Highly effective and chemoselective hydrodeoxygenation of aromatic alcohols

Effective hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of aromatic alcohols is very attractive in both conventional organic synthesis and upgrading of biomass-derived molecules, but the selectivity of this reaction is usually low because of the competitive hydrogenation of the unsaturated aromatic ring and the hydroxyl group. The high activity of noble metal-based catalysts often leads to undesired side reactions (e.g., saturation of the aromatic ring) and excessive hydrogen consumption. Non-noble metal-based catalysts suffer from unsatisfied activity and selectivity and often require harsh reaction conditions. Herein, for the first time, we report chemoselective HDO of various aromatic alcohols with excellent selectivity, using porous carbon–nitrogen hybrid material-supported Co catalysts. The C–OH bonds were selectively cleaved while leaving the aromatic moiety intact, and in most cases the yields of targeted compounds reached above 99% and the catalyst could be readily recycled. Nitrogen doping on the carbon skeleton of the catalyst support (C–N matrix) significantly improved the yield of the targeted product. The presence of large pores and a high surface area also improved the catalyst efficiency. This work opens the way for efficient and selective HDO reactions of aromatic alcohols using non-noble metal catalysts.

Porous carbon–nitrogen hybrid material-supported Co catalysts can effectively promote the chemoselective hydrodeoxygenation reaction of a various of aromatic alcohols in ethanol and hydrogen atmosphere, under relatively mild conditions.     

The Impact of Foaming Effect on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Foam Glasses with Molecular-Level Insights

Foaming effect strongly impacts the physical and mechanical properties of foam glass materials, but an understanding of its mechanism especially at the molecular level is still limited. In this study, the foaming effects of dextrin, a mixture of dextrin and carbon, and different carbon allotropes are investigated with respect to surface morphology as well as physical and mechanical properties, in which 1 wt.% carbon black is identified as an optimal choice for a well-balanced material property. More importantly, the different foaming effects are elucidated by all-atomistic molecular dynamics simulations with molecular-level insights into the structure–property relationships. The results show that smaller pores and more uniform pore structure benefit the mechanical properties of the foam glass samples. The foam glass samples show excellent chemical and thermal stability with 1 wt.% carbon as the foaming agent. Furthermore, the foaming effects of CaSO₄ and Na₂HPO₄ are investigated, which both create more uniform pore structures. This work may inspire more systematic approaches to control foaming effect for customized engineering needs by establishing molecular-level structure–property–process relationships, thereby, leading to efficient production of foam glass materials with desired foaming effects.     

Selective photocatalytic aerobic oxidation of methane into carbon monoxide over Ag/AgCl@SiO2

Design of active catalysts for chemical utilization of methane under mild conditions is of great importance, but remains a challenging task. Here, we prepared a Ag/AgCl with SiO₂ coating (Ag/AgCl@SiO₂) photocatalyst for methane oxidation to carbon monoxide. High carbon monoxide production (2.3 μmol h⁻¹) and high selectivity (73%) were achieved. SiO₂ plays a key role in the superior performance by increasing the lifetime of the photogenerated charge carriers. Based on a set of semi in situ infrared spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance, and electronic property characterization studies, it is revealed that CH₄ is effectively and selectively oxidized to CO by the in situ formation of singlet ¹O₂via the key intermediate of COOH*. Further study showed that the Ag/AgCl@SiO₂ catalyst could also drive valuable conversion using real sunlight under ambient conditions. As far we know, this is the first work on the application of SiO₂ modified Ag/AgCl in the methane oxidation reaction.

The Ag/AgCl@SiO₂ catalyst exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity in selective aerobic oxidation of methane to carbon monoxide with high selectivity, and extended real light simulation feasibility shows potential in practical application.     

AR-Ag(Ⅰ)体系的共振散射光谱法测定痕量银

在pH=4.4的NaAc-HAc缓冲介质和2.0×10-3mol/L十二烷基苯磺酸钠(SDBS)溶液中,Ag(Ⅰ)与茜素红(AR)可形成较稳定的离子缔合物微粒,其在324、360和500nm处分别产生3个较强的共振散射峰.在最佳实验条件下,浓度在0.022～2.160μg/mL之间的Ag(Ⅰ)与共振散射强度△I324nm呈较好的线性关系,检测限为0.139 ng/mL.据此,建立了一种测定痕量银的共振散射新方法,并将该方法用于废胶片中痕量银的测定.     

