Intrinsic properties of active sites for hydrogen production from alcohols without coke formation

The detailed reaction pathway and coke formation mechanism over Pt/metal oxide nanoparticles during the steam reforming of ethanol（SRE） at 300℃were studied.The catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation method and were characterized with CO pulse chemisorption, BET surface measurement,oxygen adsorption,ethanol-TPD,NH₃-TPD,and TPO.The SRE activity of the catalysts with steam/ethanol molar ratio of 3/1 was tested using a continuous fixed-bed reactor.Strong interaction between Pt and supports causes lower H₂ production temperatures and no C₂H₄ formation,while weak interaction leads to C₂H₄ formation and strong bonded CO on Pt particles during ethanol-TPD. H₂ production over Pt-based catalysts is mainly resulted from the decomposition and dehydrogenation of ethanol,and decarbonylation of acetaldehyde.Meanwhile,coke can be formed from acetaldehyde,acetone,C₂H₄ and CO.However,when the interaction between Pt and supports is weak,more coke is formed especially from acetone,C₂H₄ and CO.When the interaction is strong,no coke formation is observed due to high oxygen storage capacity of the catalyst.     

Facile one‐pot method of initiator fixation for surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization on carbon hard spheres

An efficient and novel one‐pot process is developed to immobilize the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiators onto the surface of fully pyrolyzed carbon hard spheres (CHSs) via a radical trapping process from the in situ thermal decomposition of bis(bromomethylbenzoyl)peroxide. The CHSs do not require any additional preparative treatment prior to the initiator immobilization. Styrene and methyl methacrylate are polymerized onto initiator‐immobilized CHSs by surface‐initiated atomic transfer radical polymerization (SI‐ATRP). Samples are characterized using Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. These methods of characterization confirmed that all the CHSs are coated with a uniform layer of grafted polymer. This efficient, one‐pot immobilization of ATRP‐initiators represents an exceptionally simple route for the rapid preparation of various polymer‐coated carbon‐based nanomaterials using SI‐ATRP. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3314–3322     

Synthesis of two dihydropyrroloindoledione‐based copolymers for organic electronics

Two novel dihydropyrroloindoledione (DPID)‐based copolymers have been synthesized in a two directional approach and characterized (gel permeation chromatography (GPC), ultraviolet‐visible (UV–vis), cyclic voltammetry, and computational models). These planar, broad absorption copolymers show promise for use in organic electronics, with deep energy levels and low bandgaps. The two‐directional Knoevenagel condensation used demonstrates the versatility of DPID as a useful yet underexploited conjugated unit. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Highly efficient oxidation of 2-imidazoline-5-carboxylic derivatives to imidazole-5-carboxylic derivatives by dioxygen

A highly efficient and environmental-benign oxidation by dioxygen (or air) as the sole oxidant was first applied for the conversion of 2-imidazoline-5-carboxylic derivatives to imidazole-5-carboxylic derivatives in very good and excellent yields. The substituent effect on 2-imidazoline ring was investigated. This protocol was also suitable for the synthesis of 2-imidazoles in relatively large scale.     

Effect of Vacancy Defects on the Young's Modulus and Fracture Strength of Graphene: A Molecular Dynamics Study

The Young's modulus of graphene with various rectangular and circular vacancy defects is investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. By comparing with the results calculated from an effective spring model, it is demonstrated that the Young's modulus of graphene is largely correlated to the size of vacancy defects perpendicular to the stretching direction. And a linear reduction of Young's modulus with the increasing concentration of mono‐atomic‐vacancy defects (i.e., the slope of ?0.03) is also observed. The fracture behavior of graphene, including the fracture strength, crack initiation and propagation are then studied by the molecular dynamics simulation, the effective spring model, and the quantized fracture mechanics. The blunting effect of vacancy edges is demonstrated, and the characterized crack tip radius of 4.44 Å is observed.     

Biological evaluation of novel selenazole‐based compounds as potential thioredoxin reductase inhibitors

Recently, thioredoxin reductase as a target for treatment of tumors has attracted the attention of scientists. 1,2‐[Bis(1,2‐benzisoselenazolone‐3(2 H)‐ketone)]ethane (ethaselen, BBSKE, PCT: CN02/00412), designed and synthesized previously, is an effective thioredoxin reductase inhibitor; presently it is in phase II clinical trials, targeting gastric cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer. To seek more novel and effective anticancer drugs, we have developed many selenazole‐based compounds. Evaluation of the thioredoxin reductase inhibitory effect and investigation of the mechanism of anticancer drugs require abundant thioredoxin reductase, but since commercial thioredoxin reductase is expensive its use is often limited. Therefore, the preparation of thioredoxin reductase is necessary. Base on the above investigation, in this work we have prepared thioredoxin reductase and evaluated selenazole‐based compounds, and found that 44 compounds have high inhibitory effect on thioredoxin reductase with IC₅₀ < 10 µ m , of which 16 compounds have IC₅₀ values below 1 µ m . This is helpful in investigating and elucidating the mechanism of this kind of compound. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of alkoxide in catalytic transfer hydrogenation of unsaturated nitrogen compounds

Alcoholate was utilized in catalytic transfer hydrogenation of unsaturated nitrogen compounds. In the reduction of nitro compounds, oximes and imines, alkoxide was used as the promoter, with alcohol as the hydrogen source, while in the reduction of nitriles, alkoxide was used as the hydrogen source.     

Homogenization of layered elastoplastic composites: Theoretical results

Exact closed-form solutions are derived that completely characterize the effective behavior of a composite material made of elastic-perfectly plastic parallel plane layers perfectly bonded together. The derivation is framed within a rigorous theory of homogenization for elastoplastic composites, and based on the fundamental fact that the in-plane part of the strain tensor and the out-of-plane part of the stress tensor are uniform throughout the composite provided no free-edge effects occur. The obtained expressions are coordinate-free and valid in the general anisotropic case. As an example, a layered composite material with isotropic constituents is examined in detail.