Promotion Effects of Nickel Catalysts of Dry Reforming with Methane

The promotion effects of nickel catalyst of dry reforming with methane were extensively investigated by means of XRD, SEM, EDX, N₂‐adsorption and H₂‐adsorption. XRD characterization indicated that good dispersion of nickel oxide and MgO promoter is achieved over γ‐Al₂O₃ support. Addition of MgO promoter effectively retards the formation of NiAl₂O₄ phase. SEM and EDX analysis exhibited that the addition of rare‐earth metal oxide CeO₂ effectively promotes the Ni metal dispersion on the surface of the catalysts despite of undesirable self‐dispersion of CeO₂ promoter. Furthermore, the nickel component is gradually dispersed on the surface of the support following the exposure to reaction gas mixture for a period of time. The addition of MgO inhibited the self‐dispersion and promotion effect of CeO₂ on Ni dispersion on the catalysts. H₂ chemisorption revealed that the addition of the alkaline oxide MgO promoter significantly prohibits the metal dispersion on the catalyst. Inappropriate promoter addition can result in sharp decrease of the metal dispersion, N₂‐adsorption indicated that oxide promoter was mostly concentrated on the outer layer of the alumina support while the nickel metal was generally dispersed in the support pores. Addition of promoters contributed to more reduction in mesopore volume.     

Electrospray Mass Spectrometry Study on Polynuclear Pd(II) and Ni (II) Complexes of 3, 6, 9, 16, 19, 22‐Hexaazatricyclo [22. 2.2.211,14] triaconta‐11, 13, 24, 26 (1), 27, 29‐Hexaene

Polynuclear Pd(II) and Ni(II) complexes of macrocyclic polyamine 3,6,9,16,19,22‐hexaazatricyclo[22.2.2.2^11,14]‐triaconta 11,13,24,26(l),27,29‐hexaene (L) in solution were investigated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESIMS). For methanol solution of complexes M₂LX₄ (M = Pd(II) and Ni(II), X= Cl and I), two main clusters of peaks were observed which can be assigned to [M₂LX₃]⁺ and [M₂LX₂]²⁺. When Pd₂LCl₄ was treated with 2 or 4 mol of AgNO₃, it gave rise formation of Pd₂LCl₂ (NO₃)₂ · H₂O and [Pd₂L(H₂O)_m(NO₃)_n]^(4‐n)+, respectively. ESMS spectra show that the dissociation of the former in the ionization process gave peaks of [Pd₂LCl₂]²⁺ and [(Pd₂LCl₂)NO₃]⁺, while dissociation of the later gave the peaks of [Pd₂L(CH₃CO₂)₂]²⁺ and [Pd₂L(CH₃CO₂)₂](NO₃) ⁺ in the presence of acetic acid. Similar species were observed for Pd₂LI₄ when treated with 4 mol of AgNO₃. When [Pd₂L · (H₂O)_m(NO₃)_n]^(4‐n)+ reacted with 2 mol of oxalate anions at 40°C, [Pd₄L₂(C₂O₄)₂(NO₃)₂]²⁺ and [Pd₄L₂(C₂O₄)₂ (NO₃)]³⁺ were detected. This implies the formation of square‐planar molecular box Pd₄L₂(C₂O₄)₂(NO₃)₄ in which C₂O₄^? may act as bridging ligands as confirmed by crystal structure analysis. The dissociation form and the stability of complex cations in gaseous state are also discussed. This work provides an excellent example of the usefulness of ESIMS in the identification of metal complexes in solution.     

Determination of constant‐volume combustion energy for the complexes of zinc nitrate with three amino acids

Five solid complexes of zinc with L‐α‐methionine, L‐α‐phenylalanine and L‐α‐histidine were prepared. The constant‐volume combustion energies of the complexes, ΔE_c (coordination), were determined by a precise rotating bomb calorimeter at 298.15 K. They were ‐ 2969.03 ± 0.34, ‐2929.46 ± 1.59, ‐9597.13 ± 6.12, ‐4378.98 ± 3.27 and ‐14047 ± 6.75 kJ/mol, respectively. Their standard enthalpies of combustion, ΔH^θ_m,c(coordination, s, 298.15 K), and standard enthalpies of formation, ΔH^θ_m,f (coordination, s, 298.15 K), were calculated. They were ‐2959.73 ± 0.34, ‐2923.88 ± 1.59, ‐9649.18 ± 6.12, ‐4373.40 ± 3.27, ‐14048.53 ± 6.75 kj/mol and ‐1180.94 ± 0.92, ‐1401.26 ± 1.77, ‐2501.69 ± 6.50, ‐1381.47 ± 3.49, ‐1950.19 ± 7.65 kJ/mol, respectively.     

