed the proposed reaction.     

Elucidating the structure of surface acid sites on γ-Al2O3

Differential pair distribution function analysis was applied to resolve, with crystallographic detail, the structure of catalytic sites on the surface of nanoscale γ-Al(2)O(3). The structure was determined for a basic probe molecule, monomethylamine (MMA), bound at the minority Lewis acid sites. These active sites were found to be five-coordinate, forming distorted octahedra upon MMA binding. This approach could be applied to study the interaction of molecules at surfaces in dye-sensitized solar cells, nanoparticles, sensors, materials for waste remediation, and catalysts.     

Solid-state MAS NMR studies of Brønsted acid sites in zeolite H-Mordenite

(17)O-(1)H double resonance NMR spectroscopy was used to study the local structure of zeolite H-Mordenite. Different contact times were used in cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) NMR, CP rotational-echo double resonance (CP-REDOR) NMR, and heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) NMR spectroscopy to distinguish between Br?nsted acid sites with different O-H distances. The accessibility of the various Br?nsted acid sites was quantified by adsorbing the basic probe molecule trimethylphosphine in known amounts. On the basis of these experiments, locations of different Br?nsted acid sites in H-Mordenite (H-MOR) were proposed. The use of (17)O chemical shift correlations to help assign sites is discussed.     

An ethoxy intermediate in ethanol dehydration on Brønsted acid sites in zeolite

Acid-catalyzed ethanol dehydration on zeolite is shown to proceed via a covalent ethoxy group (C2H5O) as a stable intermediate, which was directly observed by IR spectroscopy.     

A high-surface-area silicoaluminophosphate material rich in Brnsted acid sites as a matrix in catalytic cracking

A transparent gel-like mesoporous silicoaluminophosphate material (SAP) with a Si/Al molar ratio of 20 was synthesized by hydrothermal method. The physicochemical features of SAP were characterized by XRD, XRF, BET, SEM and FT-IR spectroscopy of pyridine adsorption techniques. The results indicated that incorporation of phosphorus (P) into aluminasilica system altered the basic textural characteristics of aluminasilica. Especially after hydrothermal treatment, the material with large special surface area (up to 492 m 2 /g) exhibited a good performance on hydrothermal stability. Moreover, the phosphorus modifier can not only increase the amount of Bro¨nsted acidic sites (up to 48.44 μmol/g) and the percentage of weak acidic sites in total acidic sites, but also regulate the acid type, such as the ratio of B/L (Bro¨nsted acid/Lewis acid) increases to 1.15. The performances of samples as matrices for the catalytic cracking of heavy vacuum gas oil (VGO) were investigated. At 520 C, the catalysts showed much higher gasoline and diesel oil yields achieving to 45.59 wt% and 19.20 wt%, respectively, and lower coke selectivity (2.86%) than conventional FCC matrices, such as kaolin and amorphous silica-alumina.     

Nb2O5·nH2O as a heterogeneous catalyst with water-tolerant Lewis acid sites

Niobic acid, Nb(2)O(5)·nH(2)O, has been studied as a heterogeneous Lewis acid catalyst. NbO(4) tetrahedra, Lewis acid sites, on Nb(2)O(5)·nH(2)O surface immediately form NbO(4)-H(2)O adducts in the presence of water. However, a part of the adducts can still function as effective Lewis acid sites, catalyzing the allylation of benzaldehyde with tetraallyl tin and the conversion of glucose into 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural in water.     

17O magic angle spinning NMR studies of Brønsted acid sites in zeolites HY and HZSM-5

High-resolution 17O/1H double resonance NMR spectra were obtained for two zeolites, one with a low Si/Al ratio (zeolite HY) and one with a high Si/Al ratio (HZSM-5), to investigate their local structure and Br?nsted acidity. Two different oxygen signals, corresponding to Br?nsted acid sites in supercages and sodalite cages of zeolite HY were readily resolved in the two-dimensional (2-D) 1H-17O heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) NMR spectra allowing the 17O isotropic chemical shift (deltaCS) and quadrupolar coupling parameters (quadrupolar coupling constant, QCC, and asymmetry parameter, eta) for the two oxygen atoms to be extracted. Similar experiments for HZSM-5 showed that the sites in this system are associated with a much larger distribution in NMR parameters than found in HY. 17O-1H rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) NMR was applied to probe the O-H distances in zeolites HY and HZSM-5. Weaker 17O-1H dephasing was observed for zeolite HZSM-5 in comparison to that of HY, consistent with longer O-H bonds and/or increased proton mobility.     

Solid–liquid equilibria in the acetic acid–propanoic acid and propanoic acid–trifluoroacetic acid systems

Solid–liquid equilibria in the binary systems, propanoic acid–acetic acid and propanoic acid–trifluoroacetic acid, were measured by a synthetic method. A solid compound (1:1) was found in the propanoic acid–trifluoroacetic acid system. The obtained activity coefficients were successfully fitted by the Wilson equation.     

Why is hydrofluoric acid a weak acid?

The infrared vibrational spectra of amorphous solid water thin films doped with HF at 40 K reveal a strong continuous absorbance in the 1000-3275 cm(-1) range. This so-called Zundel continuum is the spectroscopic hallmark for aqueous protons. The extensive ionic dissociation of HF at such low temperature suggests that the reaction enthalpy remains negative down to 40 K. These observations support the interpretation that dilute HF aqueous solutions behave as weak acids largely due to the large positive reaction entropy resulting from the structure making character of the hydrated fluoride ion.     

Quantitative measurement of the Brönsted acid sites in solid acids: toward a single-site design of Mo-modified ZSM-5 zeolite

On the basis of our previous H/D exchange studies devoted to the quantification of the number of Br?nsted acid sites in solid acids, we report here an innovative approach to determine both the amount and the localization of Mo atoms inside the Mo/ZSM-5 catalyst, commonly used for the methane dehydroaromatization reaction. The influence of Mo introduction in the MFI framework was studied by means of BET, X-ray diffraction, 27Al magic angle spinning NMR, NH3 temperature-programmed desorption, and H/D isotopic exchange techniques. A dependence was found between the decrease of acidic OH groups and the Mo content. Depending on the Si/Al ratio of the zeolite, i.e., the proximity of two Br?nsted acid sites, the Mo atoms substitute a different number of OH groups. Consequently, a chemical structure was proposed to describe the geometry of the Mo complex in the channels of the ZSM-5 zeolite.     

Lanthanide–actinide separation by bis-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid from citric acid–nitric acid medium

Phosphate rock (Pho-ore) is the starting raw material used in manufacturing of most phosphate products. This material contains phosphorous, natural uranium, thorium potassium radionuclide and other trace elements. Single super phosphate powder (SSPho-P), single super phosphate granules (SSPho-G), and triple super phosphate (TSPho) are the common phosphate products produced along with phosphogypsym (CaSO₄) as a waste product. Since these materials are industrially manufactured by the reaction of the phosphate ore with phosphoric and sulphuric acids, these products and the waste product are extremely acidic. Pho-ore, SSPho-P, SSPho-G, TSPho and CaSO₄ samples were used in our study. Chemical analyses showed that these phosphate samples contain phosphorous, iron, aluminum ions and traces of uranium ions. Accumulation of the fertilizers on soils usually transfers some of these ions from the fertilizer materials to the soil/water interfaces. The migration of uranium U(VI), P, Al and Fe in subsurface soils was found to be strongly influenced by the sorption/desorption reaction at the solid/water interfaces. Thus, dissolution of these ions in soil/water phases is very important. Speciation of U(VI), P, Al and Fe in soil/water phases were calculated using a geochemical code (MINTEQA2). This study was conducted to determine sorption properties and the surface electrical properties of these ions at the soil samples.     

Brønsted acid sites in metal-containing solid acids: from quantification to molecular design of new catalysts/silver(I)-polyoxometalates

Based on H/D isotope exchange studies devoted to the quantification of the number of Br?nsted acid sites in solid acids, we report herein an innovative approach to determine the amount of silver cations present in Keggin-type polyoxometalates (POM). The molecular design of these bifunctional heteropolyacids can therefore be achieved by varying the Ag(+)versus H(+) exchange ratio in the starting mixture. Consequently, the stoichiometries of Ag(x)H(4-x)SiW??O?? POM were ascertained for 0 < x < 4 by the H/D exchange technique.     

Are stone-wales defect sites always more reactive than perfect sites in the sidewalls of single-wall carbon nanotubes?

Density functional computations show, in contrast to general assumptions, that the reactions at the 7-7 ring fusions of Stone-Wales defects in the sidewalls of armchair (5,5) single-wall carbon nanotubes are much less exothermic than reactions at perfect sites. In addition, the peripheral 5-6 and 6-7 ring fusions of the defect are much more reactive.     

α-n-hydroxyamino acid derivatives

Reactions of organolithium reagents with glyoxylate derived oximes provided a direct route to α-N-hydroxyamino acids. The process required direct attachment of an ionizable group to the glyoxylate carbonyl to prevent competitive reactions. The procedure allowed for direct formation of the α-chiral center of the newly formed α-N-hydroxyamino acid derivative. Introduction of potential chiral auxiliaries on the oxime oxygen resulted in modest diastereoselection. In most instances, use of chiral glyoxylamides also gave low diastereoselectivity.     

Phenyl­phosphinic acid

The crystal structure of the title compound, C₆H₇O₂P, shows continuous hydrogen-bonding chains in the x direction, with a P—O⋯O=P distance of 2.513 (3) Å.     

A path integral molecular dynamics study on intermolecular hydrogen bond of acetic acid–arsenic acid anion and acetic acid–phosphoric acid anion clusters

We apply ab initio path integral molecular dynamics simulation employing ωB97XD as the quantum chemical calculation method to acetic acid–arsenic acid anion and acetic acid–phosphoric acid anion clusters to investigate the difference of the hydrogen bond structure and its fluctuation such as proton transfer. We found that the nuclear quantum effect enhanced the fluctuation of the hydrogen bond structure and proton transfer, which shows treatment of the nuclear quantum effect was essential to investigate these systems. The hydrogen bond in acetic acid–arsenic acid anion cluster showed characters related to low-barrier hydrogen bonds, while acetic acid–phosphoric acid anion cluster did not. We found non-negligible distinction between these two systems, which could not be found in conventional calculations. We suggest that the difference in amount of atomic charge of the atoms consisting the hydrogen bond is the origin of the difference between acetic acid–arsenic acid and acetic acid–phosphoric acid anion cluster. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Biodegradation of β-1,4-linked polyglucuronic acid (cellouronic acid)

Biodegradability of -1,4-linked polyglucuronic acid (cellouronicacid), which was prepared from regenerated cellulose by2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation underaqueous conditions, was examined by enzymatic treatments and incubationtreatments with microorganisms collected from some soil samples. Degradation ofcellouronic acid was traced by size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) or totalorganic carbon (TOC) of the treated products or solutions, respectively.Cellouronic acid was depolymerized by a commercial crude cellulase anddecreasedin its weight average degree of polymerization from about 1600 to 40 by thecellulase treatment at 20 °C for 40 days. ¹³C-NMRanalysis and liquid chromatography of the treated products showed thathydrolysis-type enzymes present in the crude cellulase as contaminantsprimarilydepolymerized cellouronic acid to give glucuronic acid. When aqueous solutionscontaining cellouronic acid were incubated with soil microorganisms for morethan 3 days, the TOC values decreased to less than 20% of the initial value,depending on molecular weight of the cellouronic acid used. The decreasing rateof TOC for cellouronic acid was clearly higher than that ofcarboxymethylcellulose, which is one of the cellulose derivatives havingcarboxymethyl substituents. These results imply that cellouronic acid has bothbiodegradability and metabolizability in the natural environment.     

Synthesis and properties of fibers prepared from lactic acid–glycolic acid copolymer

A method for preparing laboratory samples of fibers from glycolide-co-D,L-lactide to produce bioresorbing suture filaments with a controlled complex of properties is developed. The morphology of fibers obtained through melt spinning is studied. The peculiarities of the mechanical properties of fibers are investigated.     

Formation of hyaluronic acid–ellagic acid microfiber hybrid hydrogels and their applications

Microfiber assemblies prepared from ellagic acid (EA) were functionalized with histidine (His) and dispersed in hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel microstructures. Swelling studies indicated that the hybrids had a relatively lower water uptake compared to HA and was pH dependent. The percentage swelling ratio for EA–His–HA hybrids was 48 % when 0.04 mg/mL of HA was incorporated and increased to 70 % when 1.2 mg/mL HA was integrated. Release studies using the dye crystal violet (CV) as a model drug showed that the rates were concentration-dependent. Further the hybrids were found to be thermally stable compared to HA. Cellular toxicity assays performed with normal rat kidney (NRK) cells indicated biocompatibility and adherence of the hybrids to the cells. Thus, we have developed a new family of hybrid hydrogels which readily formed on the EA–His functionalized microfibers and may have potential applications in drug delivery or tissue regeneration applications.