A step forward in metal nitride and carbide synthesis: from pure nanopowders to nanocomposites

Transition metal nitrides and carbides (MN/MC) are intriguing materials due to their combination of properties that place them between high-performance ceramics and pure metals. Recent progress in easier synthetic routes toward their production as bulk or nanostructured materials explains the current surge in sustained attention such progress has been receiving. After progressing toward easier syntheses of MN/MC nanosystems as pure phases, coupling MN/MC with a second phase for the production of hybrids and nanocomposites is considered a next important step in the development of these nanosystems. The coupled phase can simply be a different nitride or carbide; it also can be a polymer, a poly(ionic liquid) or a carbon phase, just to give a few examples. The combination of these phases with MN/MC nanoparticles could lead to multifunctional materials. The aim of the present review is to show how far the research concerning the production of MN/MC-based nanocomposites has progressed, especially in terms of controlled composition, morphology and properties. We discuss the most intensely investigated systems and related motivations, as well as partially unexplored yet appealing alternative materials.     

The first ruthenium-alkyne-dihydride reported is now recognized as an intermediate in the homogeneous hydrogenation of diphenylacetylene: Crystal structure of (μ-H)2Ru3(CO)9(μ3-η2-∥-C2Ph2)

The title complex (complex1) was the first alkyne-substituted triruthenium dihydrido cluster to be reported and was characterized by spectroscopy as a triangular cluster with the alkyne parallel to a Ru-Ru edge. Recently, we have found that1 is a key intermediate in the homogeneous hydrogenation of diphenylacetylene catalyzed by tetrahedral Ru₄ and FeRu₃ clusters. Since the discovery of1, a great number of complexes with alkynes parallel to a cluster edge have been reported; at present this is the more common bonding mode for alkynes on trinuclear clusters. The structural features of1 allow a comparison with those of other ruthenium-containing derivatives and help to draw suggestions of the role of1 in hydrogenation catalysis.     

Cladding mode reorganization in high-refractive-index-coated long-period gratings: effects on the refractive-index sensitivity

We theoretically and experimentally investigated the reorganization of cladding modes in high-refractive-index- (HRI-) coated long-period gratings (LPGs), focusing on the influence of refractive-index sensitivity. When azimuthally symmetric nanoscale HRI coatings are deposited along LPG devices, a significant modification of the distribution of cladding modes occurs, depending on the layers' features (refractive index and thickness) and on the external refractive index. In particular, if these parameters are properly chosen, a transition between cladding modes and overlay modes occurs. Numerical and experimental effects of the mode transition on the sensitivity of the surrounding refractive index are described.     

Effect of the segmental mobility restriction on the thermoset chemical kinetics

The cure kinetics of an epoxy–amine commercial thermoset system have been investigated with the isothermal differential scanning calorimetry technique. In particular, a kinetic study has been performed in the glass–transition zone, in which diffusion phenomena compete with the chemical transformations and the overall reaction rate is partially slowed by the reduced segmental chain mobility. A generalized form of the Vogel equation has been formulated to account for the effect of the increasing glass–transition temperature on the chain mobility and, therefore, on the overall reaction rate. The kinetic model has been expressed with two factors representing the chemical reaction rate and the segmental mobility reduction. As the main result, the activation energy relative to the diffusion phenomena has been found to be very low, having a value of 42.5 K ≈ 0.356 kJ/mol, which is compatible only with the small‐angle rotation of the reactive unit. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3757–3770, 2002     

A measurement of the azimuthal angle dependence of the process ep → enπ+ near threshold

The azimuthal angle dependence of the process ep → enπ⁺ has been measured by detecting the electron and neutron in coincidence. Data are presented for momentum transfers (?k²) between 0.08 and 0.32 $\text{(}\text{GeV}\text{c}\text{)}{}^2$ and at energies close to threshold. Fixed-t dispersion relation models give predictionsin good qualitative agreement with the data.     

Dispersity effect of platinum supported on honeycomb carrier on its activity in benzene hydrogenation

Specific activity of Pt catalysts prepared by supporting Pt(-C₄H₇)₂ or H₂PtCl₆ on a honeycomb carrier in benzene hydrogenation in the kinetic region has been established to remain unchanged with increasing Pt particle size from 10 to 50 Å.

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, Pt(-C₄H₇)₂ H₂PtCl₆ , Pt 10Å 50Å.

     

Polar effects in free-radical reactions. New synthetic developments in the functionalization of heteroaromatic bases by nucleophilic radicals

The synthetic interest of the direct substitution of protonated heteroaromatic bases by nucleophilic carbon-centered radicals is furtheron developed by the following new achievements: i) utilization of the redoc system

in several solvents; ii) utilization of benzoyl peroxide in alcohols; iii) carbamoylation by HCONH₂ and H₂O₂ in the presence of catalytic amounts of Fe(II). These systems allow to obtain either substitution till now tried without success or reactions of industrial interest. Polar effects play a dominant role in determining reactivity, selectivity and synthetic applications; in particular the role of the strongly nucleophilic intermediate radicals of pyridinyl type in the rearomatization step is emphasized.