Oscillatory electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol on an Ni(OH)2 film electrode

A film of Ni(OH)₂ deposited cathodically on a roughened nickel substrate consists of even nanoparticles, which were characterized by atomic-force microscopy (AFM). The mechanism of potential oscillations in the electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol on this film electrode in alkaline medium was studied in situ by means of Raman spectroscopy in combination with electrochemical measurements. The redox change of the nickel hydroxide film, the concentration distribution of methanol in the diffusion layer, and the oxidation products of methanol were characterized in situ by time-resolved, spatial-resolved, and potential-dependent Raman spectroscopy, respectively. Electrochemical reactions, i.e. methanol oxidation and periodic oxygen evolution, coupling with alternately predominant diffusion and convection mass transfer of methanol, account for the potential oscillations that occur during oxidation of methanol above its limiting diffusion current. This mechanism is totally different from that of methanol oxidation on platinum electrodes, for which surface steps, i.e. formation and removal of CO_ad, are essential.This work is dedicated to Professor Gyorgy Horanyi on the occasion of his 70th birthday in recognition of his numerous contributions to field of electrochemical oscillations and electrocatalysis at Ni-hydroxide electrodes.     

Thermal decomposition of copper(II) and zinc carbonate hydroxides by means of TG-MS

Summary For the quantitative analyses of evolved CO₂and H₂O during the thermal decomposition of solids, calibration curves, i.e. the amounts of evolved gases vs. the corresponding peak areas of mass chromatograms measured by TG-MS, were plotted as referenced by the reaction stoichiometry of the thermal decomposition of sodium hydrogencarbonate NaHCO₃. The accuracy and reliability of the quantitative analyses of the evolved CO₂and H₂O based on the calibration curves were evaluated by applying the calibration curves to the mass chromatograms for the thermal decompositions of copper(II) and zinc carbonate hydroxides. It was indicated from the observed ratio of evolved CO₂and H₂O that the compositions of copper(II) and zinc carbonate hydroxides examined in this study correspond to mineral malachite, Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂, and hydrozincate, Zn₅(CO₃)₂(OH)₆, respectively. Reliability of the present analytical procedure was confirmed by the fairly good agreement of the mass fraction of the evolved gases calculated from the analytical values with the total mass-loss during the thermal decompositions measured by TG.     

The Surface Activity of the Hydrated Proton Is Substantially Higher than That of the Hydroxide Ion

The behavior of hydroxide and hydrated protons, the auto‐ionization products of water, at surfaces is important for a wide range of applications and disciplines. However, it is unknown at which bulk concentration these ions start to become surface active at the water–air interface. Here, we report changes in the D₂O–air interface in the presence of excess D⁺_hyd/OD^?_hyd determined using surface‐sensitive vibrational sum‐frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy. The onset of the perturbation of the D₂O surface occurs at a bulk concentration as low as 2.7±0.2 mm D⁺_hyd. In contrast, a concentration of several hundred mm OD^?_hyd is required to change the D₂O surface. The hydrated proton is thus orders of magnitude more surface‐active than hydroxide at the water–air interface.     

H2O‐Catalyzed Route to Early Lanthanide Tribromide THF and DME Solvates from Oxides

A convenient one‐pot synthetic protocol towards THF and DME solvates of lanthanum and other early lanthanide tribromides was developed using the water‐catalyzed reaction of lanthanide(III) oxides with highly reactive Me₃SiBr in situ formed from commercially available disilane Si₂Me₆ and Br₂. This practical route allows to obtain the target lanthanum tribromide solvates [LaBr₃(thf)₄] ( 1a ) and [LaBr₃(dme)₂]₂ ( 1b ) as well as analogous early lanthanide molecular tribromide solvates [NdBr₃(thf)₄] ( 2a ), [NdBr₃(dme)₂] ( 2b ), [SmBr₃(thf)₂] ( 3a ), and [SmBr₃(dme)₂] ( 3b ) difficult to prepare by other solution‐based procedures. The molecular structure of 1b· 2CH₂Cl₂ was determined by an XRD study.     

Hydrothermal phase equilibria in Ln2O3-H2O systems

Hydrothermal phase equilibria studies have been carried out in the Ln₂O₃-H₂O systems (Ln = La, Pr, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu) and the stability fields of the phases Ln(OH)₃ LnOOH and Ln₂O₃-C have been established in the pressure-temperature range of 25000 psi and 900° C. The sequioxides Ln₂O₃-C are stable only in the last four systems of Er to Lu along with the Ln(OH)₃ and LnOOH. The systems from Nd to Ho have only Ln(OH)₃ and LnOOH as stable phases and those from La to Pr have only Ln(OH)₃ as the stable phase. The unit cell parameters of trihydroxides deviate from the values reported in the literature and this is attributed to the contamination of CO₂ in the starting material.     

CsOH-promoted epoxide ring-opening with phosphines: mild and efficient synthesis of monohydroxyphosphines

A mild and convenient synthesis of monohydroxyphosphines has been achieved by epoxide ring-opening using primary or secondary phosphines in the presence of cesium hydroxide, 4 Å molecular sieves and DMF at room temperature. These reaction conditions were found to be highly regio- and stereoselective producing various monohydroxyphosphines exclusively in moderate to high yields.     

