Coupling Reactions of Alkynyl Indoles and CO2 by Bicyclic Guanidine: Origin of Catalytic Activity?

Density functional theory calculations were used to investigate the three possible modes of activation for the coupling of CO₂ with alkynyl indoles in the presence of a guanidine base. The first of these mechanisms, involving electrophilic activation, was originally proposed by Skrydstrup et al. (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed . 2015 , 54 , 6682). The second mechanism involves the nucleophilic activation of CO₂. Both of these electrophilic and nucleophilic activation processes involve the formation of a guanidine‐CO₂ zwitterion adduct. We have proposed a third mechanism involving the bifunctional activation of the bicyclic guanidine catalyst, allowing for the simultaneous activation of the indole and CO₂ by the catalyst. We demonstrated that a second molecule of catalyst is required to facilitate the final cyclization step. Based on the calculated turnover frequencies, our newly proposed bifunctional activation mechanism is the most plausible pathway for this reaction under these experimental conditions. Furthermore, we have shown that this bifunctional mode of activation is consistent with the experimental results. Thus, this guanidine‐catalyzed reaction favors a specific‐base catalyzed mechanism rather than the CO₂ activation mechanism. We therefore believe that this bifunctional mechanism for the activation of bicyclic guanidine is typical of most CO₂ coupling reactions.     

Electrosynthesis of biologically active dicycloalkyl di- and trisulfides involving an H<Subscript>2</Subscript>S—S<Subscript>8</Subscript> redox system

Biologically active dicycloalkyl di- and trisulfides were prepared by the reactions of cycloalkanes C₅—C₇ with H₂S and S₈ under the anodic (cathodic) activation of hydrogen sulfide. In dichloromethane, the electrochemical activation of H₂S in the presence of sulfur can generate sulfur-centered radical intermediates that react with cycloalkanes at room temperature. The current yield of di- and trisulfides depends on the method of redox activation of hydrogen sulfide, the concentration of sulfur, and the time of electrosynthesis. The anodic activation of hydrogen sulfide in the synthesis of dicycloalkyl di- and trisulfides in an excess S8 is more efficient than the cathodic activation. In the series of cycloalkanes C₅—C₇, the highest yield of sulfur-containing products is observed for cycloheptane.     

Sorption and Textural Properties of Activated Carbon Derived from Charred Beech Wood

The aim of this study was to prepare activated carbon materials with different porous structures. For this purpose, the biomass precursor, beech wood, was carbonized in an inert atmosphere, and the obtained charcoal was physically activated using carbon dioxide at 1273 K. Different porous structures were obtained by controlling the time of the activation process. Prepared materials were characterized in terms of textural (N₂ sorption at 77 K), structural (XRD), and sorption properties (CO₂, C₂H₄, C₄H₁₀). The shortest activation time resulted in a mostly microporous structure, which provided a high sorption of CO₂. Increasing the activation time led to an increasing of the pores’ diameters. Therefore, the highest ethene uptake was obtained for the material with an intermediate activation time, while the highest butane uptake was obtained for the material with the highest activation time.     

Silylenes and germylenes: The activation of H-H bond in hydrogen molecule

Possible mechanisms of activation reactions of H₂ with a variety of acyclic and cyclic silylenes and germylenes have been investigated by using the density functional theory (DFT), the second order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2), and the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) method. Calculation results demonstrate the facile occurrence of the H₂ activation reaction through a concerted mechanism. The relative reactivity of H₂ splitting is closely related to the HOMO−LUMO or the singlet-triplet gaps of silylenes and germylenes. The activation energies of H₂ split by silylenes are smaller than those by germylenes. For N-heterocyclic silylenes and germylenes with the larger singlet-triplet energy gaps, the higher activation barriers are required to reach the transition states. The cyclopenta-2,4-dienylidene silylenes and germylenes are better candidates for activation reaction of H₂ with lower activation barriers. It is also shown that the halogen (F, Cl, Br) substitutions on different ring positions of the cyclopenta-2,4-dienylidene silylenes and germylenes have little influence on the activation energies and the exothermic energies of the insertion reactions with H₂.     

Monitoring Transformations of Catalytic Active States in Photocathodes Based on MoSx Layers on CuInS2 Using In Operando Raman Spectroscopy

The electrochemical activation of CuInS₂/MoS_x for photoelectrochemical (PEC) H₂ production was revealed for the first time through in operando Raman spectroscopy. During the activation process, the initial metallic MoS_x phase was transformed to semiconducting MoS_x, which facilitates charge carrier transfer between CuInS₂ and MoS_x. Ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy suggest the existence of MoO₃ after the activation process. However, apart from contradicting these results, in operando Raman spectroscopy revealed some of the intermediate steps of the activation process.     

