Hydrolysis of poly(l-lactic acid) using microwave irradiation

Poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) was hydrolyzed using microwave irradiation, and yields of the resultant lactic acid and reaction time were compared with those obtained by conventional heating. In both cases, the reaction temperature was maintained at 170 °C and the weight ratio of PLLA:H₂O was 3:1. Under conventional heating, the lactic acid yield reached saturation after 800 min at 45%, whereas only 120 min was required to reach the same yield level under microwave irradiation. The optical purity under conventional heating decreased with hydrolysis of the PLLA and dropped to 94%ee when the lactic acid yield reached at 45%. Under microwave irradiation, however, the optical purity decreased only after the equilibrium state of hydrolysis was attained. Therefore, to maintain the optical purity at 98%ee, it was necessary to stop microwave irradiation when the lactic acid yield reached 45%.     

Recyclable organotungsten Lewis acid and microwave assisted Diels-Alder reactions in water and in ionic liquids

The water-soluble, organotungsten Lewis acid, [OP(2-py)₃W(CO)(NO)₂](BF₄)₂ (1), was synthesized and characterized. A series of 1-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions were investigated under conventional heating or microwave heating conditions. The cycloaddition reactions were efficiently conducted in either water or in an ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate. The ionic liquid acts as a powerful medium not only for rate- and selectivity enhancements but also for facilitating catalyst recycling. Dramatic rate acceleration via microwave flash heating as compared to thermal heating was observed.     

A new procedure for bovine milk digestion in a focused microwave oven: gradual sample addition to pre-heated acid

Milk samples can be efficiently digested using a focused microwave oven, however the conventional procedure of addition of concentrated acids to the liquid sample leads to digestates with elevated acidity and residual carbon concentrations. In this work a focused microwave oven was applied for acid digestion of bovine milk samples using a conventional and an alternative procedure based on gradual sample addition to hot and concentrated acids. A two-level 2³ full factorial design experiment with eight runs was carried out to evaluate the optimum experimental conditions for reducing both the residual carbon and the final acidity of digestates. The three studied parameters were: temperature of the digestion medium for sample addition, addition of sulfuric acid before the sample or during the first step, and number of aliquots of the sample gradually added. The best conditions were attained by adding small aliquots of milk (ten-fold a volume of 0.5 ml added during 5.0 min) to a digestion mixture containing 3.0 ml nitric acid plus 1.0 ml sulfuric acid heated at 105 °C. It was demonstrated that the digestion efficiency of the alternative procedure was better than the conventional procedure, i.e. 98 and 80%, respectively. The alternative procedure was applied for determination of Ba, Ca, Cu, K, Mg, Na, P, and Zn in whole and non-fat bovine milk. The accuracy was proved using two certified reference materials (whole and non-fat milk powder).     

Kinetics study on the dissolution of UO<Subscript>2</Subscript> particles by microwave and conventional heating in 4 mol/L nitric acid

The dissolution of UO₂ particles in 4 mol·L⁻¹ nitric acid medium at temperatures of 90–110°C by microwave heating and conventional heating has been investigated, respectively. It is found that the dissolution ratios of UO₂ particles by microwave heating were 10%–40% higher than that by conventional heating. Kinetics research shows that the dissolution of UO₂ particles in 4 mol·L⁻¹ nitric acid is controlled by the diffusion control model for microwave heating and by the surface reaction control model for conventional heating. The diffusion control model for the dissolution of UO₂ particles by microwave heating could be explained by the diffuseness on the surface of UO₂ particles.     

Silica-supported perchloric acid and potassium bisulfate as reusable green catalysts for nitration of aromatics under solvent-free microwave conditions

Silica-supported perchloric acid and bisulfate (SiO₂/HClO₄ and SiO₂/KHSO₄) have been developed as reusable green catalysts for nitration of aromatic compounds using NaNO₂ in acetonitrile medium under conventional and solvent-free microwave conditions. The reaction times under microwave irradiation are significantly shorter than conventional method even though the yields obtained in microwave-assisted reactions are comparable with those obtained under reflux conditions.     

Spectrophotometric determination of formaldehyde with chromotropic acid in phosphoric acid medium assisted by microwave oven

In the present study, a spectrophotometric method for the determination of formaldehyde by using chromotropic acid was devised, in which the use of potentially hazardous and corrosive concentrated sulfuric acid was eliminated and advantageously replaced by a mixture of H₃PO₄ and H₂O₂. The reaction between formaldehyde and chromotropic acid (CA) in a concentrated phosphoric acid medium was accelerate by irradiating the mixture with microwave energy for 35 s (1100 W), producing a violet-red compound (λ_max=570 nm). Beer's Law is obeyed in a concentration range of 0.8-4.8 mg l⁻¹ of formaldehyde with a good correlation coefficient (r=0.9968). The proposed method was applied in the analysis of formaldehyde in commercial disinfectants. Recoveries were within 98.0-100.4%, with standard deviations ranging from 0.03 to 0.13%.     

