Valorization of Selected Biomass-Derived Molecules on Leaves-Biotemplated TiO-g-CN Photocatalysts.

Biotemplating technique allows the synthesis of catalysts, recreating the sophisticated structure of nature templates. In this work, some biotemplated TiO semiconductors were synthesized using leaves as templates. Then, g-CN was coupled to materials to later incorporate Pt on the surface or as dopant in the structure to evaluate the efficiency of the solids in two photocatalytic applications to valorize biomass: hydrogen production through glycerol photoreforming, and photoacetalization of cinnamaldehyde with 1,2-propanediol.

Agro-Climatic Information to Enhance the Machine-Learning Classification of Olive Oils from Near-Infrared Spectra.

The integrity of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) quality markers can be compromised owing to deceptive marketing practices, such as misleading geographical origin claims or counterfeit certification labels, i.e., protected designations of origin (PDO).

Pt-TiO Systems for Enhanced Hydrogen Production from Glycerol: Direct vs Sequential Incorporation Through Photodeposition.

Pt-TiO systems are the most widely used photocatalysts in the production of green hydrogen from glycerol photoreforming. To incorporate metals on the surface of materials, photodeposition is the most used method because it employs mild conditions. However, despite its use, there are some parameters that have not been deeply studied, such as the appropriate metal loading and the method itself, to obtain a better dispersion of Pt.

Biochars from Olive Stones as Carbonaceous Support in Pt/TiO-Carbon Photocatalysts and Application in Hydrogen Production from Aqueous Glycerol Photoreforming.

Several biochars were synthesized from olive stones and used as supports for TiO, as an active semiconductor, and Pt as a co-catalyst (Pt/TiO-PyCF and Pt/TiO-AC). A third carbon-supported photocatalyst was prepared from commercial mesoporous carbon (Pt/TiO-MCF). Moreover, a Pt/TiO solid based on Evonik P25 was used as a reference.

Synthesis of Fe-TiO and Cu-TiO Based Materials by Olive Leaves Biotemplating-Application to Hydrogen Production from Glycerol Photoreforming.

Hydrogen production is mainly based on the use of fossil fuels, but currently, many alternative routes are being developed, among which the photo-reforming of oxygenated organic compounds stands out. Recently, several studies have been carried out in order to develop new techniques to create bio-inspired TiO structures. One of these is 'biotemplating', a process that replicates a biological system in an inorganic TiO-based structure.

Redundancy Analysis to Reduce the High-Dimensional Near-Infrared Spectral Information to Improve the Authentication of Olive Oil.

The high price of marketing of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) requires the introduction of cost-effective and sustainable procedures that facilitate its authentication, avoiding fraud in the sector. Contrary to classical techniques (such as chromatography), near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy does not need derivatization of the sample with proper integration of separated peaks and is more reliable, rapid, and cost-effective. In this work, principal component analysis (PCA) and then redundancy analysis (RDA)─which can be seen as a constrained version of PCA─are used to summarize the high-dimensional NIR spectral information.

Hydrogen Production through Glycerol Photoreforming on TiO/Mesoporous Carbon: Influence of the Synthetic Method.

This article explores the effect of the synthetic method of titanium dioxide (TiO)/C composites (physical mixture and the water-assisted/unassisted sol-gel method) on their photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production through glycerol photoreforming. The article demonstrates that, apart from a high surface area of carbon and the previous activation of its surface to favor titania incorporation, the appropriate control of titania formation is crucial. In this sense, even though the amount of incorporated titania was limited by the saturation of carbon surface groups (in our case, ca.

Olive Leaves as Biotemplates for Enhanced Solar-Light Harvesting by a Titania-Based Solid.

Olive leaves (by-product from olive oil production in olive mills) were used as biotemplates to synthesize a titania-based artificial olive leaf (AOL). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of AOL showed the successful replication of trichomes and internal structure channels present in olive leaves. The BET surface area of AOL was 52 m·g.

Functional approach and agro-climatic information to improve the estimation of olive oil fatty acid content from near-infrared data.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is very appreciated by its taste, flavor, and benefits for health, and so, it has a high price of commercialization. This fact makes it necessary to provide reliable and cost-effective analytical procedures, such as near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, to analyze its traceability and purity, in combination with chemometrics. Fatty acids profile of EVOO, considered as a quality parameter, is estimated, firstly, from NIR data and, secondly, by adding agro-climatic information.

