Silicon Carbide Supported Palladium‐Iridium Bimetallic Catalysts for Efficient Selective Hydrogenation of Cinnamaldehyde

Selective hydrogenation of α,β‐unsaturated carbonyls into saturated carbonyls is important to obtain remunerative products. However, it is still a challenge to achieve high activity and selectivity under mild conditions. Herein, Pd, Ir and bimetallic Pd‐Ir nanoparticles were uniformly deposited with high dispersity on the surface of SiC by a facile impregnation method, respectively. The as‐prepared Pd/SiC catalysts efficiently hydrogenate cinnamaldehyde to hydrocinnamaldehyde at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, and the activity of Pd/SiC is observed further enhanced by adding Ir component (conversion of 100%). In addition, the dependence of Pd‐Ir catalyst activity on Pd/Ir molar ratio confirms a synergistic effect between Ir and Pd, which originates from the electron transfer between Pd and Ir.     

Blends of starch with ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymers: effect of water,glycerol, and amino acids as plasticizers

Blends of thermoplastic starch with poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) copolymer (EVOH) were melt extruded with water/glycerol as plasticizer and a series of amino acid additives. The biggest factor in end‐use mechanical properties proved to be the relative humidity (RH) during storage. Plasticized starch‐EVOH blends stored at 0 and 50% RH changed significantly over time, with, for example, the tensile strength (TS) of the glycerol‐plasticized blend increasing from 4.7 to 26.3 MPa over 8 weeks when maintained at 0% RH. In contrast, the TS of this same sample stored at 75% RH remained unchanged for 8 weeks. Amino acids provided relatively minor, but significant changes in mechanical properties with time. Based on TS, elongation‐to‐break, and modulus, it may be concluded that β‐alanine, sarcosine, and L ‐proline were more effective than glycerol at maintaining strong flexible blends. Increases in crystallinity and changes in morphology with time, as described by modulated DSC were correlated to these changes in mechanical properties. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Iron(II)‐ and Cobalt(II) Complexes with Tridentate Bis(imino)pyridine Nitrogen Ligands Bearing Chiral Bulky Aliphatic and Aromatic Substituents: Crystal Structure of [CoCl2{2, 6‐bis[R‐(+)‐(bornylimino)methyl]pyridine}]

Iron(II) and cobalt(II) complexes ( 7 ‐ 15 ) based on new aldimine 2, 6‐bis[(imino)methyl]pyridine ( 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 ) and ketimine (2, 6‐bis[(imino)ethyl]pyridine ( 3 , 5 ) ligands with bulky chiral aliphatic or aromatic terminal groups have been prepared and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR‐, mass spectroscopy (EI), and elemental analysis. The complex [CoCl₂(BBoMP)]·¹/₂ CHCl₃ ( 13 ) (BBoMP: 2, 6‐bis{(R‐(+)‐(bornylimino)‐methyl}pyridine) crystallizes in monoclinic space group P2₁ with cell dimensions: a = 7.6603(11) Å, b = 28.3153(14) Å, c = 13.537(2) Å, V = 2908.1(6) ų, Z = 4. The coordination sphere around Co is distorted trigonal bipyramidal.     

Terminal anhydride functionalization of polystyrene

Polystyrene chains with terminal anhydride groups were synthesized by direct chain transfer reaction between poly(styryl) lithium and trimellitic anhydride chloride (TMAC) and by the alkoxy-de-halogenation reaction between TMAC and hydroxy terminated polystyrene. Pyridine was used as a catalyst for these nucleophilic substitution reactions. For the direct reaction a poly(styryl) lithium with M?_n ～ 1000 (a low MW was used for characterization purposes) was prepared in an argon purged reactor and then introduced into an excess of trimellitic anhydride chloride. Due to the nature of our reaction system, the molecular weight distributions obtained were broader than those possible using more stringent high vacuum techniques. Hydroxy terminated polystyrenes with M?_n = 3,000 and 13,000 obtained elsewhere were used for the indirect addition of terminal anhydride groups. ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and FTIR spectroscopy were used to characterize the reaction products. A maximum yield of 61% for the direct functionalization route and 85% for the indirect functionalization route using hydroxyl terminated polystyrene were achieved. The higher yield of the indirect method seems to be the result of the relatively mild reactivity of the hydroxyl group.     