CARO'S ACID SUPPORTED ON SILICA GEL. PART 7: A VERSATILE REAGENT FOR THE AROMATIZATION OF HANTZSCH 1,4-DIHYROPYRIDINES UNDER NON-AQUEOUS CONDITION AND MICROWAVE IRRADIATION

Efficient oxidation of 1,4-dihydropyridines with Caro's acid on silica gel is achieved under nonaqueous conditions and in a domestic microwave oven. The reactions under microwave irradiation were shorter in duration and higher in yields than the reactions in conventional method, confirming the potentiality of microwave heating in aromatization of Hantzsch 1,4-dihydropyridines.     

Sulfonated carbon catalyzed oxidation of aldehydes to carboxylic acids by hydrogen peroxide

Sulfonated carbon as a strong and stable solid acid catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance in various acid-catalyzed reactions. Here, sulfonated carbon, as catalyst for oxidation reaction, was prepared via the carbonization of starch followed by sulfonation with concentrated sulfuric acid. N₂ physisorption, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence and acid-base titration were used to characterize the obtained materials. The catalytic activity of sulfonated carbon was studied in the oxidation of aldehydes to carboxylic acids using 30 wt% H₂O₂ as oxidant. This oxidation protocol works well for various aldehydes including aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes. The sulfonated carbon can be recycled for three times without obvious loss of activity.     

A simple and efficient large-scale synthesis of 3-hydroxyphthalans via oxa-Pictet-Spengler reaction catalyzed by nanosilica sulfuric acid

Nanosilica sulfuric acid is found to be a new, powerful and reusable heterogeneous catalyst for the rapid synthesis of 3-hydroxyphthalans via condensation of aromatic aldehydes and 3-hydroxybenzyl alcohols under conventional heating and microwave irradiation. Scale-up preparation of these heterocycles is also carried out.     

A New Method of the Preparation of Imido‐bis(sulfuric acid) Dihalogenide, (F,Cl), and the Potassium Salt of Imido‐bis(sulfuric acid) Difluoride

The article describes a new and effective synthesis of pure imido‐bis(sulfuric acid) dihalogenides (halogenide = F, Cl) and the potassium salt of imido‐bis(sulfuric acid) difluoride, KN(SO₂F)₂.     

Influence of preparation method on the structure and catalytic activity of supported solid sulfuric acid

Summary FT-IR and ²⁹Si-NMR studies suggested the interaction of H₂SO₄ with the SiO₂ support in the material synthesized by the sol-gel method. ¹H-NMR results showed that the acid strength of solid sulfuric acid was almost the same as that of liquid sulfuric acid. The catalyst showed higher catalytic activity and stability than that prepared by impregnation method.     

微波辐射对TiO2制备及其光催化氧化乙醛性能的影响

采用微波辐射与常规加热法由TiO₂溶胶制备出TiO₂催化剂，采用高频低功率微波-光催化装置考察了微波对两种催化剂上CH₃CHO光催化氧化转化率和产物分布的影响。结果表明，微波干燥制备的TiO₂晶体比普通加热制备的TiO₂晶体对乙醛有更高的光催化活性和更强的氧化能力，且它们对乙醛光催化氧化的途径不同，前者的初始中间体为甲醛和甲酸，后者的初始中间体却为乙酸。还发现，微波辐射对两种样品上乙醛的光催化转化率有不同的影响，对微波辐射法所制样品的影响比对常规加热法所制样品的影响显著。微波辐射通过场效应可加速光催化初始中间体的转化，但它不改变光催化反应的途径，反应途径取决于光催化剂的特性。     

Preparation of Copper Chromite by Vaccum Freezing Drying Method and Its Catalytic Activity for Sulfuric Acid Decomposition

Iodine sulfur (IS) process is one of the most promising routes for massive and CO₂‐free hydrogen production. Among the three reactions IS process composed, decomposition of sulfuric acid is the most energy intensive step and has to be conducted in the presence of catalyst. In this work, copper chromite (CuCr₂O₄) was prepared, characterized, and used as the catalyst for sulfuric acid decomposition reaction. The co‐precipitation preparation method of CuCr₂O₄ which featured in vacuum freezing drying (VFD), was applied, and the main factors which influence the structure of CuCr₂O₄ such as pH values of the co‐precipitation solution and calcination temperature were investigated. Results showed that pH value affected the size of copper chromite granule, when pH was between 7 and 8, the size of prepared CuCr₂O₄ was in nanometer scale. Calcination temperature influenced the purity of the crystal. The samples were characterized by XRD, TEM and BET. The catalytic activity of CuCr₂O₄ prepared by VFD was evaluated and compared with CuCr₂O₄ prepared by usual co‐precipitation method and Pt/Al₂O₃. Results showed that the activity of CuCr₂O₄ was close to that of Pt catalyst, but apparently higher than that of CuCr₂O₄ prepared by usual method. In addition, it presents good stability in the 70 h test. Therefore, it was promising to be used in the sulfuric acid decomposition step of IS process.     

