Stereoselective Isomerization of Unsymmetrical Diallyl Ethers to Allyl (E)-Vinyl Ethers by a Cationic Iridium Catalyst

The stereoselective isomerization of unsymmetrical diallyl ethers to allyl (E)-vinyl ethers was carried out in the presence of a cationic iridium(I) catalyst. The catalyst prepared in situ by treating [Ir(cod)(PPh₂Me)₂]PF₆ with hydrogen was found to be an excellent catalyst to selectively isomerize the less substituted allyl group to an (E)-vinyl ether.     

Nb-TiO2 supported Pt cathode catalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

The Nb-doped TiO₂ nanostructure (Nb-TiO₂) was prepared as a support of metal catalyst in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Using the Nb-TiO₂ nanostructure support, we prepared the Nb-TiO₂ supported catalyst. The Nb-TiO₂ supported Pt catalyst (Pt/Nb-TiO₂) showed the well dispersion of Pt catalysts (∼3 nm) on the Nb-TiO₂ nanostructure supports (∼10 nm). The Pt/Nb-TiO₂ showed an excellent catalytic activity for oxygen reduction compared with carbon supported Pt cathode catalyst. The enhanced catalytic activity of Pt/Nb-TiO₂ in electrochemical half cell measurement may be mainly due to well dispersion of Pt nanoparticles on Nb-TiO₂ nanosized supports. In addition, from XANES spectra of Pt L edge obtained with the supported catalysts, the improved catalytic activity of Pt/Nb-TiO₂ for oxygen reduction may be caused by an interaction between oxide support and metal catalyst.     

ZrOCl2·8H2O as an efficient and recyclable catalyst for the clean synthesis of xanthenedione derivatives under solvent-free conditions

ZrOCl₂·8H₂O was found to be an efficient and recyclable catalyst for the reaction of aromatic aldehydes with dimedone to afford 1,8-dioxo-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydroxanthenes under solvent-free conditions. Short reaction time, excellent yields and simple work-up are the advantages of this procedure. The interaction obtained from XRD studies was shown that the catalyst loses H₂O during the reaction but it did not affect catalytic activity of the catalyst and the catalyst could be reused several times.     

From Surface‐Inspired Oxovanadium Silsesquioxane Models to Active Catalysts for the Oxidation of Alcohols with O2—The Cinnamic Acid/Metavanadate System

Silsesquioxane dioxovanadate(V) complexes were investigated with respect to their potential as a catalyst for the oxidative dehydrogenation of alcohols with O₂ as an oxidant. The turnover frequencies determined were comparatively low, but during the oxidation of cinnamic alcohol an increase in activity was observed in the course of the process, which was inspected more closely. It turned out that during the oxidation of cinnamic alcohol, not only was the aldehyde formed but also cinnamic acid, which in turn reacts with the silsesquioxane complex employed to give NBu₄[O₂V(O₂CC₂H₂Ph)₂], which can also be obtained from NBu₄VO₃ and cinnamic acid and represents a far more active catalyst, not only for cinnamic alcohol but also for other activated alcohols and hydrocarbons. The rate‐determining step of the conversion corresponds to an hydrogen‐atom abstraction from the C? H units, as shown by the determination of the kinetic isotope effect in case of 9‐hydroxyfluorene, and the reoxidation of the reduced catalyst proceeds via a peroxo intermediate, which is also capable of oxidizing one alcohol equivalent. Furthermore the influence of the organic residues at the carboxylate ligands on the catalyst performance was investigated, which showed that the activity increases with decreasing pK_s value. Moreover, it was found that during the oxidation the catalyst slowly decomposes, but can be regenerated by addition of excessive carboxylic acid.     

Ni2+ supported on hydroxyapatite-core-shell γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles: a novel,highly efficient and reusable lewis acid catalyst for the regioselective azidolysis of epoxides in water

In this research, Ni²⁺ supported on hydroxyapatite-core-shell magnetic γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles (γ-Fe₂O₃@HAp-Ni²⁺) as a novel, efficient, reusable and heterogeneous catalyst was reported. In this protocol, we used this catalyst for the ring opening of epoxide with sodium azide in water. The catalyst can be readily isolated using an external magnet and no obvious loss of activity was observed when the catalyst was reused in seven consecutive runs. The mean size and the surface morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscope, vibrating sample magnetometry, X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared techniques.     

