Developments on carbon dioxide reduction: Their promise,achievements, and challenges

CO₂ reduction processes continue to be developed for electrosynthesis, energy storage applications, and environmental remediation. A number of promising materials have shown high activity and selectivity to target reduction products. However, the progress has been mainly at a small laboratory scale, and the technical challenges of large scale CO₂ reduction have not been considered adequately. This review covers recent advancements in catalyst materials and cell designs. The leading materials for CO₂ reduction to a number of useful products are presented with their corresponding cell and reactor designs. The latest efforts to progress to industrially relevant scales are discussed, along with the challenges that must be met for carbon dioxide reduction to be a viable route for mass scale production.     

Gleichverteilung und Quadratwurzelschnecke

A new proof of a theorem of W. Neiss is given that the rays of the Quadratwurzelschnecke are uniformly distributed mod 2 . The exact order of the discrepancy of the sequence is determined. Multidimensional generalizations of this sequence are also considered. It is shown that the Quadratwurzelschnecke is something like a roulette.

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Mit 2 Abbildungen

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Herrn Prof. R. M. Redheffer in Freundschaft zum 60. Geburtstag gewidmet     

A unified theory of matter. I. The fundamental idea

The Lorentz transformation is derived without assuming that the velocity of light is a constant. This suggests that the constantc which appears in the transformation has a deeper significance than heretofore commonly assumed. It is hypothesized that there exists, in all of physical reality, velocities of only one magnitude. The magnitude isc, the speed of light in vacuum. This hypothesis forces us to view a fundamental particle as an extended object and matter in general as a field (t, r, ), which we give the generic name stuff. An important feature of the field is that at each spacetime point(t, r) stuff travels in all directions with speedc. In order to elucidate the nature of (t, r, ), the equations determining for a one-dimensional world are derived and solved. Fundamental particles are shown to exist and their structure is obtained.A private communication; not an official publication of the National Bureau of Standards.     

Polyvinyl pyridines as flocculating agents

Summary High molecular weight poly 2- and 4-vinyl pyridines were synthesized by ionic polymerisation and their flocculation efficiency tested against kaolin and silica dispersions at pH 3. Low additions of the polymers, around 3 parts per 10₃ parts solid, destabilize the dispersions and clarify silica dispersions to a remarkable extent; however, over-addition of polymer leads to partial restabilization. The flocculation efficiency improves with increase of solids content, especially with clay dispersions. Flocculation efficiency increases with polymer molecular weight, especially over the lower part of the range covered, but is relatively independent of pH in the range 2–4. Quaternization of poly(4-vinyl pyridine) with bromobutane produces a good flocculant for aqueous silica dispersions in which the degree of restabilization on over-dosing depends on the KCI content. TheN-oxide derivatives of the vinyl pyridine polymers do not affect the colloidal stability of silica dispersions. The observations are interpreted in terms of bridging flocculation by the cationic polymer molecules between anionic surface sites on the solid particles.     

Seawater—A test of multicomponent electrolyte solution theories. II. Enthalpy of mixing and dilution of the major sea salts

In a continuing effort to predict the physicochemical properties of seawater from the properties of single aqueous electrolyte solutions, the pairwise heats of mixing at constant molal ionic strength,I=1.0 ional, have been determined for the six possible pairs of salts from the set (NaCl, Na₂SO₄, MgCl₂, MgSO₄) at 30°C. In addition, heats of dilution for two aqueous solutions formed from these salts and havingI=1.0 ional have been determined at 30°C. In order to present the most thermodynamically consistent results, it was found necessary to apply a correction term to the relative apparent equivalent enthalpies given in the literature at 30°C. These correction terms derived from a consideration of published results on heats of dilution at very low concentrations. Further, in order to make predictions for seawater at 25°C, it was deemed desirable to refit existing heat-capacity data. The heats relative apparent equivalent enthalpies for the two mixtures mentioned as well as for seawater. The estimates are based on the theoretical equation of Reilly and Wood for charge-asymmetric mixtures which derives from the work of Friedman. In the most applicable cases, the estimates agree with experimental relative apparent equivalent enthalpies to within 5%. In general, the results substantiate the theoretical equation.Taken in part from the Ph.D. dissertation of W. H. Leung, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33149.     

The enthalpy of formation of magnesium sulfate ion pairs

The enthalpies of dilution of lithium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium chloride and sulfate solutions in the range 0.1 to 1.0 m have been measured at 30°C with a microcalorimeter. The relative apparent enthalpies φ_L of these solutions have been determined with the aid of an extended form of the Debye-Hückel limiting law $$\phi _L = S_H I^{1/2} [1/(1 + I^{1/2} ) - (\sigma /3)] + {\rm B}{\rm I} + CI^{3/2} $$ whereS _H is the limiting-law slope, σ = 3/I^3/2 × [(1+I^1/2 ? 1/(1+I^1/2 ? 2 ln (2+I^1/2)], andB andC are empirical constants. This equation fits the experimental results to within a standard deviation of 2 cal-mole^?1 for all the salts. The measured φ_L for the MgSO₄ solutions were compared to those calculated using the additivity principle, φ_L(MgCl₂) + φ_L(Na₂SO₄) ? 2φ_L(NaCl), and the extended Debye-Hückel equation. The results of this comparison have been used to calculate the ΔH _A ^o for the formation of MgSO ₄ ⁰ . A value of ΔH _A ^o = 1.15 to 1.36 was obtained, depending upon the φ_L estimates for the free ions Mg²⁺ and SO ₄ ^2? . The results are briefly discussed and compared to the results obtained by other workers.     

