Surface oxides on porous carbon

Wet oxidation of BPL porous carbon by H₂O₂ and HNO₃ changes the pore structure and also increases the concentration of surface oxides. KOH uptake is increased by oxidation and is seen to be dependent on KOH concentration and to a lesser extent on inert electrolyte concentration. Enthalpy of immersion measurements have allowed the estimation of the enthalpy of hydration of the surface oxides and the enthalpy of neutralization of the easily accessible acid oxides.     

Degradation Kinetics of an Epoxy/Cycloaliphatic Amine Resin Under Isothermal and Non-isothermal Conditions

A study of an epoxy-cycloaliphatic amine system has been realized using a thermogravimetric technique (TG). Isothermal and non-isothermal (dynamic) methods were employed to determine the kinetic data of this system. Five methods were used for determining the activation energies of this system in the dynamic heating experiments. In two of them (Flynn-Wall-Ozawa, and Kissinger) it is not necessary to have a prior knowledge of the reaction mechanism of the degradation behaviour for this system. In the other ones (Coats and Redfern, Horowitz and Metzger, and Van Krevelen et al.) it is necessary to know this reaction mechanism, besides Criado et al. method was used for determining it. The results have shown that good agreement between the activation energies obtained from all methods can be achieved if it is assumed that the degradation behaviour of this system is of sigmoidal-rate type. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Ligand dynamics and reactivity in trimetallic clusters

The general relationships between trinuclear cluster reactivity and the ligand dynamical processes in these systems are explored. Three specific mechanistic studies are presented: (1) the rate and stereochemistry of ligand addition to ₃-imidoyl complexes, (2) the factors influencing the rate of carbon-hydrogen bond activation in ₃-alkyne complexes, and (3) the origin of anomalously large kinetic deuterium isotope effect in metal to ligand and ligand to metal hydrogen transfer in trinuclear and binuclear complexes. In all three cases, the current state of the mechanistic studies are summarized and the possible rate of specific ligand dynamical processes in controlling the mechanism are put forth.     

Transition metal-catalyzed olefin arylation via C–H bond activation of arenes

In this article, two kinds of our transition metal-catalyzed olefin arylations are summarized and discussed. The first one is Ir-catalyzed novel anti-Markovnikov hydroarylation of olefins with benzene. Using this reaction catalyzed by [Ir(μ-acac-O,O′,C₃)(acac-O,O′)(acac-C₃)]₂ (acac = acetylacetonato), 1, straight-chain alkylarenes, which were not obtainable by the conventional Friedel-Crafts aromatic alkylation with olefins, were able to be successfully synthesized directly from arenes and olefins with the higher selectivity than that of branched alkylarenes. This is the first efficient catalyst which shows the desirable high regioselectivity. The reaction of benzene with propylene gave n-propylbenzene and cumene in 61% and 39% selectivities, respectively, and the reaction of benzene and styrene afforded 1,2-diphenylethane in 98% selectivity. The reaction of alkylarene and olefin showed meta and para orientations. A wide range of olefins and arenes can be employed for the synthesis of alkylarenes. The mechanism of the reaction involves C–H bond activation of benzene by Ir center to form Ir–phenyl species. The second reaction is Rh-catalyzed oxidative arylation of ethylene with benzene to directly produce styrene, namely one-step synthesis of styrene. The reaction of benzene with ethylene catalyzed by Rh(ppy)₂(OAc) (ppyH = 2-phenylpyridine, OAc = acetate), 3 with Cu oxidizing agent gave styrene and vinyl acetate in 77% and 23% selectivities, respectively, in contrast to those by Pd(OAc)₂, 47% of styrene and 53% of vinyl acetate. The mechanism of the reaction involves Rh-mediated C–H bond activation of benzene, which appears to be a rate-determining step. Furthermore, Rh complexes in a Rh(I) oxidation state at the beginning of the reaction work as catalysts for the reaction by addition of acacH and O₂ without any oxidizing agent, like Cu salt.     

水煤气变换反应的微观动力学分析──Cu基催化剂上H_2S中毒失活原因的 Monte Carlo 模拟研究

用ＢＯＣＭＰ方法及ＭｏｎｔｅＣａｒｌｏ模拟技术，对Ｈ２Ｓ导致Ｃｕ基催化剂失活的原因进行了计算分析。研究结果表明，当原料气中存在Ｈ２Ｓ时，ＷＧＳ反应的活化能明显高于无Ｈ２Ｓ时的活化能，随着表面Ｈ２Ｓ浓度的增大（θ＝０，０．１０，０．２５），反应的活化能也逐渐变大（其大小比为１∶１．３４∶３．３），究其原因可归结为Ｈ２Ｓ的存在使得反应物分子的吸附热减小，从而使Ｈ２Ｏ的解离吸附（ＷＧＳ反应的速控步骤）活化能增大。     

27Al和29Si MAS-NMR对Mo/HZSM-5催化剂的研究

使用＾２９Ａｌ固体离分辨核磁技术对甲烷无氧芳构化催化剂Ｍｏ／ＨＺＳＭ－５分子筛进行了研究，发现ＨＺＳＭ－５分子筛本体中仅含有少量非骨架Ａｌ，Ｍｏ物种与分子筛骨架Ａｌ的相互作用随Ｍｏ担载量以及焙烧的温度的升高而增加，在高温焙烧下，Ｍｏ物种会使分子筛骨架严重脱铝，并且生成Ａｌ２（ＭｏＯ４）３新相，最终导致分子筛骨架塌陷，催化性能下降。     

The pockels coefficient of new polymers for nonlinear optics and its time dependence after poling,compared with dielectric measurements

Epoxy polymers with donor–acceptor type side groups were synthesized for application in nonlinear optics. The stability of the Pockels coefficient was measured in thin films after poling. The relaxation times and their temperature dependence seem to be correlated with dielectric measurements. Guest–host systems (polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate with dimethylaminonitrostilbene) were investigated for comparison.     