Synthesis of Pb(OH)2/rGO Catalyst for Conversion of Sugar to Lactic Acid in Water

Conversion of sugars from biomass to platform chemicals or fuels is an attracting topic for the utilization of biomass. Pb²⁺ ion is an efficient catalyst for the degradation of sugar to lactic acid, and it will be better to fix lead on a solid catalyst to reduce the risk of exposure of Pb²⁺ to environment. Here, a simple method has been developed to prepare a composite catalyst of Pb(OH)₂/rGO, where the nanoparticles of Pb(OH)₂ in size of 2-5 nm were prepared and fixed over the as-prepared reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets. The as-obtained catalyst showed an efficient catalytic activity to degrade glucose, fructose, and cellulose in aqueous solution, and the major product is lactic acid. The yield of lactic acid reached 58.7% when fructose was used as the feedstock (433 K and 2.5 MPa N₂), and the catalyst can be recycled with high activity. Cellulose can also be directly converted into lactic acid in aqueous solution over the catalyst without extra acid or alkali, and the maximum yield of lactic acid is 31.7%.     

Aqueous-Phase Nitrile Hydration Catalyzed by an In Situ Generated Air-Stable Ruthenium Catalyst

RuCl₂(PTA)₄ (PTA=1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane) is an active, recyclable, air-stable, aqueous-phase nitrile hydration catalyst. The development of an in situ generated aqueous-phase nitrile hydration catalyst (RuCl₃⋅3 H₂O+6 equivalents PTA) is reported. The activity of the in situ catalyst is comparable to RuCl₂(PTA)₄. The effects of [PTA] on the activity of the reaction were investigated: the catalytic activity, in general, increases as the pH goes up, which shows a positive correlation with [PTA]. The pH effects were further explored for both the in situ and RuCl₂(PTA)₄ catalyzed reaction in phosphate buffer solutions with particular attention given to pH 6.8 buffer. Increased catalytic activity was observed at pH 6.8 versus water for both systems with turnover frequency (TOF) up to 135 h⁻¹ observed for RuCl₂(PTA)₄ and 64 h⁻¹ for the in situ catalyst. Catalyst loading down to 0.001 mol % was examined with turnover numbers as high as 22 000 reported. Similar to the preformed catalyst, RuCl₂(PTA)₄, the in situ catalyst could be recycled more than five times without significant loss of activity from either water or pH 6.8 buffer.     

A novel CNT@SnO2 core–sheath nanocomposite as a stabilizing support for catalysts of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Mesoporous SnO₂ coated carbon nanotube (CNT) core–sheath nanocomposite, CNT@SnO₂, was prepared by a hydrothermal method and proposed as a catalyst support for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The CNT@SnO₂ and its supported Pt catalyst, Pt/(CNT@SnO₂), were characterized by TEM, XRD, cyclic voltammetry, and polarization curves. The CNT@SnO₂ composite showed a much lower anodic current than the CNT, especially at high potentials, indicating the CNT@SnO₂ was more corrosion resistant. The Pt/(CNT@SnO₂) catalyst was electrochemically active and exhibited comparable activity for the oxygen reduction reaction to the CNT supported catalyst (Pt/CNT). More importantly, the long-term stability of the Pt/(CNT@SnO₂) catalyst was significantly higher than that of the Pt/CNT catalyst, which might be mainly due to the fact that the CNT@SnO₂ was more corrosion resistant and mesoporous SnO₂ was beneficial to restrict the Pt migration and aggregation. Consequently, the CNT@SnO₂ would be a promising durable catalyst support for PEMFCs.     

磁性Fe3O4/石墨烯Photo-Fenton催化剂的制备及其催化活性

采用共沉淀法制备磁性Fe3O4/GE(石墨烯)催化剂,实现Fe3O4纳米颗粒生长和氧化石墨烯还原同步进行,采用FTIR、XRD、TEM及低温氮吸附-脱附等对Fe3O4/GE纳米催化剂的物相、颗粒粒径及比表面积进行了表征。在H2O2存在条件下,以亚甲基蓝为目标降解物,考察了在模拟太阳光下Fe3O4/GE的催化活性,当氧化石墨烯与Fe3O4的质量比为1∶10时,经过2 h催化反应,在pH=6条件下,对亚甲基蓝的降解率达到98.7%,经过10次循环使用后对染料溶液的降解率仍保持在95.7%以上,明显优于纯的Fe3O4。     

A highly reactive and magnetic recyclable catalyst based on silver nanoparticles supported on ferrite for N‐monoalkylation of amines with alcohols

Fe₃O₄@SiO₂‐Ag catalyst was found to be highly active and selective in the N ‐alkylation of amines with a variety of aromatic and linear alcohols. The heterogeneous nature of the Fe₃O₄@SiO₂‐Ag catalyst allows easy recovery and regeneration by applying an external magnet for six subsequent reaction cycles. The prepared catalyst was characterized using electron microscopy techniques, X‐ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry and atomic absorption spectroscopy.     