Generation and cycloaddition reactions of indole-2,3-quinodimethanes

N-methyl and N-tert-butoxycarbonylindole-2,3-quinodimethanes ($\text{2}$ and $\text{3}$) have been generated and observed to undergo intermolecular cycloaddition reactions with dienophiles.     

Determination of total carbon and total organic carbon from volatile air pollutants

Summary The method developed based on the determination of TC and TOC in the form of the total amount of CO₂ requires application of the proper techniques for the final determination of CO₂. The possibility of using a stream of carrier gas at a convenient flow-rate for desorbing quantitatively CO₂ concentrated on a molecular sieve permits use of a wide variety of known analytical techniques for the final determination of CO₂. Various methods were compared on the basis of both absolute and calibration measurements. The absolute methods chosen were gravimetric (classical or an automated version based on application of a gravimetric automat and automatic recording balance), thermogravimetric analysis and coulometry. The calibration methods included thermal conductivity, the flame-ionization detector (after conversion of CO₂ into methane) and infrared absorption. Usefulness of the methods was evaluated on the basis of comparative statistical analysis of experimental data with respect to precision (Snedecor'sF-test and Bartlett'sU ²-test) and accuracy (Student'st-test).

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Zusammenfassung Das entwickelte Verfahren zur Bestimmung des TC- und TOC-Gehaltes in Form der gesamten Menge CO₂ erfordert die Anwendung geeigneter Analysentechniken zur Endbestimmung dieser Verbindung. Die Möglichkeit einer Desorption des am Molekularsieb angereicherten CO₂ in einem Gasstrom mit geeignetem Durchfluß erlaubt zur Endbestimmung von CO₂ die Anwendung einer Reihe verschiedener Analysenverfahren. Die Anwendbarkeit verschiedener, auf Absolutverfahren und auch auf relativen Messungen beruhender Methoden wurde vergleichend untersucht. Die folgenden Methoden zur CO₂-Bestimmung wurden gewählt: die Gravimetrie (klassische oder automatisierte unter Einsatz eines Wägeautomaten und einer registrierenden Waage), die Thermogravimetrie und die Coulometrie. Von den relativen Methoden wurden die Thermokonduktometrie, der Flammenionisationsdetektor (nach Umsetzung von CO₂ zu Methan) und das IR-Absorptionsmeßverfahren geprüft. Die Anwendbarkeit der Methoden wurde mit Hilfe statistischer Prüfverfahren beurteilt, wobei die Präzision (SnedecorsF-Test und BartlettsU ²-Test) und die Genauigkeit (Studentst-Test) der erhaltenen Analysenwerte verglichen wurden.

     

Reaction of Tetracopper(I)-Phosphonitocavitand with PhSeSiMe3: Synthesis and Structure of a Polyanionic Cluster [pyH]6[(CuCl)9(μ3-SePh)5(μ4-SePh)]

Treatment of tetracopper(I)-phosphonitocavitand [1·Cu₄(μ-Cl)₄(μ₄-Cl)] (2) (1 = tetraphosphonitocavitand [rccc-2,8,14,20-tetrakis-(iso-butyl)-phosphonitocavitand (C₄₄H₄₈O₈P₄Ph₄)]) with PhSeSiMe₃ in THF at low temperature afforded a novel polyanionic cluster [pyH]₆[(CuCl)₉(μ₃-SePh)₅(μ₄-SePh)] (4) as a major product along with a new tetracopper(I)-phosphonitocavitand (3) with a centered μ₃-Cl. Molecular structure of anionic cluster in 4 consists of six PhSe⁻ bridging ligands containing five μ₃-SePh and one exceptional μ₄-SePh bridging nine copper atoms, of which eight copper atoms have trigonal coordination geometry and the other has distorted tetrahedral geometry. Dedicated to Professor Han-Qin Liu on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Oxidation of guanosine derivatives by a platinum(IV) complex: internal electron transfer through cyclization

Many transition-metal complexes mediate DNA oxidation in the presence of oxidizing radiation, photosensitizers, or oxidants. The DNA oxidation products depend on the nature of the metal complex and the structure of the DNA. Earlier we reported trans-d,l-1,2-diaminocyclohexanetetrachloroplatinum (trans-Pt(d,l)(1,2-(NH(2))(2)C(6)H(10))Cl(4), [Pt(IV)Cl(4)(dach)]; dach = diaminocyclohexane) oxidizes 2'-deoxyguanosine 5'-monophosphate (5'-dGMP) to 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine 5'-monophosphate (8-oxo-5'-dGMP) stoichiometrically. In this paper we report that [Pt(IV)Cl(4)(dach)] also oxidizes 2'-deoxyguanosine 3'-monophosphate (3'-dGMP) stoichiometrically. The final oxidation product is not 8-oxo-3'-dGMP, but cyclic (5'-O-C8)-3'-dGMP. The reaction was studied by high-performance liquid chromatography, (1)H and (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The proposed mechanism involves Pt(IV) binding to N7 of 3'-dGMP followed by nucleophilic attack of a 5'-hydroxyl oxygen to C8 of G and an inner-sphere, 2e(-) transfer to produce cyclic (5'-O-C8)-3'-dGMP and [Pt(II)Cl(2)(dach)]. The same mechanism applies to 5'-d[GTTTT]-3', where the 5'-dG is oxidized to cyclic (5'-O-C8)-dG. The Pt(IV) complex binds to N7 of guanine in cGMP, 9-Mxan, 5'-d[TTGTT]-3', and 5'-d[TTTTG]-3', but no subsequent transfer of electrons occurs in these. The results indicate that a good nucleophilic group at the 5' position is required for the redox reaction between guanosine and the Pt(IV) complex.