Photocatalytic degradation and adsorption of 2-naphthol on suspended TiO2 surface in a dynamic reactor

The photocatalytic oxidation of 2-naphthol has been investigated at room temperature in a dynamic photoreactor with system UV/O2 (air) and aqueous suspension of titanium dioxide TiO2 irradiated under a variety of conditions. The kinetics of disappearance of pollutant were affected by several operating parameters such as TiO2 mass, concentration of the substrate and reaction pH. The experiments were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. A Langmuir-Hinshelwood model was found to be accurate for photocatalytic degradation and indicates that adsorption of the solute on the surface of semiconductor particles plays a role in photocatalytic reaction.     

On the proximinality of the unit ball of proximinal subspaces in Banach spaces: A counterexample

A known, and easy to establish, fact in Best Approximation Theory is that, if the unit ball of a subspace of a Banach space is proximinal in , then itself is proximinal in . We are concerned in this article with the reverse implication, as the knowledge of whether the unit ball is proximinal or not is useful in obtaining information about other problems. We show, by constructing a counterexample, that the answer is negative in general.

     

The impact of lead pollution on the environment of Rabat-Sale' (Morocco)

There are numerous possible vectors of industrial lead poisoning in unprotected work environments and the areas surrounding industrial sites. In the Rabat-Salé region, ceramics is the industry which uses most lead. Galena (PbS) is used in the fabrication of some types of pottery, and other lead-based compounds are used as glaze. A second source of lead pollution is the production of some fuels, in which lead is used as an anti detonator. In order to evaluate the impact of lead contamination on the environment, our investigation is focused on the lead concentration in the atmosphere, soil and vegetation at five stations in the Rabat-Salé region. We found concentrations of lead higher than those published for any other country in the atmosphere and vegetation near the ceramics factories of Rabat-Salé. These concentrations decreased significantly as we moved away from urban areas.     

Simple and efficient synthesis of new chiral N,N′‐sulfonyl bis‐oxazolidin‐2‐ones

A series of new chiral N,N′‐sulfonyl bis‐oxazolidin‐2‐ones were synthesized starting from 2‐aminoalcohols, sulfuryl chloride, and diethyl carbonate. This method utilizes natural amino acids as a source of chirality for the preparation of oxazolidinones. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 17:61–65, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/hc.20183     

Configurational forces in a micro-cracked body

A framework to model micro-cracked bodies based on the theory of continua with microstructure is presented: assuming a crack embedded in each material element, a field is considered characterising size and orientation of the crack, in addition to the usual placement in the Euclidian space. To deal with crack evolutions, we call upon configurational forces which, in the present case, occur at the level of the microstructure. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

High electrical field conduction in polymers under pressure

Abstract

Electrical conductivity of Polyamide-imide films was measured from 1 to 400 bars, for temperatures ranging from 35 °C to 70 °C and for d.c. electrical field varying from 0.5 to 4 MV/cm. The increasing of the conductivity with pressure can be explained by the presence of ions in the polymer.     

Experimental Investigation on Upgrading of Lignin‐Derived Bio‐Oils: Kinetic Analysis of Anisole Conversion on Sulfided CoMo/Al2O3 Catalyst

Kinetics of the hydroprocessing of anisole, a compound representative of lignin‐derived bio‐oils, catalyzed by a commercial sulfided CoMo/Al₂O₃, was determined at 8–20 bar pressure and 573–673 K with a once‐through flow reactor. The catalyst was sulfided in an atmosphere of H₂ + H₂S prior to the measurement of its performance. Selectivity‐conversion data were used as a basis for determining an approximate, partially quantified reaction network showing that hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), hydrogenolysis, and alkylation reactions take place simultaneously. The data indicate that these reactions can be stopped at the point where HDO is virtually completed and hydrogenation reactions (and thus H₂ consumption) are minimized. Phenol was the major product of the reactions, with direct deoxygenation of anisole to give benzene being kinetically almost insignificant under our conditions. We infer that the scission of the C_methyl–O bond is more facile than the scission of the C_aromatic–O bond, so that the HDO of anisole likely proceeds substantially through the reactive intermediate phenol to give transalkylation products such as 2‐methylphenol. The data determine rates of formation of the major primary products. The data show that if oxygen removal is the main processing goal, higher temperatures and lower pressures are favored.     

Enolizable Carbonyls and N,O‐Acetals: A Rational Approach for Room‐Temperature Lewis Superacid‐Catalyzed Direct α‐Amidoalkylation of Ketones and Aldehydes

An efficient catalytic room‐temperature direct α‐amidoalkylation of carbonyl donors, that is, ketones and aldehydes with unbiased N,O‐acetals, is described. Sn(NTf₂)₄ is an optimal catalyst to promote this challenging transformation at low loading and the reaction shows promising scope. A comprehensive and rational evaluation of this reaction has led to the establishment of an empirical scale of nucleophilic reactivity for a broad set of ketones that should be helpful in the synthetic design and development of carbonyl α‐functionalization methods.     

Synthesis,characterization, and photovoltaic properties of dithienylbenzobisazole‐dithienylsilole copolymers

Three conjugated polymers comprised of dioctyl‐dithieno‐[2,3‐b:2',3'‐d]silole and a donor‐acceptor‐donor triad of either cis‐benzbisoxazole, trans‐benzobisoxazole or trans‐benzobisthiazole were synthesized via the Stille cross‐coupling reaction. The impact of varying the heteroatoms and/or the location within the benzobisazole moiety on the optical and electronic properties of the resulting polymers was evaluated via cyclic voltammetry and UV‐Visible spectroscopy. All of the polymers have similar optical band‐gaps of ～1.9 eV and highest occupied molecular orbital levels of ? 5.2 eV. However, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMO) ranged from ? 3.0 to ? 3.2 eV. Interestingly, when the polymers were used as donor materials in bulk‐heterojunction photovoltaic cells with PC₇₁BM as the electron‐acceptor, the benzobisoxazole‐based polymers gave slightly better results than the benzobisthiazole‐containing polymers with power conversion efficiencies up to 3.5%. These results indicate that benzobisoxazoles are promising materials for use in OPVs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1533–1540