A novel vapor phase process for aromatic ketone synthesis

The vapor phase catalytic reaction between aromatic carboxylic acid and acetic acid was investigated. Many metal oxides catalyzed the reaction between 2methylbenzoic acid (OTA) and acetic acid (AA) to produce 2methylacetophenone (OMA), and weakly acidic oxides such as Th, U, Ce, and La oxide exhibited higher yield of OMA. The OMA yield depended on the catalyst support. SiO₂, Al₂O₃, TiO₂, and ZrO₂ with a surface area of less than 200 m² g^–1 appeared to be suitable as industrial catalyst supports. CeO₂ on Al₂O₃was chosen as an industrial catalyst for the synthesis of OMA because of higher productivity, longer catalyst life, and lifting of legal restrictions on catalyst handling. This catalyst system can also be applied to the syntheses of acetophenone, nitroacetophenone, and chloroacetophenone.     

Chemo-bio catalyzed synthesis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>-1-phenylethyl acetate over bimetallic PdZn catalysts,lipase, and Ru/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>. part I

One-pot synthesis of R-1-phenyethylacetate at 70°C was investigated using three different catalysts simultaneously, namely a bimetallic PdZn/Al₂O₃ as a hydrogenation catalyst, an immobilized lipase as an acylation catalyst and Ru/Al₂O₃ as a racemization catalyst. The most active bimetallic catalyst was PdZn/Al₂O₃ calcined at 300°C and reduced at 400°C, whereas the most selective although less active catalyst was the one being calcined and reduced at 500°C. The highest selectivity to R-1-phenylethyl acetate over this catalyst was 32 at 48% conversion. Ru/Al₂O₃ was confirmed to have a positive effect on the formation of the desired product, although it was not very active in the racemization during one-pot synthesis.     

Highly selective reduction of no in excess oxygen through the intermediate addition of reductant between oxidation and reduction catalysts

Intermediate addition of reductant (named an IAR method) into a NO+O₂ stream between an oxidation catalyst of NO to NO₂ and a reduction catalyst of NOx to N₂ has been evidenced to be a very effective method to selectively reduce NO to N₂ in the presence of excess oxygen. Here Pt-MFI has been employed as an oxidation catalyst, Na-, Mg-, Ca-, Ba-, Zn-and In-MFI have been examined as the reduction catalysts and the reductant was ethene. The combination of Pt-and Zn-MFI was the most effective. The efficiency of ethene, namely the molar ratio of the amount of NO reduced to that of ethene consumed, reached 1.9 and was much higher than 1.4 of conventional reduction on Cu-MFI.     

非负载型铁催化剂上二氧化碳加氢制低碳烯烃

研究了非负载型铁催化剂上CO₂加氢制低碳烯烃反应.结果显示,添加碱金属可显著提高铁催化剂上的CO₂转化率和烯烃选择性.在经K和Rb修饰的Fe催化剂上,CO₂转化率可达约40%,烯烃选择性达到50%以上,其中C₂~C₄烯烃收率超过10%.催化剂表征结果表明,碱金属促进了催化剂中碳化铁的生成,这可能是催化剂性能提高的一个关键原因.随着K含量由1 wt%增加至5 wt%,CO₂转化率及烯烃选择性均升高.但K含量过高时,催化剂活性降低.这可能是由于催化剂比表面积和CO₂化学吸附量降低所致.当K含量为5%~10%时,K-Fe催化剂上烯烃收率较高; 进一步添加适量的硼可进一步提高烯烃选择性,且CO₂转化率下降不大.     

Water‐Enhanced Synthesis of Higher Alcohols from CO2 Hydrogenation over a Pt/Co3O4 Catalyst under Milder Conditions

The effect of water on CO₂ hydrogenation to produce higher alcohols (C₂–C₄) was studied. Pt/Co₃O₄, which had not been used previously for this reaction, was applied as the heterogeneous catalyst. It was found that water and the catalyst had an excellent synergistic effect for promoting the reaction. High selectivity of C₂–C₄ alcohols could be achieved at 140 °C (especially with DMI (1,3‐dimethyl‐2‐imidazolidinone) as co‐solvent), which is a much lower temperature than reported previously. The catalyst could be reused at least five times without reducing the activity and selectivity. D₂O and ¹³CH₃OH labeling experiments indicated that water involved in the reaction and promoted the reaction kinetically, and ethanol was formed via CH₃OH as an intermediate.     

