Effects of Ce/Zr ratio on the structure and performances of Co-Ce_(1-x)Zx_xO_2 catalysts for carbon dioxide reforming of methane

The Co-incorporated Ce_(1-x)Zr_xO_2 catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation for carbon dioxide reforming of methane. The ratio of Ce to Zr was varied to optimize the performances of co-precipitated Co-Ce-Zr-O_x catalysts. The prepared catalysts were characterized by various physico-chemical characterization techniques including TPR, X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption at low temperature, XPS and CO_2-TPSR. The co-precipitated Co-Ce_(0.8)Zr_(0.2)O_2 sample containing 16% CoO exhibited a higher catalytic activity among the five catalysts, and the activity was maintained without significant loss during the reaction for 60 h. Under the conditions of 750 ℃, 0.1 MPa, 36000 ml/(h·g_(cat)), and CO_2/CH_4 molar ratio of 1 : 1, the CO_2 conversion over this catalyst was 75% while the CH_4 conversion was 67%. The cubic Ce_(0.8)Zr_(0.2)O_2 facilitated a higher dispersion and a higher reducibility of the cobalt component, and the apparent activation energy for Co-Ce_(0.8)Zr_(0.2)O_2 sample was 49.1 kJ/mol in the CO_2/CH_4 reforming reaction. As a result, the Co-Ce_(0.8)Zr_(0.2)O_2 sample exhibited a higher activity and stability for the reforming of CH_4 with CO_2.     

On the Structure and Chemical Bonding of Tri‐Tungsten Oxide Clusters W3On‐ and W3On (n = 7—10): W3O8 as a Potential Molecular Model for O‐Deficient Defect Sites in Tungsten Oxides

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.     

ChemInform Abstract: On the Crystal Energy and Structure of A2TinO2n+1 (A: Li,Na, K) Titanates by DFT Calculations and Neutron Diffraction.

The formation energies of the title alkali layered titanates (n = 3, 4, 6) are determined by DFT calculations for different monoclinic structure configurations.     

NMR metabolic profiling of organic and aqueous sea bass extracts: implications in the discrimination of wild and cultured sea bass

The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique was used as analytical tool to determine the complete metabolic profiling of sea bass extracts: water-soluble metabolites belonging to different classes such as sugars, amino acids, dipeptides and organic acids as well as metabolites soluble in organic solvent such as lipids, sterols and fatty acids were identified. The metabolite profiling together with a suitable statistical analysis were used to discriminate between wild and cultured sea bass samples. Preliminary results show that discrimination between wild and cultured sea bass was obtained not only using fatty acid composition but also cholesterol and phosphatidylethanolamine and some water-soluble metabolites such as choline, trimethylamine oxide, glutamine, fumaric and malic acids.     

Solid phase extraction for the speciation and preconcentration of inorganic selenium in water samples: A review

Selenium is an essential element for the normal cellular function of living organisms. However, selenium is toxic at concentrations of only three to five times higher than the essential concentration. The inorganic forms (mainly selenite and selenate) present in environmental water generally exhibit higher toxicity (up to 40 times) than organic forms. Therefore, the determination of low levels of different inorganic selenium species in water is an analytical challenge. Solid-phase extraction has been used as a separation and/or preconcentration technique prior to the determination of selenium species due to the need for accurate measurements for Se species in water at extremely low levels. The present paper provides a critical review of the published methods for inorganic selenium speciation in water samples using solid phase extraction as a preconcentration procedure. On the basis of more than 75 references, the different speciation strategies used for this task have been highlighted and classified. The solid-phase extraction sorbents and the performance and analytical characteristics of the developed methods for Se speciation are also discussed.     

Biosensors and rapid diagnostic tests on the frontier between analytical and clinical chemistry for biomolecular diagnosis of dengue disease: a review

The past decades have witnessed enormous technological improvements towards the development of simple, cost-effective and accurate rapid diagnostic tests for detection and identification of infectious pathogens. Among them is dengue virus, the etiologic agent of the mosquito-borne dengue disease, one of the most important emerging infectious pathologies of nowadays. Dengue fever may cause potentially deadly hemorrhagic symptoms and is endemic in the tropical and sub-tropical world, being also a serious threat to temperate countries in the developed world. Effective diagnostics for dengue should be able to discriminate among the four antigenically related dengue serotypes and fulfill the requirements for successful decentralized (point-of-care) testing in the harsh environmental conditions found in most tropical regions. The accurate identification of circulating serotypes is crucial for the successful implementation of vector control programs based on reliable epidemiological predictions. This paper briefly summarizes the limitations of the main conventional techniques for biomolecular diagnosis of dengue disease and critically reviews some of the most relevant biosensors and rapid diagnostic tests developed, implemented and reported so far for point-of-care testing of dengue infections. The invaluable contributions of microfluidics and nanotechnology encompass the whole paper, while evaluation concerns of rapid diagnostic tests and foreseen technological improvements in this field are also overviewed for the diagnosis of dengue and other infectious and tropical diseases as well.     

Bibliometric analysis and an overview of the application of the non-precious materials for pyrolysis reaction of plastic waste

Huge plastic consumption and depletion of fossil fuels are at the top of the world's environmental and energy challenges. The scientific community has tackled these issues through different approaches. Catalytic pyrolysis of plastic wastes to valuable products has been proved as a sustainable route which fits with the circular economy aspects. The design of catalytic materials is the central factor for performing the catalytic conversion of plastic wastes. This review aims to conduct a Bibliometric analysis of the pyrolysis of plastic wastes and non-precious-based catalysts by mapping research studies over the last fifty years. The analysis was developed via VOSviewer and RStudio tools. It showed the historical progress regarding plastic waste pyrolysis to produce valuable products and chemicals worldwide. The research shows that the top five countries with the highest citations and publications in this field were Spain, China, England, the USA and India. The Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis had the most comprehensive coverage of plastic waste. The relationship between the catalyst and the mechanism of plastic waste can influence the production yield and selectivity. The research gap and underrepresented research topics were identified, and previous research studies on developing non-precious-based catalysts that were most relevant to the current topic were reviewed and discussed. The challenges and perspectives on catalyst preparation and development for material complexity were critically discussed. Challenges of previous studies and directions for future research were provided. This report might guide the reader to take a general look at plastic waste valorization by pyrolysis and easily understand the main challenges.