Graphene-Oxide-Based Fluoro- and Chromo-Genic Materials and Their Applications

Composite materials and their applications constitute a hot field of research nowadays due to the fact that they comprise a combination of the unique properties of each component of which they consist. Very often, they exhibit better performance and properties compared to their combined building blocks. Graphene oxide (GO), as the most widely used derivative of graphene, has attracted widespread attention because of its excellent properties. Abundant oxygen-containing functional groups on GO can provide various reactive sites for chemical modification or functionalization of GO, which in turn can be used to develop novel GO-based composites. This review outlines the most recent advances in the field of novel dyes and pigments encompassing GO as a key ingredient or as an important cofactor. The interactions of graphene with other materials/compounds are highlighted. The special structure and unique properties of GO have a great effect on the performance of fabricated hybrid dyes and pigments by enhancing the color performance of dyes, the anticorrosion properties of pigments, the viscosity and rheology of inks, etc., which further expands the applications of dyes and pigments in dyeing, optical elements, solar-thermal energy storage, sensing, coatings, and microelectronics devices. Finally, challenges in the current development as well as the future prospects of GO-based dyes and pigments are also discussed. This review provides a reference for the further exploration of novel dyes and pigments.     

Red top-emitting organic light-emitting device with improved efficiency and saturated color

In this work, characteristics of microcavity top-emitting red organic light-emitting device (TEROLED) having metallic electrodes had been examined. The TEOLED shows the higher efficiency in comparison with that of the bottom OLED. However, color variation with the increasing view angles is also observed. For the purpose of diminishing the blue-shift of resonant wavelength (RW) in the device with increasing view angle, the effect of out-coupling layer on the emission properties of the TEOLED is discussed in detail. Finally, the out-coupling layer was introduced in theory without sacrificing the efficiency through precise optical simulation.     

Modification of bonding properties and microstructure of resin-cement interface by coupling agents

To solve the problem of organic-inorganic light conductive composite interface features, transparent resin and cement matrix were used as carriers to further study features of the organic-inorganic interface formed by transparent resin and cement matrix and the interface modification of the coupling agent. The bond strength, micro-hardness, microstructure and surface morphology of a resin light conductive cementitious materials (RLCCM) interface were evaluated by tests of tensile and oblique shear, micro-hardness, environmental scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscope. The results show that the silane A-151 and aluminate coupling agent could significantly improve interface bond properties of RLCCM. At 7 d, the interface tensile bond strength of the silane A-151 and aluminate coupling agent increased by 117 and 105%, respectively. At 28 d, strength on average increased by 73%. At 7 d, interface shear strength the silane A-151 and aluminate coupling agent of 45° increased by 43 and 53%, respectively, At 28 d, strength on average increased by 40%. The transparent resin performance weakened region thickness up to 100 μm; the hardness of the transparent resin in the transition region was increased by 19.6 and 39.9%, respectively. Silane coupling agent A-151 and cement hydration products formed flat spherical particles with diameter of approximately 78 nm, and these particles mosaicked and fused in the surface of the hydrate; therefore, the surface became denser and smoother.     

Polyvinylidene fluoride/polystyrene hybrid fibers with high ionic conductivity and enhanced mechanical strength as lithium-ion battery separators

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Ionic conductivity is an important separator parameter influencing the cycle life and rate capability of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). To improve the ionic...     

Sensitive and selective determination of 4-nitrophenol in water and food using modified polyethyleneimine-capped carbon dots

Hazardous 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) has created serious threats to humans and the environment; therefore, it is highly desirable to develop a facile and practical method for the monitoring of 4-NP in environment and food. Here, a fluorescence method based on modified polyethyleneimine-capped carbon dots (mPEI-CDs) was developed for sensitive and selective determination of 4-NP in water, fruit, and vegetable samples. First, highly fluorescent mPEI-CDs (quantum yield about 40.3%) were easily synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method by using novel acetic anhydride modified polyethyleneimine (mPEI) and citric acid as precursors. Compared to the unmodified PEI-CDs, the acetic anhydride mPEI-CDs exhibited excellent fluorescent stability in a wider pH range of 4.0–9.0. Under pH 8.0, a selective determination of 4-NP was achieved based on the inner filter effect (IFE) mechanism. After optimization, good linear relationships between fluorescence intensity function (F₀-F)/F₀ and the concentration of 4-NP were obtained in ranges of 0.5–10 and 10–100 μM, respectively, while efficiently avoiding the interferences from two other nitrophenol isomers, possible coexisting metal cations and anions in samples. Finally, the proposed approach was successfully applied for the determination of 4-NP in water, honey, strawberry, and tomato samples.     

On limiting behavior of stationary measures for stochastic evolution systems with small noise intensity

The limiting behavior of stochastic evolution processes with small noise intensity ε is investigated in distribution-based approaches.Let μ~ε be a stationary measure for stochastic process X~ε with small ε and X~0 be a semiflow on a Polish space.Assume that {μ~ε:0 ε≤ε_0} is tight.Then all their limits in the weak sense are X~0-invariant and their supports are contained in the Birkhoff center of X~0.Applications are made to various stochastic evolution systems,including stochastic ordinary differential equations,stochastic partial differential equations,and stochastic functional differential equations driven by Brownian motion or Levy processes.