Influence of Boron, Tungsten and Molybdenum Modifiers on Zirconia Based Pt Catalyst for Glycerol Valorization.

The influence of boron, tungsten and molybdenum modifiers on zirconia-based Pt catalyst was studied for glycerol valorization. Zirconia modified supports were prepared by impregnation of ZrO₂ with either boric, silicontungstic or phosphomolybdic acids to obtain supports with enhanced Brönsted acidic properties. The modified supports were subsequently impregnated with chloroplatinic acid to obtain Pt-based catalysts.

Improving the prediction of the fatty acid profile of olive oils by considering statistically relevant harvests and agro-climatic variables.

Background: Fatty acids are the major components in extra virgin olive oil, and they are considered as a quality parameter to its authentication. As fraudulent practices are the most important problem in this sector, fast, reliable and cost-effective techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy, have been successfully applied, in combination with chemometrics, to determine the fatty acid profile of oils.

Results: The huge amount of information provided by Raman spectra is reduced in a few orthogonal components of principal component analysis (PCA).

Microemulsion and Sol-Gel Synthesized ZrO₂-MgO Catalysts for the Liquid-Phase Dehydration of Xylose to Furfural.

Two series of catalysts were prepared by sol-gel and microemulsion synthetic procedure (SG and ME, respectively). Each series includes both pure Mg and Zr solids as well as Mg-Zr mixed solids with 25%, 50% and 75% nominal Zr content. The whole set of catalysts was characterized from thermal, structural and surface chemical points of view and subsequently applied to the liquid-phase xylose dehydration to furfural.

XPS evidence for structure-performance relationship in selective hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde to crotyl alcohol on platinum systems supported on natural phosphates.

Natural phosphates are an important natural resource in Morocco, which needs to be valorised. They can be used not only as fertilisers but also as catalysts. Here, we report for the first time on its use as support for platinum and the application of the resulting systems to the liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of an α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compound (crotonaldehyde) to the corresponding unsaturated alcohol (crotyl alcohol), a process of interest in the production of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and fragrances.

A nuclear magnetic resonance (1H and 13C) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (delta13C, delta2H and delta18O) study of Andalusian olive oils.

We have determined delta(13)C, delta(2)H and delta(18)O isotopic abundances in Andalusian olive oils. In addition, the fatty acid composition and the distribution of isomers at positions 1,3 and 2 of glycerol were determined by (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, respectively. Isotopic results obtained for four series of oil samples extracted from olives harvested in the 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons are discussed in terms of olive variety, ripeness, geographical origin, fatty acid composition and growing altitude.

A study on the potential application of natural phosphate in photocatalytic processes.

In an attempt at increasing surface area of the resulting solids, different titanium-based systems were synthesized on natural phosphate through the sol-gel process using diverse ageing conditions (reflux, magnetic stirring, sonication or microwaves) and tested for gas-phase selective photooxidation of propan-2-ol. The best results were obtained for the system aged under ultrasounds which was ascribed to its lower band-gap energy. Moreover, the synthesis of TiO(2) on natural phosphate seemed to produce retardation in crystallization as well as a change in titanium and phosphorus electronic environments (as determined by XPS) which in the case of the sonicated system resulted in an improved catalytic behavior as compared to pure titania.

Liquid chromatography/triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry with multiple reaction monitoring for optimal selection of transitions to evaluate nutraceuticals from olive-tree materials.

Optimal transitions have been selected for the identification and quantitation of the most interesting hydrophilic biophenols in extracts from olive-tree materials, which are of interest because of their nutraceutical properties. The tested materials were extra virgin olive oil, waste from oil production (known as alperujo), and olive-tree materials such as leaves, small branches and fruit stones. The identification and determination steps of the target biophenols are based on liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with a triple quadrupole (QQQ) mass detector.

Oxygen-18 measurement of Andalusian olive oils by continuous flow pyrolysis/isotope ratio mass spectrometry.

We report a method for the determination of delta(18)O isotopic abundance in olive oils. The results obtained by applying the method to various Andalusian oil samples obtained in the 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons are discussed in relation to olive variety, geographical origin, climate and ripeness index. Application of the method to samples of assured varietal purity exposed the influence of olive variety and origin but not of the ripeness index.