Generation of sulfate radicals by supported ruthenium catalyst for phenol oxidation in water

In this study we report the preparation of RuO₂/Fe₃O₄@nSiO₂@mSiO₂ core–shell powder mesoporous catalyst for heterogeneous oxidation of phenol by peroxymonosulfate (PMS) as oxidant. The properties of this supported catalyst were characterized by SEM–EDS (scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), XRD (powder X-ray diffraction), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), and nitrogen adsorption–desorption. It is found that using ruthenium oxide-based catalyst is highly effective in activating PMS for related sulfate radicals. The effects of catalyst loading, phenol concentration, PMS concentration, reaction temperature, and reusability of the as-prepared catalyst on phenol degradation were investigated. In RuO₂/Fe₃O₄@nSiO₂@mSiO₂ mesoporous catalyst, Oxone (PMS) was effectively activated and 100 % phenol degradation occurred in 40 min. The magnetic RuO₂/Fe₃O₄@nSiO₂@mSiO₂ catalyst was facility separated from the solution by an external magnetic field. To regenerate the deactivated catalyst and improve its catalytic properties, three different methods involving annealing in air, washing with water, and applying ultrasonics were used. The catalyst was recovered thoroughly by heat treatment.     

Immobilized palladium on surface-modified Fe3O4/SiO2 nanoparticles: as a magnetically separable and stable recyclable high-performance catalyst for Suzuki and Heck cross-coupling reactions

A palladium-based catalyst (Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/HPG–OPPh₂–PNP) supported on chlorodiphenylphosphine-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles was successfully prepared from Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ with sequential attachment of glycerol and chlorodiphenylphosphine, followed by treatment of an ethanolic solution of palladium chloride with hydrazine. The as-prepared catalyst was characterized by ICP-AES, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TEM. The Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/HPG–OPPh₂–PNP was found as a magnetically separable and highly active catalyst for Suzuki coupling reactions of aryl iodides, bromides, and chlorides as well as Heck reactions of aryl iodides and bromides. Under appropriate conditions, all reactions afforded the desired products in moderate to excellent yields. Moreover, this catalyst can be easily recovered by using a magnetic field and directly reused for at least six cycles without significant loss of its activity.     

Influence of H2O on alternating copolymerization with the EtnAlCl3-n-VOCl3 catalyst system

The effect of the catalytic amount of H₂O was investigated with the Et_nAlCl_3-n-VOCl₃ catalyst system on the alternating copolymerization of acrylic monomers with diolefins and styrene. The presence of the catalytic amount of H₂O produced an improvement in the yield and in the molecular weight as well as the structure of copolymer with the Et_nAlCl_3-n-VOCl₃ catalyst system. The efficiency of the aluminum components in the Et_nAlCl_3-n-VOCl₃ system appears with AlEt₃ and especially with Et_1.5AlCl_1.5. The catalytic activity was found to depend upon the H₂O Et_nAlCl_3-n molar ratio and was also affected by the order of mixing of the catalyst components and the monomers. Effective catalyst could be prepared when the catalyst components (except VOCl₃) were premixed without presence of monomers. The possible catalytic behavior of H₂O was discussed.     

Ni-based catalyst derived from Ni/Mg/Al hydrotalcite-like compounds and its activity in the methanation of carbon monoxide

The supported Ni-based catalyst is widely used in the methanation process. Nevertheless, the major disadvantages of this catalyst are a poor behavior in the water-gas-shift (WGS) reaction and the deactivation at higher temperatures. A new kind of catalyst, nickel-containing oxides catalyst (NiMgAl), obtained from thermal treatment of hydrotalcite-like compounds (HTlcs) was prepared using the co-precipitation method. The performance of this catalyst was systematically investigated and compared with that of the Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst. It was found that the NiMgAl catalyst shows an enhanced methanation activity compared to that of the Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst and the former catalyst shows a better performance for the methanation especially at temperature over 550°C. Three NiMgAl catalysts with different nickel content were prepared and tested in the methanation operated at a GHSV of 15000 h^?1 and n(H₂)/n(CO) of 1.5. The results indicate that with the NiMg8 catalyst a higher activity and stability could be achieved than with the NiMg5 and NiMg6 samples, the effect mainly attributed to a higher extent of Ni dispersion was confirmed by XRD results.     

Aqueous/organic biphasic hydroformylation of 1‐octene catalyzed by Co2(CO)8/Ph2P(CH2CH2O)nMe

The aqueous/organic biphasic hydroformylation of 1‐octene catalyzed by Co₂(CO)₈/Ph₂P(CH₂CH₂O)_nMe, an in situ formed thermoregulated phase‐transfer cobalt catalyst, has been developed. The catalyst activity in this biphasic system was as high as that in the homogeneous system. The yield of oxo‐products was 93% when the reaction was carried out at 180 °C and under 4.0 MPa syngas pressure for 20 h. The catalyst could be easily recovered in the aqueous phase by decanting after the reaction system was cooled, and reused in consecutive reaction without any treatment. The loss of Co in the organic phase was less than 1% on average of five successive runs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.