Dry Reforming of Methane on a Highly‐Active Ni‐CeO2 Catalyst: Effects of Metal‐Support Interactions on C−H Bond Breaking

Ni‐CeO₂ is a highly efficient, stable and non‐expensive catalyst for methane dry reforming at relative low temperatures (700 K). The active phase of the catalyst consists of small nanoparticles of nickel dispersed on partially reduced ceria. Experiments of ambient pressure XPS indicate that methane dissociates on Ni/CeO₂ at temperatures as low as 300 K, generating CH_x and CO_x species on the surface of the catalyst. Strong metal–support interactions activate Ni for the dissociation of methane. The results of density‐functional calculations show a drop in the effective barrier for methane activation from 0.9 eV on Ni(111) to only 0.15 eV on Ni/CeO_2?x(111). At 700 K, under methane dry reforming conditions, no signals for adsorbed CH_x or C species are detected in the C 1s XPS region. The reforming of methane proceeds in a clean and efficient way.     

The Nanoparticle Size Effect in Graphene Cutting: A “Pac‐Man” Mechanism

Metal‐nanoparticle‐catalyzed cutting is a promising way to produce graphene nanostructures with smooth and well‐aligned edges. Using a multiscale simulation approach, we unambiguously identified a “Pac‐Man” cutting mechanism, characterized by the metal nanoparticle “biting off” edge carbon atoms through a synergetic effect of multiple metal atoms. By comparing the reaction rates at different types of edge sites, we found that etching of an entire edge carbon row could be triggered by a single zigzag‐site etching event, which explains the puzzling linear dependence of the overall carbon‐atom etching rate on the nanoparticle surface area observed experimentally. With incorporation of the nanoparticle size effect, the mechanisms revealed herein open a new avenue to improve controllability in graphene cutting.     

Isolating Reactions at the Picoliter Scale: Parallel Control of Reaction Kinetics at the Liquid–Liquid Interface

Miniaturized liquid–liquid interfacial reactors offer enhanced surface area and rapid confinement of compounds of opposite solubility, yet they are unable to provide in situ reaction monitoring at a molecular level at the interface. A picoreactor operative at the liquid–liquid interface is described, comprising plasmonic colloidosomes containing Ag octahedra strategically assembled at the water‐in‐decane emulsion interface. The plasmonic colloidosomes isolate ultrasmall amounts of solutions (<200 pL), allowing parallel monitoring of multiple reactions simultaneously. Using the surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technique, in situ monitoring of the interfacial protonation of dimethyl yellow (p‐dimethylaminoazobenzene (DY)) is performed, revealing an apparent rate constant of 0.09 min^?1 for the first‐order reaction. The presence of isomeric products with similar physical properties is resolved, which would otherwise be indiscernible by other analytical methods.     

A Supramolecularly Activated Radical Cation for Accelerated Catalytic Oxidation

Tuning the activity of radicals is crucial for radical reactions and radical‐based materials. Herein, we report a supramolecular strategy to accelerate the Fenton reaction through the construction of supramolecularly activated radical cations. As a proof of the concept, cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) was introduced, through host–guest interactions, onto each side of a derivative of 1,4‐diketopyrrolo[3,4‐c]pyrrole (DPP), a model dye for Fenton oxidation. The DPP radical cation, the key intermediate in the oxidation process, was activated by the electrostatically negative carbonyl groups of CB[7]. The activation induced a drastic decrease in the apparent activation energy and greatly increased the reaction rate. This facile supramolecular strategy is a promising method for promoting radical reactions. It may also open up a new route for the catalytic oxidation of organic pollutants for water purification and widen the realm of supramolecular catalysis.     

Intermolecular interactions in electroactive thiol monolayers probed by linear scan voltammetry

1. Download : Download high-res image (162KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Noise power spectra and recovery rates obtained with different nebulizer systems in ICP atomic emission spectrometric analyses in the case of different types of salts and salt contents

The features of different nebulizer systems (cross-flow-, Meinhard- and GMK-system) in the ICP atomic emission spectrometric analyses of solutions with different contents of different salts were evaluated. As basis for the comparison of the nebulizer systems the recovery rates and noise power spectra were used. Both showed that the GMK-system could be used for the widest diversity of salts (sodium chloride, ammonium sulfate and sodium tetraborate) and concentration range (0–10% (m/v)) followed by the cross-flow-system and the Meinhard-system in ICP-OES using a 1 kW argon ICP. Of all nebulizer systems the nebulizer according to Meinhard has the lowest performance for the salts investigated. The noise power spectra of all nebulizer systems are dominated by interference noise from the sample introduction system. This noise increases with the salt concentration of the solution and the GMK-system shows the lowest increase, followed by the cross-flow- and Meinhard-system. Received: 11 October 1999 / Revised: 5 January 2000 / Accepted: 14 January 2000     