Recent advances in the activation of boron and silicon reagents for stereocontrolled allylation reactions

Despite the popularity of boron and silicon allylation reagents in stereocontrolled synthesis, they suffer from a number of inherent limitations that have slowed down their development as synthetic tools for nucleophilic additions to carbonyl compounds and imine derivatives. These limitations are the low reactivity and diastereoselectivity of allyl trialkylsilane reagents, and the lack of catalytic systems for the activation and substoichiometric control of enantioselectivity in the additions of allyl boron reagents. To develop more efficient and general methods for the control of absolute stereochemistry in the resulting homoallylic alcohols, new approaches aimed at solving the problem of activation of allylic boron and silicon reagents are needed. This Minireview describes a number of recent approaches that have been devised to address this problem.     

Iridium mediated methyl and phenyl C-H activation of 2-(arylazo)phenols. Synthesis, structure, and spectral and electrochemical properties of some organoiridium complexes

Reaction of 2-(2′,6′-dimethylphenylazo)-4-methylphenol with [Ir(PPh₃)₃Cl] in refluxing ethanol in the presence of a base (NEt₃) affords an organoiridium complex 5, where the 2-(2′,6′-dimethylphenylazo)-4-methylphenol is coordinated to iridium, via C-H activation of a methyl group, as a dianionic tridentate C,N,O-donor. Two triphenylphosphines and a hydride are also coordinated to the metal center. A similar reaction carried out in toluene affords complex 5 along with a similar complex 7, where a chloride is coordinated to iridium instead of the hydride. Reaction of 2-(2′-methylphenylazo)-4-methylphenol with [Ir(PPh₃)₃Cl] in refluxing ethanol in the presence of a base (NEt₃) affords an organoiridium complex 12, where the 2-(2′-methylphenylazo)-4-methylphenol is coordinated to iridium, via C-H activation at the ortho position of the phenyl group in the 2′-methylphenylazo fragment, as a dianionic tridentate C,N,O-donor. Two triphenylphosphines and a hydride are also coordinated to the metal center. A similar reaction carried out in toluene affords a complex 12 along with a similar complex 13, where a chloride is coordinated to iridium instead of the hydride. Structures of complexes 5, 12 and 13 have been determined by X-ray crystallography. In all these complexes, the two triphenylphosphines are trans. All these complexes show intense MLCT transitions in the visible region. Cyclic voltammetry on all the complexes shows an Ir(III)-Ir(IV) oxidation within 0.60-0.73 V vs. SCE, followed by an oxidation of the coordinated 2-(arylazo)phenolate ligand within 1.08-1.39 V vs. SCE. A reduction of the coordinated 2-(arylazo)phenolate ligand is observed within −1.10 to −1.26 V vs. SCE.     

What theoretical and/or chemical significance is to be attached to the magnitude of an activation energy determined for a solid-state decomposition?

This critical survey argues that the theory, conventionally used to interpret kinetic data measured for thermal reactions of initially solid reactants, is not always suitable for elucidating reaction chemistry and mechanisms or for identifying reactivity controls. Studies of solid-state decompositions published before the 1960s usually portrayed the reaction rate as determined by Arrhenius type models closely related to those formulated for homogeneous rate processes, though scientific justifications for these parallels remained incompletely established. Since the 1960s, when thermal analysis techniques were developed, studies of solid-state decompositions contributed to establishment of the new experimental techniques, but research interest became redirected towards increasing the capabilities of automated equipment to collect, to store and later to analyze rate changes for selected reactions. Subsequently, much less attention has been directed towards chemical features of the rate processes studied, which have included a range of reactants that is much more diverse than the simple solid-state reactions with which early thermokinetic studies were principally concerned. Moreover, the theory applied to these various reactants does not recognize the possible complexities of behaviour that may include mechanisms involving melting and/or concurrent/consecutive reactions, etc. The situation that has arisen following, and attributable to, the eclipse of solid-state decomposition studies by thermal analysis, is presented here and the consequences critically discussed in a historical context. It is concluded that methods currently used for kinetic and mechanistic investigations of all types of thermal reactions indiscriminately considered by the same, but inadequate theory, are unsatisfactory. Urgent and fundamental reappraisal of the theoretical foundations of thermokinetic chemical studies is now necessary and overdue. While there are important, but hitherto unrecognized, delusions in thermokinetic methods and theories, an alternative theoretical explanation that accounts for many physical and chemical features of crystolysis reactions has been proposed. However, this novel but general model for the thermal behaviour and properties of solids has similarly remained ignored by the thermoanalytical community. The objective of this article is to emphasize the now pressing necessity for an open debate between these unreconciled opinions of different groups of researchers. The ethos of science is that disagreement between rival theories can be resolved by experiment and/or discussion, which may also strengthen the foundations of the subject in the process. As pointed out below, during recent years there has been no movement towards attempting to resolve some fundamental differences of opinion in a field that lacks an adequate theory. This should be unacceptable to all concerned. Here some criticisms are made of specific features of the alternative reaction models available with the stated intention of provoking a debate that might lead to identification of the significant differences between the currently irreconciled views. This could, of course, attract the displeasure of both sides, who will probably criticise me severely. Because I intend to retire completely from this field soon, it does not matter to me if I am considered to be ‘wrong’, if it contributes to us all eventually agreeing to get the science ‘right’.