Density functional studies of AnF6 (An=U,Np, and Pu) and UF6−nCln (n=1–6) using hybrid functionals: geometries and vibrational frequencies

We have compared the performance of widely used hybrid functionals for calculating the bond lengths and harmonic vibrational frequencies of AnF₆ (An=U, Np, and Pu) and UF_6?nCl_n (n=1–6) molecules using “small‐core” relativistic effective core potentials and extended basis sets. The calculated spectroscopic constants compare favorably with experimental data for the bond lengths (average error ≤ 0.01 Å) and vibrational frequencies (average error ≤ 7 cm^?1) of the AnF₆ molecules. The experimental vibrational frequencies of the stretching modes were available for most of the UF_6?nCl_n (n=1–6) molecules. The calculated vibrational frequencies are in good agreement with the experimental data to within 4.6 cm^?1 and 7.6 cm^?1 for selected Becke1 and Lee, Yang, Parr (B1LYP), and Becke3 and Perdew, Wang (B3PW91) functionals, respectively. We conclude that one can predict reliable geometries and vibrational frequencies for the unknown related systems using hybrid density functional calculations with the RECPs. The geometries and vibrational frequencies of the UF_6?nCl_n (n=1–6) molecules that have not been determined experimentally are also presented and discussed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 2010–2017, 2001     

Synthesis of a novel ring‐expanded (“fat”) nucleotide analogue of phosphonomethoxyethylguanine (PMEG) containing the imidazo[4,5‐e][1,3]diazepine ring system

The synthesis of 6‐amino‐4,5‐dihydro‐8H‐1‐(2‐phosphonylmethoxyethyl)imidazo[4,5‐e][1,3]diazepine‐4,8‐dione (7), a novel ring‐expanded (“fat”) acyclic nucleotide analogue of phosphonomethoxyethylguanine (PMEG), has been reported. It was prepared in 4 steps in 51% overall yield starting from dimethyl imida‐zole‐4,5‐dicarboxylate.     

Phase behavior and viscoelastic properties of entangled block copolymer gels

Triblock copolymers in midblock‐selective solvents can form physical gels. However, at low triblock contents (near the percolation threshold), the bridging of chains between micelles can lead to macrophase separation. Adding a styrene–isoprene diblock to a styrene–isoprene–styrene triblock copolymer in squalane can eliminate macrophase separation, yielding a wide range of stable, single‐phase gels with a disordered arrangement of micelles. The plateau modulus of these triblock gels scales with the 2.2 power of polymer content, indicating the importance of entanglements in dictating the modulus. Comparing gels made from the midblock‐saturated derivative of the same polymer [styrene‐(ethylene‐alt‐propylene)‐styrene] in squalane reveals that the modulus differences in the gels are a direct consequence of the difference in the entanglement molecular weight of the midblock homopolymer in bulk. Finally, the broad relaxation spectrum of these triblocks is well‐described by a recent theory for the dynamics of entangled star polymers, with the breadth of the relaxation spectrum dictated by the number of entanglements per midblock in the gel. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 2183–2197, 2001     

Phase‐separated,conducting composites from polyaniline and benzobisthiazole rigid‐rod polymer

As an alternative method for processing polyaniline (PANI) from its conducting (protonated) state, vacuum casting of PANI from a methanesulfonic acid (MSA) solution provided films with electrical conductivity values of about 130–150 S/cm. In addition, we similarly prepared blended films of PANI · MSA and poly(p‐phenylene benzobisthiazole) (PBZT). This process eliminated the need for a subsequent protonation step and had the additional advantage that the conjugated PBZT may provide alternative conducting pathways. Conductivity values of the composite films ranged from 100 pS/cm to 124 S/cm, and the films displayed critical concentration behavior with a PANI threshold concentration of 2.75% and a critical exponent of 4. Transmission electron micrographs displayed phase‐separated regions with PANI forming a continuous network at high concentrations. Thermogravimetric analysis results demonstrated the thermal and thermooxidative stability advantage of the blends due to the PBZT component. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 2539–2548, 2001     

Structure and stability of X4Y4H4 (XY=CC,BN)

Ab initio calculations have been carried out to study the structures and relative stabilities of the planar eight‐membered ring B₄N₄H₄ and its isoelectronic species C₈H₄ at the HF/6‐31G*, MP2/6‐31G*, MP2/6‐311G**, and MP4SDQ/6‐31G* levels. The analyses of Milliken population, vibration frequencies, π‐molecular orbital components, and orbital energy levels were used to evaluate the relative stabilities of these two similar systems. The homodesmotic reactions were also taken to be a useful index of relative stability for X₄Y₄H₄ (XY=CC, BN) and gave the resonance energies with MP4SDQ/6‐31G* of C₈H₄ (?37.2 kcal/mol) < B₄N₄H₄ (?29.2 kcal/mol). Furthermore, we calculated the thermodynamic functions of these reactions to discuss the influence of temperature. It is concluded that B₄N₄H₄ may exist in theory and could be a little more stable than C₈H₄. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 82: 293–298, 2001     

trans‐(dl‐Isoleucinato‐N,O)[tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine‐κ4N]cobalt(III) diperchlorate

The racemic title compound, trans‐[N,N‐bis(2‐amino­ethyl)‐1,2‐ethanediamine‐κ⁴N]­(dl ‐isoleucinato‐N,O)­cobalt(III) di­per­chlor­ate, [Co(C₆H₁₈N₄)(C₆H₁₂NO₂)](ClO₄)₂, crystallizes in the enantiomorphous space group P2₁2₁2₁ with Z = 12 (Z′ = 3). Each of the three cations in the asymmetric unit represents a different chirality of the isoleucine ligand; two of them are R (or d ) and the third is the S (or l ) enantiomer. The mixture crystallizes in a so‐called unbalanced crystallization, in which the cations adopt a chiral array of composition RRS or SSR, depending on the crystal selected for data collection.     

One-Pot Synthesis of 1-Alkynylphosphonates

1-Alkynylphosphonates 3 are prepared in a one-pot procedure from diethyl phosphorochloridates 2 and alkynyllithiums 1, which are readily generated by the reaction of 1-alkynes with n-BuLi.