Studies on Colloidal Properties of Mixed Metal Hydroxide－Clay Aqueous Suspension

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Estimation of the solubility product of hydrocalumite–hydroxide,a layered double hydroxide with the formula of [Ca2Al(OH)6]OH·nH2O

From aqueous NaOH/Ca(OH)₂/NaAl(OH)₄ mixtures, after allowing short reaction times we observed the precipitation of Ca(OH)₂(s) at lower, and a mixture of Ca(OH)₂(s) and a layered double hydroxide, hydrocalumite (HC) at higher aluminate concentrations. From the maximum aluminate concentration, at which the equilibrium solid phase is still portlandite (i.e., further increase in the aluminate concentration results in HC appearing in the precipitate beside the portlandite), the concentration based solubility products of two polymorphs of HC with the formula of [Ca₂Al(OH)₆]OH·nH₂O (differing in n) has been estimated and was found to be log L_HC=−11.4 at 25 °C and −12.1 at 75 °C, respectively (where L_HC=[Ca²⁺]²[Al(OH)₄⁻][OH⁻]³) and at constant ionic strength (I=1 M NaCl). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published estimate for the solubility product of hydrocalumite. Additionally, from the composition obtained for NaOH/Ca(OH)₂/NaAl(OH)₄ mother liquors in equilibrium with Ca(OH)₂(s), attempts were made to extract the formation constant of the ion pair CaAl(OH)₄⁺. It was found, that the effects caused by the supposed formation of this solution species are too small to be reliably determined, which allowed an upper estimate for its formation constant, K, to be suggested in the temperature range of 25–75 °C (K<200 and 40 M⁻¹ at 25 and 75 °C, respectively).     

Optimized adsorption and effective disposal of Congo red dye from wastewater: Hydrothermal fabrication of MgAl-LDH nanohydrotalcite-like materials

The effectiveness of Congo red (CR) adsorption from aqueous solutions onto MgAl-layered double hydroxide (MgAl-LDH) nanosorbents was examined in this study. MgAl-LDH was synthesized using the hydrothermal method, and physicochemical characterization was performed via powdered X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared analysis, and zeta potential measurements. For optimum adsorption of CR onto the synthesized MgAl-LDH nanosorbent, the adsorption process was employed in batch experiments. Adsorption parameters, such as the adsorbent dosage, solution pH, contact time, and initial adsorbate concentration, vary with the adsorption kinetics and isotherm mechanism. The results of the batch experiments indicated rapid adsorption of CR dye from aqueous solutions onto MgAl-LDH during the first 30 min until equilibrium was achieved at 180 min with a dye concentration of 50 mg/100 mL and MgAl-LDH adsorbent dosage of 0.05 g. The experimental adsorption data fit adequately with the monolayer coverage under the Langmuir isotherm model (R² = 0.9792), and showed the best fit with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R² = 0.996). The change in zeta potential confirmed the effective adsorption interaction between the positively charged MgAl-LDH and the negatively charged CR molecules with electrostatic interactions. This work is distinguished by the successful hydrothermal preparation of MgAl-LDH in the form of homogenous nanoscale particles (～100 nm). The prepared MgAl-LDH showed a high adsorption capacity toward anionic CR dye with a maximum adsorption capacity of 769.23 mg/g. This capacity is higher than those reported for other adsorbents in previous research.     

Lattice engineering route for self-assembled nanohybrids of 2D layered double hydroxide with 0D isopolyoxovanadate: chemiresistive SO2 sensor

Tuning the interior chemical composition of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) via lattice engineering route is a unique approach to enable multifunctional applications of LDHs. In this regard, the exfoliated 2D LDH nanosheets coupled with various guest species lead to the lattice-engineered LDH-based multifunctional self-assembly with precisely tuned chemical composition. This article reports the synthesis and characterization of mesoporous zinc–chromium-LDH (ZC-LDH) hybridized with isopolyoxovanadate nanohybrids (ZCiV) via lattice-engineered self-assembly between delaminated ZC-LDH nanosheets and isopolyoxovanadate (iPOV) anions. Electrostatic self-assembly between 2D ZC-LDH monolayers and 0D iPOV significantly altered structural, morphological, and surface properties of ZC-LDH. The structural and morphological study demonstrated the formation of mesoporous interconnected sheet-like architectures composed of restacked ZCiV nanosheets with expanded surface area and interlayer spacing. In addition, the ZCiV nanohybrid resistive elements were used as a room-temperature gas sensor. The selectivity of ZCiV nanohybrid was tested for various oxidizing (SO₂, Cl₂, and NO₂) gases and reducing (LPG, CO, H₂, H₂S, and NH₃) gases. The optimized ZCiV nanohybrid demonstrated highly selective SO₂ detection with the maximum SO₂ response (72%), the fast response time (20 s), low detection limit (0.1 ppm), and long-term stability at room temperature (27 ± 2 °C). Of prime importance, ZCiV nanohybrids exhibited moderately affected SO₂ sensing responses with high relative humidity conditions (80%–95%). The outstanding SO₂ sensing performance of ZCiV is attributed to the active surface gas adsorptive sites via plenty of mesopores induced by a unique lattice-engineered interconnected sheet-like microstructure and expanded interlayer spacing.