Molybdenum (VI)‐functionalized UiO‐66 provides an efficient heterogeneous nanocatalyst in oxidation reactions

A novel heterogeneous nanocatalyst was established by supporting molybdenum (VI) on Zr₆ nodes in the structure of the well‐known UiO‐66 metal–organic framework (MOF). The structure of the UiO‐66 before and after Mo (VI) immobilization was confirmed with XRD, DR‐FTIR and UV–vis spectroscopy, and the presence and amount of Mo (VI) was identified by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. TEM imaging confirmed the absence of Mo clusters on the MOF surface, while SEM confirmed that the appearance of the MOF has not changed upon immobilizing the Mo (VI) catalyst. BET adsorption measurements were used to confirm the porosity of the catalyst. The catalytic activity of this heterogeneous catalyst was investigated in oxidation of sulfides with H₂O₂ in acetonitrile and oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene. Easy work up, convenient and steady reuse and high activity and selectivity are prominent properties of this new hybrid material.     

Separation of trace amount of silver using dispersive liquid-liquid based on solidification of floating organic drop microextraction

In the present work, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop was developed as a simple and rapid technique for separation of silver ions from aqueous samples. In this technique, 700 μL 0.02% of 5-(4'-dimethylamino benzyliden)-rhodanine (chelating agent) was added into the 10 mL analyte sample in a test tube and 30.0 μL 1-undecanol (extraction solvent) was injected shortly thereafter. The test tubes were sonicated, centrifuged and then some effective parameters on extraction and complex formation, such as type and volume of extraction and disperser solvent, pH, the amount of chelating agent and extraction time were optimized. The effect of the interfering ions on the analytes recovery was also investigated. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 0.10-10.0 ng mL(-1) with detection limit of 0.056 ng mL(-1) (n=8). The relative standard deviation (RSD) was ±4.3% (n=8, C=5.0 ng mL(-1)) and the enrichment factor was 250.0. The proposed method was applied for extraction and determination of silver in different water samples.     

Tricetin 4′-<Emphasis Type="Italic">O-α</Emphasis>-L-rhamnopyranoside: A new flavonoid from the aerial parts of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erica arborea</Emphasis>

Reversed-phase preparative HPLC purification of the methanol (MeOH) extract of the aerial parts of Erica arborea resulted in the isolation of a new flavonoid glycoside, tricetin 4′-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside, together with the known flavonoid, isorhamnetin 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside. The structures of these compounds were determined by spectroscopic means. The antioxidant properties of these compounds were assessed by the DPPH assay. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 138–140, March–April, 2008.     

A novel correlation for estimation of hydrate forming condition of natural gases

An inherent problem with natural gas production or transmission is the formation of gas hydrates, which can lead to safety hazards to production/ transportation systems and to substantial economic risks. Therefore, an understanding of conditions where hydrates form is necessary to overcome hydrate related issues. Over the years, several models requiring more complicated and longer computations have been proposed for the prediction of hydrate formation conditions of natural gases. For these reasons, it is essential to develop a reliable and simple-to-use method for oil and gas practitioners. The purpose of this study is to formulate a novel empirical correlation for rapid estimation of hydrate formation condition of sweet natural gases. The developed correlation holds for wide range of temperatures (265–298 K), pressures (1200 to 40000 kPa) and molecular weights (16−29). New proposed correlation shows consistently accurate results across proposed pressure, temperature and molecular weight ranges. This consistency could not be matched by any of the widely accepted existing correlations within the investigated range. For all conditions, new correlation showed average absolute deviation to be less than 0.2% and provided much better results than the widely accepted existing correlations.     

Hydrangenone, a new isoprenoid with an unprecedented skeleton from Salvia hydrangea

Hydrangenone, a new heptacyclic isoprenoid with a 6/7/6/5/5 membered carbon ring skeleton, was isolated from the aerial parts of Salvia hydrangea. The structure was established by extensive NMR spectroscopic methods. The relative and absolute configuration of 1 was assigned by NOESY and X-ray crystallographic analysis and by comparison of experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Compound 1 showed in vitro antiplasmodial activity, with an IC(50) value of 1.4 μM against P. falciparum. A plausible biosynthetic pathway of 1 was also proposed.     

