Conversion of natural gas to C_2 hydrocarbons through dielectric-barrier discharge plasma catalysis

The experiments are carried out in the system of continuous flow reactors with dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) for studies on the conversion of natural gas to C2 hydrocarbons through plasma catalysis under the atmosphere pressure and room temperature. The influence of discharge frequency, structure of electrode, discharge voltage, number of electrode, ratio of H2/CH4, flow rate and catalyst on conversion of methane and selectivity of C2 hydrocarbons are investigated. At the same time, the reaction process is investigated. Higher conversion of methane and selectivity of C2 hydrocarbons are achieved and deposited carbons are eliminated by proper choice of parameters. The appropriate operation parameters in dielectric-barrier discharge plasma field are that the supply voltage is 20-40 kV (8.4-40 W), the frequency of power supply is 20 kHz, the structure of (b) electrode is suitable, and the flow of methane is 20-60 ml · min-1. The conversion of methane can reach 45%, the selectivity of C2 hydrocarbons i     

Some reactions of phenolic maleamic acids relevant to carboxypeptidase catalysis

In neutral aqueous acetonitrile, N-$\text{o}$-hydroxybenzyl-2,3-dimethylmaleamic acid is rapidly converted to N-$\text{o}$-hydroxybenzyl-2,3-dimethylmaleimide, while N-propyl-N-$\text{o}$-hydroxybenzyl-2,3-dimethylmaleamic acid is converted to dimethylmaleic anhydride; both reactions are catalyzed by the phenolic groups.     

Bowl-shaped hydrocarbons related to C60

Ab initio studies at the HF/6-31G* and B3LYP/6-31G* levels are reported for two bowl-shaped hydrocarbons related to C₆₀: C₃₀H₁₂ and C₃₆H₁₂, of C₃ and C_3v symmetry, respectively. The former has an approximate heat of formation of 211 kcal/mol. Bowl-to-bowl interconversion may occur through a planar (C_3h) form of ca. 64 kcal/mol greater energy having one imaginary vibrational frequency. The larger C₃₆H₁₂ bowl has a calculated ΔH°_f of 265 kcal/mol. Its HF/6-31G*, B3LYP/6-31G*, and MM3 bond lengths are in good agreement with a recent X-ray structure. Chemical shifts for both compounds calculated by the GIAO method are in good agreement with the measured NMR spectra. The observed ¹³C chemical shifts increase with the extent of pyramidalization. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 19: 189–194, 1998     

Direct arylation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons through palladium catalysis

We have discovered that the combination of Pd(OAc)(2)/o-chloranil can catalyze the direct C-H bond arylation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with arylboroxins that occurs selectively at the K-region. The sequential integration of Pd-catalyzed direct arylation of PAHs and FeCl(3)-mediated cyclodehydrogenation is effective in rapidly extending a parent PAH π-system with high directionality.     

Non-oxidative aromatization of C1 to C3 hydrocarbons over Pd-promoted Ga/HZSM-5 catalyst under mild conditions

The Pd-promoted Ga/HZSM-5 catalyst was prepared by impregnation method and its catalytic activity for non-oxidativearomatization of C1 to C3 hydrocarbons was assessed using a microreactor-GC system operated with temperature at 823 K andspace velocity at 410 h1.The catalyst is more catalytically active for methane conversion than Ga/HZSM-5.The massspectroscopy analyses confirmed that13CH4 was converted to aromatic products.     

Oxidative dehydrogenation of C5 hydrocarbons in the presence of hydrochloric acid

Conclusions The oxidative dehydrogenation of C₅ paraffin hydrocarbons on Fe catalysts in the presence of HCl leads mainly to the formation of unsaturated hydrocarbons, which have the same structure of the carbon skeleton as the starting hydrocarbon, in which connection the yield of olefinic hydrocarbons proved to be substantially higher (25% from isopentane and 32% from n-pentane) than the yield of dienes (respectively 15% of isoprene and 11% of piperylene).Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2599–2601, November, 1972.     

Highly effective methane conversion to aromatic hydrocarbons by means of microwave and rf-induced catalysis

Conversion of methane to higher hydrocarbon products, in particular, aromatic hydrocarbons has been achieved with good methane conversion and selectivity to aromatic products over heterogeneous catalysts using both high power pulsed microwave and rf energy. For example, under microwave irradiation > 85% conversion of methane and 60% selectivity to aromatics could be achieved. Cu, Ni, Fe and Al metallic materials are highly effective catalysts for the aromatization of methane via microwave heating; however, with a variety of supported catalysts the major products were C₂ hydrocarbons and the conversion of methane was low. The use of sponge, wire and net forms of these metal catalysts was found advantageous in effective methane conversion. The reactions are considered to be free radical in nature and to proceed through an intermediate stage involving formation of acetylene. The influence of catalyst nature and configuration, as well as the microwave and rf irradiation parameters on the reaction efficiency and product selectivity has been examined in both batch and continuous flow conditions.     

Mechanistic insights into the cis-trans isomerization of ruthenium complexes relevant to catalysis of olefin metathesis

The mechanism of the trans to cis isomerization in Ru complexes with a chelating alkylidene group has been investigated by using a combined theoretical and experimental approach. Static DFT calculations suggest that a concerted single‐step mechanism is slightly favored over a multistep mechanism, which would require dissociation of one of the ligands from the Ru center. This hypothesis is supported by analysis of the experimental kinetics of isomerization, as followed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. DFT molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the variation of geometrical parameters around the Ru center in the concerted mechanism is highly uncorrelated; the mechanism actually begins with the transformation of the square‐pyramidal trans isomer, with the Ru?CHR bond in the apical position, into a transition state that resembles a metastable square pyramidal complex with a Cl atom in the apical position. This high‐energy structure collapses into the cis isomer. Then, the influence of the N‐heterocyclic carbene ligand, the halogen, and the chelating alkylidene group on the relative stability of the cis and trans isomers, as well as on the energy barrier separating them, was investigated with static calculations. Finally, we investigated the interconversion between cis and trans isomers of the species involved in the catalytic cycle of olefin metathesis; we characterized an unprecedented square‐pyramidal metallacycle with the N‐heterocyclic carbene ligand in the apical position. Our analysis, which is relevant to the exchange of equatorial ligands in other square pyramidal complexes, presents evidence for a remarkable flexibility well beyond the simple cis–trans isomerization of these Ru complexes.     

Characterization of a commercial gas chromatography-flame ionization detection system for the in situ determination of C5-C10 hydrocarbons in ambient air

A commercial automated gas chromatograph with preconcentration on solid adsorbents (AirmoVoc HC1010) was coupled with a mass spectrometer in parallel with the flame ionization detection (FID) system and characterized for its suitability for quasi continuous measurements of atmospheric hydrocarbons (HCs) with a time resolution of 20 min. Of the 50 identified HCs in the range C5-C10, 15 elute in isolated peaks and 20 in groups of two or more HCs. The remaining 15 HCs suffer from coelution by oxygenated and halogenated compounds. Procedures to minimize and quantify the blanks and the memory from the adsorbents are described. Calibration was based on a custom-made diffusion source. The accuracy of this calibration (+/-10%, 2sigma) was verified by analysis of a certified 70-component standard (average deviation: -4.3+/-2%). During a field experiment in Summer 1998, the HC1010 system was compared with a custom-made GC system with cryogenic preconcentration and much better separation properties but lower time resolution. In ambient air, good agreement (2sigma deviation <14% or 10 ppt) was found for HCs and groups of HCs that are free from coelution with oxygenated compounds, whereas large discrepancies (in some cases more than a factor of three) were found for those HCs that coelute with oxygenated compounds, as identified by MS. Analysis of the mass spectra from those peaks via specific target ions showed much better agreement with the FID system of the reference GC within 25%.     

Comparison of quantum mechanical methods to compute the biologically relevant reactivities of cyclopenta-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

In computational studies to understand the interaction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with biomolecular systems, the semiempirical method AM 1 has been used previously to determine the geometry of the PAH and its metabolites and relevant intermediates. A number of studies have shown that AM 1 provides geometries for parent PAHs that are acceptably close to experimentally determined structures. However, many of the properties that determine the manner by which PAHs interact with biological nucleophiles depend on the structure of metabolites and reactive intermediates where less experimental information is available. In a previous study, we used AM 1 to obtain the molecular geometries of reactive intermediates of cyclopenta-PAHs (cPAHs) and then used single-point Hartree-Fock calculations, with the gaussian 3-21g basis set, to obtain molecular energies and charge distributions, in order to predict the direction of epoxide ring opening. Recent advances in the availability of computational hardware and software have provided other, more rigorous, methods for approaching this problem. In this study, we used hartree-fock methods in the gaussian series of programs employing the 3-21_g and 6-31_g basis sets and the local density functional method Dmol to obtain molecular geometries, energies, and charge distributions of the epoxides and the two potential hydroxycarbocations that could result from protonated ring opening, for a series of cPAHs. We have also performed the same calculations with AMSOL /SM 2, a semiempirical method that adds the effect of the aqueous environment to the AM 1 Hamiltonian. The division of the cPAHs into classes is not altered by these more rigorous calculations. The inclusion of water in the Hamiltonian has a greater effect on the results than using the ab initio methods to obtain the structure. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.