Catalytic Consequences of the Thermodynamic Activities at Metal Cluster Surfaces and Their Periodic Reactivity Trend for Methanol Oxidation

The periodic reactivity trend and the connection of kinetics to the thermodynamic activity of oxygen are established for the oxidation of methanol on metal clusters. First‐order rate coefficients are a single‐valued function of the O₂‐to‐CH₃OH ratio, because this ratio, together with the rate constants for O₂ and CH₃OH activation, determine the oxygen chemical potential, thus the relative abundance of active sites and bulk chemical state of the clusters. CH₃OH activation rate constants on oxygen‐covered Ag, Pt, and Pd and on RuO₂ clusters vary with the metal–oxygen binding strength in a classical volcano‐type relation, because the oxygen‐binding strength directly influences the reactivities of oxygen as H abstractors during the kinetically relevant CH₃OH activation step. The differences in oxygen thermodynamic activity lead to five orders of magnitude variation in rates (Pt>Pd>RuO₂>Ag, 373 K), because of its strong effects on the activation enthalpy and more prominently activation entropy in CH₃OH activation.     

Preparation and characterization of waste ion-exchange resin-based activated carbon for CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> capture

Waste ion-exchange resin was utilized as precursor to produce activated carbon by KOH chemical activation, on which the effects of different activation temperatures, activation times and impregnation ratios were studied in this paper. The CO₂ adsorption of the produced activated carbon was tested by TGA at 30 °C and environment pressure. Furthermore, the effects of preparation parameters on CO₂ adsorption were investigated. Experimental results show that the produced activated carbons are microporous carbons, which are suitable for CO₂ adsorption. The CO₂ adsorption capacity increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of activation temperature, activation time and impregnation rate. The maximum adsorption capacity is 81.24 mg/g under the condition of 30 °C and pure CO₂. The results also suggest that waste ion-exchange resin-based activated carbons possess great potential as adsorbents for post-combustion CO₂ capture.     

Development of activated carbon from vine shoots by physical and?chemical activation methods. Some insight into activation mechanisms

Activated carbons (ACs) are prepared from vine shoots (VS) by the method of physical activation in air, CO₂ and steam atmospheres and by the method of chemical activation with H₃PO₄, ZnCl₂ and KOH aqueous solutions. The ACs were characterized texturally by N₂ adsorption at −196 °C, mercury porosimetry, and density measurements. The method of chemical activation has been proved to be more effective than the method of physical activation to prepare ACs with a well-developed porosity. ACs with high micro- and mesopore volumes are prepared with ZnCl₂ and H₃PO₄. Using ZnCl₂, the volume of micropores is 0.62 cm³ g⁻¹ and the volume of mesopores is 0.81 cm³ g⁻¹. A greater development of macroporosity is obtained by KOH activation. The volume of macropores is as high as 1.13 cm³ g⁻¹ for the resulting AC. Yield of the process of preparation of the ACs is low for the method of chemical activation. Some insights into the performance of the activating agents in the activation process are provided.     

Rational design of FLP catalysts for reversible H2 activation: A DFT study of the geometric and electronic effects

The thermodynamics of reversible H₂ activation could be controlled by adjusting substituents of LA group and using different polar solvents, which forges a guide to design potential FLPs catalysts for reversible H₂ activation.     

Co3O4纳米晶催化氧化甲烷的理论研究：C-H键活化的晶面效应及活性中心

甲烷是一种在自然界中大量存在的原材料,在取代原油和合成重要化工产品等许多领域具有潜在的应用价值. 然而,由于CH₄中C-H键的键能特别大（约~4.5 eV）,如何实现甲烷的绿色有效转化在化学化工领域仍然是一个挑战. 本文采用密度泛函理论对Co₃O₄（001）和（011）晶面活化甲烷C-H键的机理进行了理论研究,得到了如下结论：（1） CH₄的C-H键在Co₃O₄晶面的解离具有很高的活性,只需要克服大约1 eV的能垒;（2）与Co^2＋相连的Co-O离子对是CH₄活化的活性位点,其中两个带正负电荷的离子对C-H解离起着协同作用,帮助产生Co-CH₃和O-H物种;（3）（011）面的反应活性明显大于（001）面,与实验的观察一致. 本文的计算结果表明,Co₃O₄纳米晶面对CH₄中C-H键的活化表现出明显的晶面效应和结构敏感效应,Co-O离子对活性中心对于活化惰性的C-H键发挥了关键作用.     