On the emitters of sulfuric acid sonoluminescence

A comparative study of the sonoluminescence spectra of water and argon-saturated aqueous H₂SO₄ solutions was carried out. At an H₂SO₄ concentration of 18 mol L⁻¹, the sulfuric acid sonoluminescence is fifty times more intense than water sonoluminescence. The sulfuric acid luminescence spectrum differs from the water sonoluminescence spectrum caused by the emission of excited water molecules and OH radicals from the gas phase of cavitation bubbles. The sulfuric acid sonoluminescence spectrum exhibits maxima at 330, 420, 500, and 630 nm. Emitters of sonoluminescence of sulfuric acid are the singlet (330–340 nm) and triplet (∼420 nm) excited SO₂ molecules formed by sonolysis of H₂SO₄ molecules. Another product of sonolysis of H₂SO₄, atomic oxygen, is assumed to be responsible for the luminescence at λ = 630 nm. __________ Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1742–1745, August, 2005.     

An expeditious and one-pot synthesis of unsymmetrical 2,5-disubstituted-1,3,4-oxadiazoles under microwave irradiation and solvent-free conditions

A one-pot synthesis of some unsymmetrical 2,5-disubstituted-1,3,4-oxadiazoles via cyclocondensation of benzoylhydrazines with orthoesters under solvent-free and microwave conditions are described here. The reaction is efficiently catalyzed by silica- supported sulfuric acid as it provided the title compounds in high yields and relatively short times. The catalyst is reusable and can be applied several times without considerable decrease in the yields and rates of the reactions.     

Some Comments on Fulminic Acid (Knallsäure) and a Praise to Heinrich Wieland and his Work on Organic Derivatives of Nitrogen

The structure, vibrational spectrum, the polymerization and [3+2] cycoaddition reactions of fulminic acid are discussed. In the mass spectra of the solid deposit from gaseous fulminic acid (prepared from sodium fulminate and sulfuric acid) the mass of the adduct of HCNO with hydrogen cyanide was detected, which may be formed by Huisgen 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition. As examples for Heinrich Wieland's experimental mastership the polymerization and his syntheses of fulminic acid and of explosive dinitrosomethanide [HC(NO)₂]^– are emphasized; the structure of the latter has recently been disclosed by X‐ray structure determination.     

Sulfuric acid catalyzed addition of β-dicarbonyl compounds to alcohols under conventional heating and microwave-assisted conditions

The highly efficient direct addition of β-dicarbonyl compounds to secondary alcohols has been achieved using one of the cheapest acids, H₂SO₄, as the catalyst. For a series of β-dicarbonyl compounds and various secondary alcohols, the addition reactions all complete in 5 min with high yields both under the conventional heating condition and under the microwave heating condition. The comparison of the results obtained from the microwave heating condition with those obtained from the conventional heating condition shows that no obvious specific or nonthermal microwave effects exist in the microwave-assisted addition reactions.     

Microwave-assisted SNAr reaction of 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine for the rapid synthesis of C3-symmetrical polycarboxylate ligands

The microwave-assisted S_NAr reaction of 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine with various unprotected amino acids was developed for the synthesis of C₃-symmetrical polycarboxylate ligands which can be used as structural directing units in metal-organic frameworks. The reactions were performed in water using a domestic microwave oven as the heating device. In comparison to the reactions performed under conventional heating, the reactions under microwave irradiation proceeded much more rapidly within 20 min to afford the desired ligands in comparative yields to those obtained by conventional heating.     

Tricholoroisocyanuric Acid as a Useful Reagent in Microwave‐assisted Aromatization of 1,3,5‐Trisubstituted 2‐Pyrazolines

An efficient aromatization of 1,3,5‐trisubstituted 2‐pyrazolines to their corresponding pyrazoles has been performed by tricholoroisocyanuric acid [TCCA] under microwave irradiation in excellent yields. It has been observed that the reactions occur more rapidly under microwave irradiation conditions, and the amount of the reagent TCCA consumed is considerably reduced to afford better yields when compared with conventional thermal conditions at the same temperature.     

Kinetics of the Electrocatalytic Oxidation of 2,2-Dimethylolpropionaldehyde

A new method of synthesis 2,2-dimethylolpropionic acid from 2,2-dimethylolpropionaldehyde was put forward. The electrochemical oxidation behavior of 2,2-dimethylolpropionaldehyde has been investigated on a Ti/SnO₂ + Sb₂O₄/PbO₂ electrode by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and stable polarization curves in sulfuric acid. The results showed that it was an irreversible reaction controlled by diffusion. The formation mechanism of 2,2-dimethylolpropionic acid in the sulfuric acid was then proposed and the transfer coefficients of the reaction were calculated. It was concluded that RCHO+ỌH_ads→RCHOỌH_ads was the rate-determining step in the electrolysis process. The rate of this step obtained from the assumed process agrees well with experiment.