Biobased Polyamides: Recent Advances in Basic and Applied Research

Polyamides represent a very important class of polymers for a wide range of applications. After establishing in the 1930s with Nylon and Perlon, their impact on many branches has been continuously growing. In the context of developing sustainable polymers from renewable resources, many polyamides have meanwhile been described, which are based on natural building blocks. In addition to their sustainability, these biobased starting materials can provide special structural features to the resulting polymers and their properties, e.g., side groups, functionalities, or stereoinformation. While some biopolyamides are known for decades and well established (e.g., PA‐11, Rilsan), many other promising candidates have been described in fundamental research studies, which have high potential but whose capability—especially for large scale and/or high‐performance materials—will have to be proved in the future. Other candidates are very interesting from a scientific point of view, but with less potential for a market establishment due to price and/or feasibility reasons. This article aims at collating the recent developments in the field of biopolyamides and elucidating their properties and potential for different applications.

     

基于网络教育的有机化学课程教学方法与教学手段的改革探索与实践

随着现代远程教育的发展,网络课程成为传授知识的重要平台。网络环境下教学方法的改革,是提高网络教育教学质量的关键。本文主要针对网络教学环境下的教学方法和教学手段进行改革探索与实践,充分体现自主学习的教学理念。     

光电信息工程实验教学的思考与改革

面对急剧变化的世界,工程知识本身的有效期变得越来越短,社会对学生各种素质的要求越来越高。如何定位大学工程教育本身的角色?如何在光电工程实验教学中培养社会对学生所提出的各种要求?结合对这些问题的思考,讨论了光电信息工程专业实验教学所面临的挑战,以及为应对这些挑战所进行的教学改革实践。     

Synergies between bio- and oil refineries for the production of fuels from biomass

As petroleum prices continue to increase, it is likely that biofuels will play an ever-increasing role in our energy future. The processing of biomass-derived feedstocks (including cellulosic, starch- and sugar-derived biomass, and vegetable fats) by catalytic cracking and hydrotreating is a promising alternative for the future to produce biofuels, and the existing infrastructure of petroleum refineries is well-suited for the production of biofuels, allowing us to rapidly transition to a more sustainable economy without large capital investments for new reaction equipment. This Review discusses the chemistry, catalysts, and challenges involved in the production of biofuels.     

Selective catalytic oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid on dispersed Mo-V-Nb mixed oxides

The direct oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid is catalyzed by multicomponent metal oxides (Mo-V-NbO(x)) prepared by precipitation in the presence of colloidal TiO(2) (Mo(0.61)V(0.31)Nb(0.08)O(x)/TiO(2)). Acetic acid synthesis rates and selectivities (~95 % even at 100 % ethanol conversion) were much higher than in previous reports. The presence of TiO(2) during synthesis led to more highly active surface areas without detectable changes in the reactivity or selectivity of exposed active oxide surfaces. Ethanol oxidation proceeds via acetaldehyde intermediates that are converted to acetic acid. Water increases acetic acid selectivity by inhibiting acetaldehyde synthesis more strongly than its oxidation to acetic acid, thus minimizing prevalent acetaldehyde concentrations and its intervening conversion to CO(x). Kinetic and isotopic effects indicate that C-H bond activation in chemisorbed ethoxide species limits acetaldehyde synthesis rates and overall rates of ethanol conversion to acetic acid. The VO(x) component in Mo-V-Nb is responsible for the high reactivity of these materials. Mo and Nb oxide components increase the accessibility and reducibility of VO(x) domains, while concurrently decreasing the number of unselective V-O-Ti linkages in VO(x) domains dispersed on TiO(2).