Synthesis of Inorganic Compounds (Metal, Oxide and Hydroxide) in Polyol Medium: A Versatile Route Related to the Sol-Gel Process

A new route for the preparation of powdery metal, oxide and hydroxide materials is presented as a chimie douce alternative to the sol-gel method. It consists in the reduction or the hydrolysis of a metal salt dissolved and heated in a polyol medium. It appears through zinc and cobalt examples that the use of acetate precursors contrarily to chloride or sulfate ones leads to the precipitation of a solid (metal, oxide, hydroxide) whose nature depends on two main factors: the hydrolysis ratio, defined by the water to metal molar ratio, and the reaction temperature. As in the sol-gel method, acetate leads to the formation of intermediate alkoxyacetate complex. The absence of water favors metal formation while its presence favors oxide or hydroxyacetate formation.     

3-Cyanopyridine-2(1H)-thiones and 3-cyano-2-(methylthio)pyridines in the synthesis of substituted 3-(aminomethyl)pyridines

The reactions of substituted 3-cyanopyridine-2(1H)-thiones and 3-cyano-2-(methylthio)pyridines with lithium aluminum hydride in anhydrous diethyl ether afforded the corresponding 3-aminomethyl derivatives, which were used in the synthesis of the corresponding amides.     

Electrochemical dissolution of magnetite in acid solutions

The present paper deals with the electrochemical behavior of magnetite microcrystals in an acid medium. A voltammetric method employing a carbon-paste electroactive electrode (CPEE) with an organic binder was used. It was found that the cathodic voltammograms, which were recorded at different scan rates, formed a set bounded in the space of i–E parameters by a generalizing voltammetric curve corresponding to the effective potential scan rate _eff. In other words, all curves are situated under one enveloping curve, just as the smaller dolls sit in the largest doll of a Russian doll. Reverse currents (a cathodic current in the anodic direction of the potential scan) were observed on the cyclic voltammogram. Forward and reverse currents obey the same laws and have one and the same generalizing curve, which could be taken as the magnetite characteristic.     

Reduction of acetophenone using supercritical 2-propanol: the substituent effect and the deuterium kinetic isotope effect

The reductions of several substituted acetophenones using supercritical 2-propanol were carried out to estimate the Hammett's reaction constant (ρ=0.33). Also, the reduction of acetophenone using supercritical deuteriated 2-propanol was carried out to determine the rate-determining step. The kinetic isotope effects were observed in the reduction using 2-deuterio-2-propanol (k_H/k_D=1.6) and O-deuterio-2-propanol (k_H/k_D=2.0). These findings suggest that the reaction proceeds via a cyclic transition state between acetophenone and 2-propanol similar to that of the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction.     

Carbon dioxide reduction under visible light: a comparison of cadmium sulfide and titania photocatalysts

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Catalytic enantioselective intermolecular reductive aldol reaction to ketones

We describe the first example of a catalytic enantioselective intermolecular reductive aldol reaction. Three types of reactions were studied: (1) reactions between acetophenone and methyl acrylate; (2) reactions between symmetric ketones and β-substituted α,β-unsaturated esters; and (3) reactions between acetophenone derivatives and an allenic ester. Although only moderate enantioselectivity was obtained in the first reaction type, high to excellent enantioselectivity was realized in the enantio-induction at the α-position in the second reaction type and at the δ-position in the third reaction type. Specifically, the third reaction type afforded the corresponding tertiary alcohols with up to 99% ee. Pre-activation of the nucleophile by silyl enolate formation is not necessary in these one-pot catalytic enantioselective reductive aldol reactions.     

Setting up of recovery profiles: A tool to perform the compliance with recovery requirements for residue analysis

The use of the recovery term has presented some confusion in Analytical Chemistry. Recent IUPAC recommendations propose to distinguish between two terms: recovery or recovery factor, ℜ, and apparent recovery, ℜ*. Apparent recovery includes recovery factor and a new recovery term proposed in this paper, named calibration recovery, ℜ^C, which depends of the type of systematic error due to the matrix effect (constant and/or proportional) and is related to the applied calibration methodology. This paper highlights the dependence of the calibration recovery on the sample analyte concentration and, for extension, of the apparent recovery, defines the recovery profile, and makes evident the need to determine a “fit for purpose” analyte concentration interval to comply with a regulated recovery requirements. An approach to estimate the calibration recovery and its associated uncertainty in relation to the above-mentioned dependence is presented. The usefulness of the proposed methodology has been shown in the quantification of a pesticide by GC-ECD for assessing dermal exposure.     

Overwhelming electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction of zinc-nitrogen-carbon from biomass resource chitosan via a facile carbon bath method

Developing high efficiency and low cost electrocatalysts is critical for the enhancement of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which is the fundamental for the development and commercialization of renewable energy conversion technology. Herein, zinc-nitrogen-carbon (Zn-N-C) was prepared by using biomass resource chitosan via a facile carbon bath method. The obtained Zn-N-C delivered a high specific surface area (794.7 cm²/g) together with pore volume (0.49 cm³/g). During the electrochemical evaluation of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), Zn-N-C displayed high activity for ORR with an onset potential E₀ = 0.96 V_RHE and a half wave potential E_1/2 = 0.86 V_RHE, which were more positive than those of the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C benchmark catalyst (E₀ = 0.96 V_RHE and E_1/2 = 0.81 V_RHE). In addition, the Zn-N-C catalyst also had a better stability and methanol tolerance than those of the Pt/C catalyst.     

Trace determination of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using liquid chromatography with on-line electrochemical reduction and fluorescence detection

An efficient clean-up procedure coupled with a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with on-line electrochemical (EC) reduction and fluorescence detection (FLD) was developed to quantify nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) in the airborne particulate. In this process, NPAHs were extracted ultrasonically followed by analysis by using a reversed phase column with an aqueous eluent containing 70% aqueous acetonitrile and sodium monocholoroacetate as a buffer solution. The extraction efficiencies were above 83% for 1-nitropyrene and 1,3-dinitropyrene (1,3-DNP) 1,6-DNP, and 1,8-DNP, and calibration graphs were linear with very good correlation coefficients (r>0.999) and the detection limits were in the range of 1.0-2.2 pg for dinitropyrenes and nitropyrene. The proposed method provides a relatively simple and convenient procedure for determining the NPAHs samples in airborne particulate.     

氢部分选择性催化还原NO反应研究

在低钯含量活性非均布Pd/Al2O3催化剂上，实现了富氧条件下，氢部分选择性催化还原NO过程，低温、富氧条件下NO的转化率高达80％－100％。NO直接分解实验表明，600℃，NO分解转化率在无氧时为17．3％，有0．5％氧存在时接近于0。氢非选择性还原NO条件下，100℃以下，NO转化率为100％。根据实验结果及文献，推测了氢部分选择性还原NO过程中可能存在的反应，不同的反应温度下，NO脱除反应有所不同。在115℃以下，NO还原产物为NH3；115℃－155℃，NO还原产物为NH3、N2O和N2；155℃以上，NO还原产物中无NH3存在。NO还原反应与氢氧反应是平行的竞争反应。