Multiwalled carbon nanotube modified screen-printed electrodes for the detection of p-aminophenol: optimisation and application in alkaline phosphatase-based assays

Carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) were used to modify the working electrode surface of different screen-printed electrodes. The effect of this modification on the electrodic characteristics (double layer capacitance, electroactive area and heterogeneous rate constants for the electron transfer) was evaluated and optimized for the cyclic voltammetric determination of p-aminophenol. The enzymatic hydrolysis of p-aminophenylphosphate was employed for the quantification of alkaline phosphatase, one of the most important label enzymes in immunoassays. Finally, ELISA assays were carried out to quantify pneumolysin using this enzymatic system. Results obtained indicated that low superficial densities of MWCNT-COOH (0.03-0.06 μg mm⁻²) yielded the same electrodic improvements but with better analytical properties.     

Structural basis for specific, high-affinity tetracycline binding by an in vitro evolved aptamer and artificial riboswitch

The tetracycline aptamer is an in vitro selected RNA that binds to the antibiotic with the highest known affinity of an artificial RNA for a small molecule (Kd approximately 0.8 nM). It is one of few aptamers known to be capable of modulating gene expression in vivo. The 2.2 A resolution cocrystal structure of the aptamer reveals a pseudoknot-like fold formed by tertiary interactions between an 11 nucleotide loop and the minor groove of an irregular helix. Tetracycline binds within this interface as a magnesium ion chelate. The structure, together with previous biochemical and biophysical data, indicates that the aptamer undergoes localized folding concomitant with tetracycline binding. The three-helix junction, h-shaped architecture of this artificial RNA is more complex than those of most aptamers and is reminiscent of the structures of some natural riboswitches.     

Cloud point extraction for cobalt preconcentration with on-line phase separation in a knotted reactor followed by ETAAS determination in drinking waters

A novel method for cobalt preconcentration by cloud point extraction with on-line phase separation in a PTFE knotted reactor and further determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is proposed. The cloud point system was formed in the presence of non-ionic micelles of polyethyleneglycolmono-p-nonylphenylether (PONPE 7.5) and it was retained on the inner walls of a knotted reactor (KR). The surfactant rich-phase was removed from the knotted reactor with 75 microL of methanol acidified with 0.8 mol L(-1) nitric acid, directly into the dosing hole of the L'Vov graphite tube. An enrichment factor of 15 was obtained with a preconcentration time of 60 s, with respect to the direct determination of cobalt by ETAAS in aqueous solutions. The value of the detection limit for the preconcentration of 5 mL of sample solution was 10 ng L(-1). The precision, expressed as the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.), for 10 replicate determinations at 0.5 microg L(-1) Co level was 4.5%. Verification of the accuracy was carried out by analysis of a standard reference material (NIST SRM 1640e "Trace elements in natural water"). The method was successfully applied to the determination of cobalt in drinking water samples.     

Adiabatic corrections to density functional theory energies and wave functions

The adiabatic finite-nuclear-mass-correction (FNMC) to the electronic energies and wave functions of atoms and molecules is formulated for density-functional theory and implemented in the deMon code. The approach is tested for a series of local and gradient corrected density functionals, using MP2 results and diagonal-Born-Oppenheimer corrections from the literature for comparison. In the evaluation of absolute energy corrections of nonorganic molecules the LDA PZ81 functional works surprisingly better than the others. For organic molecules the GGA BLYP functional has the best performance. FNMC with GGA functionals, mainly BLYP, show a good performance in the evaluation of relative corrections, except for nonorganic molecules containing H atoms. The PW86 functional stands out with the best evaluation of the barrier of linearity of H2O and the isotopic dipole moment of HDO. In general, DFT functionals display an accuracy superior than the common belief and because the corrections are based on a change of the electronic kinetic energy they are here ranked in a new appropriate way. The approach is applied to obtain the adiabatic correction for full atomization of alcanes C(n)H(2n+2), n = 4-10. The barrier of 1 mHartree is approached for adiabatic corrections, justifying its insertion into DFT.