Influence of Temperature on Gas-Phase Toluene Decomposition in Plasma-Catalytic System

The decomposition of toluene on γ-alumina, MnO₂-alumina and Ag₂O-alumina catalysts in a plasma-catalytic reactor is tested. A comparison between catalytic, catalyst-after-plasma and catalyst-in-plasma systems is made in 150–400 °C temperature range. An Arrhenius plot is made in order to deduce the mechanism of plasma activation. It was found that there is no difference between the measured activation energy for catalytic and catalyst-after-plasma systems. On the other hand it was found that plasma could activate catalyst placed inside of the discharge. Plasma treatment decreases the activation energy for the silver-alumina catalyst but does not increase the number of active centers on the surface of Ag₂O-alumina. In case of MnO₂-alumina, the activation mechanism is different: plasma does not change the activation energy and but does increase its efficiency due to formation of additional active centers. The mechanism of catalyst activation in plasma, which includes the structural change of manganese ions, is suggested.     

Photo-thermal Cooperative Carbonylation of Ethanol with CO2 on Cu2O-SrTiCuO3-x

Carbonylation of ethanol with CO₂ as carbonyl source into value-added esters is of considerable significance and interest, while remains of great challenge due to the harsh conditions for activation of inert CO₂ in that the harsh conditions result in undesired activation of α-C−H and even cleavage of C−C bond in ethanol to deteriorate the specific activation of O−H bond. Herein, we propose a photo-thermal cooperative strategy for carbonylation of ethanol with CO₂, in which CO₂ is activated to reactive CO via photo-catalysis with the assistance of *H from thermally-catalyzed dissociation of alcoholic O−H bond. To achieve this proposal, an interfacial site and oxygen vacancy both abundant SrTiCuO_3-x supported Cu₂O (Cu₂O-SrTiCuO_3-x) has been designed. A production of up to 320 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ for ethyl formate with a selectivity of 85.6 % to targeted alcoholic O−H activation has been afforded in photo-thermal assisted gas-solid process under 3.29 W cm⁻¹ of UV/Vis light irradiation (144 °C) and 0.2 MPa CO₂. In the photo-driven activation of CO₂ and following carbonylation, CO₂ activation energy decreases to 12.6 kJ mol⁻¹, and the cleavage of alcoholic α-C−H bond has been suppressed.     

Actual activation energy of electrochemical reactions at stage charge transfer

Relationships between the actual (i.e., determined on the basis of experimental data on the dependence of the overall current on the temperature) and true activation energies of the stages are found and analyzed for the process of stage charge transfer. It is shown that in the case of a significant deviation from equilibrium and in the absence of diffusion rate limitations, the actual real activation energy is the weighted arithmetic mean of the A ₁ and (A ₂ + F _η) values (where A ₁ and A ₂ are the true real activation energies of the corresponding charge transfer stages, η is the polarization). If a pronounced limiting stage is present, the actual activation energy is determined by the value of the true activation energy of the limiting stage.     

Activation of Au–Ag Plasmonic Bimetallic Nanocatalysts with Cold Plasma: The Role of Loading Sequence of Plasmonic Metals and Discharge Atmosphere

The activation of Au–Ag plasmonic bimetallic nanocatalyst can make the nanocatalyst exhibit superior visible-light (VL) photocatalytic activity. An efficient activation of Au–Ag nanocatalyst by cold plasma requires the restructuring of Au and Ag species over catalyst surface to form Au–Ag alloy nanoparticles while suppressing agglomeration of the nanoparticles. We here report that the loading sequence of Au and Ag components on titanium dioxide (TiO₂) support during catalyst preparation and discharge atmosphere play important roles in the plasma activation. Preparation of AuAg/TiO₂ nanocatalyst by depositing Ag and Au in sequence could avoid the undesired loss of Ag component, and ensure an effective restructuring of Au and Ag species in O₂ plasma activation. Compared with the reductive (H₂) and inert (Ar and N₂) plasmas, discharge in oxidative O₂ establishes Coulomb field with the negatively charged species over catalyst surface and enable the restructuring and intimate interaction of Au and Ag species. The catalyst characterization and density functional theory calculations suggest that O₂ plasma endows AuAg/TiO₂ nanocatalyst with large numbers of Au–Ag alloy nanoparticles, small size of plasmonic nanoparticles, high density of coordinatively unsaturated sites, and high content of surface oxygen species in the activation, which facilitates the adsorption and activation of O₂, and thus CO oxidation reaction under VL irradiation.