乙醇和甲苯组成的最低共沸混合物热力学性质的研究

The molar heat capacity of the azeotropic mixture composed of ethanol and toluene was measured by a high precision adiabatic calorimeter from 80 to 320 K. The glass transition and phase transitions of the azeotropic mixture were determined based on the heat capacity measurements. A glass transition at 103.350 K was found. A solid-solid phase transition at 127.282 K, two solid-liquid phase transitions at 153.612 and 160.584 K were observed, which correspond to the transition of metastable crystal to stable crystal of ethanol and the melting of ethanol and toluene, respectively. The thermodynamic functions and the excess ones of the mixture relative to the standard temperature 298.15 K were derived based on the relationships of the thermodynamic functions and the function of the measured heat capacity with respect to temperature.     

Electronic structure and field emission of multiwalled carbon nanotubes depending on growth temperature

The electronic structure of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been investigated, depending on the growth temperature, using synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and field emission measurements. The vertically aligned CNTs are grown via pyrolysis of ferrocene and acetylene in a broad temperature range 600-1000 degrees C. The CNTs have a cylindrical structure with a uniform diameter of 20 nm. As growth temperature increases, due to an improved crystallinity of the graphitic sheets, the width of the XPS C 1s peak becomes narrower and the intensity of the valence band increases. Field emission from the as-grown CNTs exhibits a large enhancement of current density with growth temperature, strongly correlated with the electronic structure revealed by XPS.     

Isothermal vapor–liquid equilibrium at 303.15 K and excess molar volumes at 298.15 K for the ternary system of propyl vinyl ether + 1-propanol + 2,2,4-trimethyl-pentane and its binary sub-systems

Isothermal vapor–liquid equilibrium data determined by the static method at 303.15 K are reported for the binary systems propyl vinyl ether + 1-propanol, 1-propanol + 2,2,4-trimethylpentane and propyl vinyl ether + 2,2,4-trimethylpentane and also for the ternary system propyl vinyl ether + 1-propanol + 2,2,4-trimethyl-pentane. Additionally, new excess volume data are reported for the same systems at 298.15 K. The experimental binary and ternary vapor–liquid equilibrium data were correlated with different G^E models and excess molar volume data were correlated with the Redlich–Kister equation for the binary systems and the Cibulka equation for the ternary system, respectively.     

Synthesis of Functionalized o‐, m‐, and p‐Terphenyl Derivatives by Consecutive Cross‐Coupling Reactions of Triazene‐Substituted Arylboronic Esters

Triazene‐substituted arylboronic esters were prepared readily from the corresponding aryl magnesium derivatives and shown to function as a new class of donor–acceptor‐substituted coupling reagents. The selective functionalization of these aromatic derivatives led to a wide variety of terphenyl derivatives in which the original bifunctional unit (often further substituted with another functional group) formed the central aromatic ring. The functionalized terphenyl derivatives were formed in two efficient cross‐coupling steps from the triazene‐substituted boronic esters: Suzuki cross‐coupling with an aryl halide was followed by BF₃?OEt₂‐induced palladium‐catalyzed coupling of the diazonium salt generated in situ from the triazene with an arylboronic acid.     

Electroanalytical Study of the Composition of the Raw Pigment Mixtures that Yield the Metallic Lustre on Ceramics. A Link Between Composition and Final Result

Voltammetry of immobilized microparticles was used to study the electrochemistry of the raw pigments that produce the metallic lustre on ceramics after a successful firing. To study this influence of the mixture components on the reduction properties to achieve the metallic lustre, 14 mixtures of illitic clay, Fe₂O₃, HgS, CuO and AgNO₃ were prepared and studied in different media. Iron oxide improves the yield of the reduction of the metals and cinnabar helps a closer reduction of silver to copper reduction and prevents the Ag? Cu alloying because of the formation of silver–mercury adducts. The presence of one of the metals influences the peak position of the other metal. The use of vinegar as diluting agent is not casual, because in this media the reduction of silver takes place at a potential closer to the copper. This electroanalytical technique allowed to distinguish between powders of different composition and offered some information about the role of the components in the reduction of copper and silver and the selection of vinegar to prepare the raw pigment suspensions.     

Semiempirical Molecular Orbital Studies of the Acylation Step in the Lipase‐Catalyzed Ester Hydrolysis

In this study, we present the results from the semiempirical molecular orbital calculations for the acylation step in the lipase‐catalyzed ester hydrolysis. The results reveal that the lowest energy path for the formation of the tetrahedral intermediate is for the serine residue of the catalytic triad to attack the substrate, followed by coupling heavy atom movement and proton transfer. The calculations of four active site models show that the cooperation of the aspartate group and the oxyanion hole is capable of lowering the activation energy by about 16 kcalmol^?1. Our results further suggest that the lipase‐catalyzed ester hydrolysis adopts the single proton transfer mechanism.