Monodispersed AuPd nanoalloy: composition control synthesis and catalytic properties in the oxidative dehydrogenative coupling of aniline

A series of AuPd@C nanoalloy catalysts with tunable compositions were successfully prepared by a co-reduction method. The use of borane-tert-butylamine complex as reductant and oleylamine as both solvent and reductant was very effective for the preparation of the monodispersed nanoalloy. We evaluated the catalytic activity of these AuPd@C nanoalloys for oxidative dehydrogenative coupling of aniline, which showed better catalytic activity than equal amounts of sole Au@C or Pd@C catalyst. The Au₁Pd₃@C catalyst exhibited the best performance, indicating that the conversion and selectivity were improved along with the increase of Pd composition. However if the Pd composition was too high in the AuPd alloy, Au₁Pd₇@C achieved only 81% conversion in this reaction.     

Rh-catalyzed reagent-free ring expansion of cyclobutenones and benzocyclobutenones

Here we report a reagent-free rhodium-catalyzed ring-expansion reaction via C–C cleavage of cyclobutenones. A variety of poly-substituted cyclopentenones and 1-indanones can be synthesized from simple cyclobutenones and benzocyclobutenones. The reaction condition is near pH neutral without additional oxidants or reductants. The potential for developing a dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation of this reaction has also been demonstrated. Further study supports the proposed pathway involving Rh-insertion into the cyclobutenone C–C bond, followed by β-hydrogen elimination, olefin insertion and reductive elimination.     

Comparison of Nitrogen Activation on Trinuclear Niobium and Tungsten Sulfide Clusters Nb3Sn and W3Sn (n=0–3): A DFT Study

The reaction of N₂ with trinuclear niobium and tungsten sulfide clusters Nb₃S_n and W₃S_n (n=0–3) was systematically studied by density functional theory calculations with TPSS functional and Def2-TZVP basis sets. Dissociations of N−N bonds on these clusters are all thermodynamically allowed but with different reactivity in kinetics. The reactivity of Nb₃S_n is generally higher than that of W₃S_n. In the favorite reaction pathways, the adsorbed N₂ changes the adsorption sites from one metal atom to the bridge site of two metal atoms, then on the hollow site of three metal atoms, and at that place, the N−N bond dissociates. As the number of ligand S atoms increases, the reactivity of Nb₃S_n decreases because of the hindering effect of S atoms, while W₃S and W₃S₂ have the highest reactivity among four W₃S_n clusters. The Mayer bond order, bond length, vibrational frequency, and electronic charges of the adsorbed N₂ are analyzed along the reaction pathways to show the activation process of the N−N bond in reactions. The charge transfer from the clusters to the N₂ antibonding orbitals plays an essential role in N−N bond activation, which is more significant in Nb₃S_n than in W₃S_n, leading to the higher reactivity of Nb₃S_n. The reaction mechanisms found in this work may provide important theoretical guidance for the further rational design of related catalytic systems for nitrogen reduction reactions (NRR).     

Structural requirement of C11b chirality of tetrabenazine analogs as VMAT2 imaging ligands: synthesis and in vivo evaluation

We studied on the structural requirement of C11b chirality of tetrabenazine (TBZ) analogs as vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) ligands. TBZ analogs (2, 6a, 6b) and ¹⁸F-radiolabeled [¹⁸F]6a and [¹⁸F]6b with eliminated C11b chirality were synthesized and characterized. Competition studies demonstrated that 2, 6a and 6b displayed much lower in vivo VMAT2 bindings than TBZ. MicroPET imaging studies of [¹⁸F]6a and [¹⁸F]6b showed negligible accumulation in VMAT2-enriched regions as compared with the known VMAT2 ligand ¹⁸F-FP-(+)-DTBZ. These results suggest that C11b chirality of TBZ analogs is essential for in vivo VMAT2 binding bioactivity.     

Chemical treatments on the cuticle layer enhancing the uranium(VI) uptake from aqueous solution by amidoximated wool fibers

Urea, sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide were used to treat the cuticle layer of wool before graft copolymerization and amidoximation to enhance the uranium uptaking capacity of amidoximated wool fiber based adsorbent (Wool-g-AOs). The wool-g-AOs were used for recovery of U(VI) from aqueous solutions. The simulated nuclear industry effluent was used for investigating the selectivity and industrial applicability of Wool-g-AOs. The adsorption of uranium(VI) on Wool-g-AOs was pH dependent. The Langmuir model fitted well with the equilibrium data. Kinetic data were fitted well to pseudo second order model.

     

Denitration of simulated high-level liquid waste by formic acid for the connection of PUREX process with TRPO process

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Denitration of simulated high level liquid waste (HLLW) by formic acid was performed for the connection of Plutonium Uranium Recovery by...     

Synthesis of star polymeric ionic liquids and use as the stabilizers for high internal phase emulsions

A series of well-defined core cross-linked star (CCS) polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) were synthesized via a three-step approach. First, the styrenic imidazole-based CCS polymer (S-PVBnIm) was prepared by the RAFT-mediated heterogeneous polymerization in a water/ethanol solution, followed by the quaternization of S-PVBnIm with bromoalkanes and anion exchange. The CCS polymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The obtained CCS polymers were used as the effective emulsifiers for oil-in-water high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). Multiple oils with different polarity including n-dodecane, undecanol, toluene and octanol were emulsified using 0.5 wt% S-PVBnIm aqueous solution under the acidic condition to form HIPEs with long-term stabilities. The excellent emulsification properties of CCS PILs were demonstrated by HIPE formation for a variety of oils. The properties of HIPEs in terms of emulsion type and oil droplet size were characterized by the confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The intriguing capability of CCS PILs to stabilize HIPEs of various oils holds great potentials for the practical applications.     

Transport Coefficients of Two-temperature Lithium Plasma for Space Propulsion Applications

Lithium has been proposed as an attractive metal propellant for advanced electric propulsion. In our current work, transport coefficients including the viscosity, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity of lithium plasma under both the equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions are calculated based on a two-temperature model. The collision integrals used in calculating the transport coefficients are significantly more accurate than values used in previous theoretical studies, resulting in more reliable values of the transport coefficients. Results are computed for different degrees of thermal non-equilibrium, i.e. the ratio of electron to heavy particle temperatures, from 1 to 15, with the electron temperature ranging from 300 to 60,000 K in a wide pressure range from 0.0001 to 100 atm. We compare our calculated results with existing published results and discrepancies are found and explained.     

Experimental and Theoretical Optimization of Radio Frequency Hollow Cathode Discharge

Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing - In this paper, the electron density in radio frequency (RF) hollow cathode discharge (HCD) is investigated in experiments and in simulation based on...