     

Negative influence of pKa on activation energy barrier: A case study for double proton transfer reaction in inorganic acid dimers

Strength of acid can be determined by means of pK_a value. Attempts have been made to find a relationship between pK_a and activation energy barrier for a double proton transfer (DPT) reaction in inorganic acid dimers. Negative influence of pK_a is observed on activation energy (E_a) which is contrary to the general convention of pK_a. Four different levels of theories with two different basis sets have been used to calculate the activation energy barrier of the DPT reaction in inorganic acid dimers. A model based on first and second order polynomial has been created to find the relationship between activation energy for DPT reaction. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Hydrogen Sulfide Induced Carbon Dioxide Activation by Metal‐Free Dual Catalysis

The role of metal free dual catalysis in the hydrogen sulfide (H₂S)‐induced activation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and subsequent decomposition of resulting monothiolcarbonic acid in the gas phase has been explored. The results suggest that substituted amines and monocarboxylic type organic or inorganic acids via dual activation mechanisms promote both activation and decomposition reactions, implying that the judicious selection of a dual catalyst is crucial to the efficient C?S bond formation via CO₂ activation. Considering that our results also suggest a new mechanism for the formation of carbonyl sulfide from CO₂ and H₂S, these new insights may help in better understanding the coupling between the carbon and sulfur cycles in the atmospheres of Earth and Venus.     

Rate constants and transition‐state geometry of reactions of alkyl,alkoxyl, and peroxyl radicals with thiols

Enthalpy, activation energy, and rate constant of 9 alkyl, 3 acyl, 3 alkoxyl, and 9 peroxyl radicals with alkanethiols, benzenethiol, and L ‐cysteine are calculated. The intersection parabolas model is used for activation energy calculations. Depending on the structure of attacking radical, the activation energy of reactions with alkylthiols varies from 3 to 43 kJ mol^?1 for alkyl radicals, from 7 to 9 kJ mol^?1 for alkoxyl, and from 18 to 35 kJ mol^?1 for peroxyl radicals. The influence of adjacent π‐bonds on activation energy is estimated. The polar effect is found in reactions of hydroxyalkyl and acyl radicals with alkylthiols. The steric effect is observed in reactions of alkyl radicals with tert‐alkylthiols. All these factors are characterized via increments of activation energy. Quantum chemical calculations of activation energy and geometry of transition state were performed for model reactions: C^?H₃ + CH₃SH, CH₃O^? + CH₃SH, and HO₂^? + CH₃SH with using density functional theory and Gaussian‐98. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 41: 284–293, 2009     

Unexpected Vulnerability of DPEphos to C−O Activation in the Presence of Nucleophilic Metal Hydrides

C−O bond activation of DPEphos occurs upon mild heating in the presence of [Ru(NHC)₂(PPh₃)₂H₂] (NHC=N-heterocyclic carbene) to form phosphinophenolate products. When NHC=IEt₂Me₂, C−O activation is accompanied by C−N activation of an NHC ligand to yield a coordinated N-phosphino-functionalised carbene. DFT calculations define a nucleophilic mechanism in which a hydride ligand attacks the aryl carbon of the DPEphos C−O bond. This is promoted by the strongly donating NHC ligands which render a trans dihydride intermediate featuring highly nucleophilic hydride ligands accessible. C−O bond activation also occurs upon heating cis-[Ru(DPEphos)₂H₂]. DFT calculations suggest this reaction is promoted by the steric encumbrance associated with two bulky DPEphos ligands. Our observations that facile degradation of the DPEphos ligand via C−O bond activation is possible under relatively mild reaction conditions has potential ramifications for the use of this ligand in high-temperature catalysis.     

Kinetics of low temperature CO oxidation over Pt/SnO2 catalyst

In a CO−O₂ stoichiometric mixture, the kinetic parameters, reaction order, rate constant and activation energy of CO oxidation over a Pt/SnO₂ catalyst have been measured using a fixed bed flow reactor near 0°C. The results show that it is a first-order reaction. The activation energy of CO oxidation over Pt/SnO₂ prepared with SnO₂ calcined at 300°C was approximately 21 kJ/mol. The activation energy of CO oxidation over Pt/SnO₂ changed slowly with SnO₂ calcination temperature above 400°C, and reached approximately 45 kJ/mol.     

Preparation and characterization of activated carbon from cotton stalks in a two-stage process

Activated carbons are prepared from cotton stalks by chemical activation with ZnCl₂, H₂SO₄ and physical activation using CO₂ and steam-CO₂ mixture for temperatures of 750, 850 and 900 °C. The effects of activation temperature and duration time, impregnation concentration of agent, impregnation times, and physical activating agent are examined. These materials are characterized by adsorption/desorption of N₂ to determine the BET areas, thermogravimetric analysis (TG, DTA), FTIR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). ZnCl₂ under CO₂ atmosphere was found more effective than H₂SO₄ as a chemical reagent under identical conditions in terms of porosity development. The maximum BET surface area is found to be 2053 m²/g for active carbons produced with ZnCl₂ activation under CO₂ atmosphere.