Laser diagnostics for particle-laden flames

Selected developing laser techniques for potential applications to flames with particulate loading are briefly described.     

Rapidly Estimating Natural Gas Compressibility Factor

Natural gases containing sour components exhibit different gas compressibility factor(Z) behavior than do sweet gases.Therefore,a new accurate method should be developed to account for these differences.Several methods are available today for calculating the Z-factor from an cquation of state. However,these equations are more complex than the foregoing correlations,involving a large number of parameters,which require more complicated and longer computations.The aim of this study is to develop a simplified calculation method for a rapid estimating Z-factor for sour natural gases containing as much as 90% total acid gas.In this article,two new correlations are first presented for calculating the pseudo- critical pressure and temperature of the gas mixture as a function of the gas specific gravity.Then,a simple correlation on the basis of the standard gas compressibility factor chart is introduced for a quick estimation of sweet gases' compressibility factor as a function of reduced pressure and temperature.Finally,a new corrective term related to the mole fractions of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide is developed.     

Analyzing solubility of acid gas and light alkanes in triethylene glycol

Physical solvents such as ethylene glycol （EG）, diethylene glycol （DEG）, and triethylene glycol （TEG） are commonly used in wet gas dehydration processes with TEG being the most popular due to ease of regeneration and low solvent losses. Unfortunately, TEG absorbs significantly more hydrocarbons and acid gases than EG or DEG. Quantifying this amount of absorption is therefore critical in order to minimize hydrocarbon losses or to optimize hydrocarbon recovery depending on the objective of the process. In this article, a new correlation that fully covers the operating ranges of TEG dehydration units is developed in order to determine the solubility of light alkanes and acid gases in TEG solvent. The influence of several parameters on hydrocarbon and acid gas solubility including temperature, pressure, and solvent content is also examined.     

A Numerical Approach for Multicomponent Vapor Solid Equilibrium Calculations in Gas Hydrate Formation

A new numerical approach has been developed for vapor solid equilibrium calculations and for predicting vapor solid equilibrium constant and composition of vapor and solid phases in gas hydrate formation. Equation of state methods generally do a good job of determining vapor phase properties, but for solid phase it is much more difficult and inaccurate. This proposed new model calculates vapor solid equilibrium constant and vapor and solid phase composition as a function of temperature and partial pressure. The results of this proposed numerical approach, for vapor solid equilibrium, have a good agreement with the available reported data. This new numerical model also has an advantage to tune coefficients, to cover different sets of experimental data accurately.     

Trisyl modification of epoxy- and chloromethyl-polysiloxanes

The new bulky organosilicon compound HC(Me₂SiCH₂CH₂CH₂OCH₂CycloCHCH₂O)₃ was synthesized by hydrosilylation of tris(dimethylsilyl)methane (HMe₂Si)₃CH and allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) in the presence of H₂PtCl₆ as a catalyst. Polysiloxanes containing 3-(2,3-epoxypropoxy)propyl and chloromethylphenethyl groups were synthesized by hydrosilylation of AGE and chloromethyl styrene (CMS) with hydrogen-containing polymethylsiloxane (PMHS). Both types of polymers could be modified by incorporation of the highly sterically-demanding tris(trimethylsilyl)methyl [trisyl = (Me₃Si)₃C] substituent. The trisyl (Tsi) groups were attached to the obtained polymers as side chains by reacting excess trisyl lithium with benzyl chloride and epoxy groups. The epoxy groups possess a higher reactivity for TsiLi than the chloromethyl groups. The ring opening reaction between the epoxy groups and TsiLi is fast. The modification increases the rigidity of the polymers as shown by differential scanning calorimetry analysis. The incorporation of the Tsi groups into the polymer structure creates macromolecules of novel architecture with potential use as membranes for fluid separation. All the resulting polymers were characterized by FT-IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy.