Sonochemical conversion of CO2 into hydrocarbons: The Sabatier reaction at ambient conditions

In this study, we investigated an alternative method for the chemical CO₂ reduction reaction in which power ultrasound (488 kHz ultrasonic plate transducer) was applied to CO₂-saturated (up to 3%) pure water, NaCl and synthetic seawater solutions. Under ultrasonic conditions, the converted CO₂ products were found to be mainly CH₄, C₂H₄ and C₂H₆ including large amount of CO which was subsequently converted into CH₄. We have found that introducing molecular H₂ plays a crucial role in the CO₂ conversion process and that increasing hydrogen concentration increased the yields of hydrocarbons. However, it was observed that at higher hydrogen concentrations, the overall conversion decreased since hydrogen, a diatomic gas, is known to decrease cavitational activity in liquids. It was also found that 1.0 M NaCl solutions saturated with 2% CO₂ + 98% H₂ led to maximum hydrocarbon yields (close to 5%) and increasing the salt concentrations further decreased the yield of hydrocarbons due to the combined physical and chemical effects of ultrasound. It was shown that CO₂ present in a synthetic industrial flue gas (86.74% N₂, 13% CO₂, 0.2% O₂ and 600 ppm of CO) could be converted into hydrocarbons through this method by diluting the flue gas with hydrogen. Moreover, it was observed that in addition to pure water, synthetic seawater can also be used as an ultrasonicating media for the sonochemical process where the presence of NaCl improves the yields of hydrocarbons by ca. 40%. We have also shown that by using low frequency high-power ultrasound in the absence of catalysts, it is possible to carry out the conversion process at ambient conditions i.e., at room temperature and pressure. We are postulating that each cavitation bubble formed during ultrasonication act as a “micro-reactor” where the so-called Sabatier reaction -$C{O}_2+4H_2\stackrel{\mathit{Ultrasonication}}{\to }C{H}_4+2H_{2}O$ - takes place upon collapse of the bubble. We are naming this novel approach as the “Islam-Pollet-Hihn process”.     

Mechanistic Aspects of a Highly Active Dinuclear Zinc Catalyst for the Co‐polymerization of Epoxides and CO2

The dinuclear zinc complex reported by us is to date the most active zinc catalyst for the co‐polymerization of cyclohexene oxide (CHO) and carbon dioxide. However, co‐polymerization experiments with propylene oxide (PO) and CO₂ revealed surprisingly low conversions. Within this work, we focused on clarification of this behavior through experimental results and quantum chemical studies. The combination of both results indicated the formation of an energetically highly stable intermediate in the presence of propylene oxide and carbon dioxide. A similar species in the case of cyclohexene oxide/CO₂ co‐polymerization was not stable enough to deactivate the catalyst due to steric repulsion.     

Tuning the Basicity of Cyano‐Containing Ionic Liquids to Improve SO2 Capture through Cyano–Sulfur Interactions

A new approach has been developed to improve SO₂ sorption by cyano‐containing ionic liquids (ILs) through tuning the basicity of ILs and cyano–sulfur interaction. Several kinds of cyano‐containing ILs with different basicity were designed, prepared, and used for SO₂ capture. The interaction between these cyano‐containing ILs and SO₂ was investigated by FTIR and NMR methods. Spectroscopic investigations and quantum chemical calculations showed that dramatic effects on SO₂ capacity originate from the basicity of the ILs and enhanced cyano–sulfur interaction. Furthermore, the captured SO₂ was easy to release by heating or bubbling N₂ through the ILs. This efficient and reversible process, achieved by tuning the basicity of ILs, is an excellent alternative to current technologies for SO₂ capture.     

Supercritical CO2 as a superior solvent for the cyclization of diallylmalonate catalyzed by palladium-containing zeolites

Palladium-containing zeolites catalyze the cycloisomerization of diethyl diallylmalonate to dimethylcyclopentenes. When the reaction is carried out in toluene, the performance of the palladium catalyst depends on the pore size of the zeolites. At 60 °C, palladium adsorbed on large pore size Beta zeolite (pore size ∼7.4 Å) is more active than medium pore size ZSM-5 (pore size ∼5.4 Å). This lower activity of ZSM-5 compared to Beta is attributable to the restricted diffusion of reagent and products through the ZSM-5 channels as compared to Beta zeolite. However, due to the gas-like diffusion characteristic of the supercritical state, the activity of ZSM-5 increases and becomes identical to that of Beta zeolite using supercritical CO₂ as medium.     

Lithium heptadecafluorooctanesulfonate catalyzed Mannich-type and aza-Diels-Alder reactions in supercritical carbon dioxide

The Mannich-type reaction of imines with (1-methoxy-2-methylpropenyloxy)trimethylsilane and aza-Diels-Alder reaction of imines with Danishefsky's diene can be carried out in scCO₂ in the presence of lithium heptadecafluorooctanesulfonate which offer a way to synthesize β-amino carbonyl compounds and nitrogen-containing six-membered ring compounds under environmentally benign conditions.     

Novel fixed‐site–carrier polyvinylamine membrane for carbon dioxide capture

Fixed‐site–carrier membranes were prepared for the facilitated transport of CO₂ by casting polyvinylamine (PVAm) on various supports, such as poly(ether sulfone) (PES), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), cellulose acetate (CA), and polysulfone (PSO). The cast PVAm on the support was crosslinked by various methods with glutaraldehyde, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and ammonium fluoride. Among the membranes tested, the PVAm cast on polysulfone and crosslinked by ammonium fluoride showed the highest selectivity of CO₂ over CH₄ (>1000). The permeance of CO₂ was then measured to be 0.014 m³ (STP)/(m² bar h) for a 20 μm thick membrane. The effect of the molecular weight of PVAm and feed pressure on the permeance was also investigated. The selectivity increased remarkably with increasing molecular weight and decreased slightly with increased pressure in the range of 1 to 4 bar. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 4326–4336, 2004     

Total electron scattering cross sections for carbon dioxide at low electron energies

Absolute total electron scattering cross sections for carbon dioxide have been measured at low electron energies using a photoelectron source. The measurements have been carried out at 27 electron energies varying from 0.91–9.14 eV with an accuracy of ±3%. The cross sections obtained in the present experiment have been compared with other measurements and theoretical computations.     

金属锡促进的a-澳代醋与二硒醚反应合成a一硒代醋

本文报道在四氢吠喃中通过金属锡促进Q_澳代酷与二硒醚反应生成a一硒代酷，反应条件温和，产率良好.