Mesoscopic Structure Facilitates Rapid CO Transport and Reactivity in CO Capture Solvents.

Mass transfer coefficients of CO are anomalously high in water-lean solvents as compared to aqueous amines. Such phenomena are intrinsic to the molecular and nanoscale structure of concentrated organic CO capture solvents. To decipher the connections, we performed in situ liquid time-of-flight secondary ionization mass spectroscopy on a representative water-lean solvent, 1-((1,3-Dimethylimidazolidin-2-ylidene)amino)propan-2-ol (IPADM-2-BOL).

Detection of an Iridium-Dihydrogen Complex: A Proposed Intermediate in Ionic Hydrogenation.

Addition of high pressures of H to five-coordinate [(POCOP)Ir(CO)(H)]OTf [(POCOP) = κ-CH-2,6-(OP(Bu))] complexes results in observation of two new iridium-dihydrogen complexes. If the aryl moiety of the POCOP ligand is substituted with an electron withdrawing protonated dimethylamino group at the para position, hydrogen coordination is enhanced. Five-coordinate Ir-H complexes generated by addition of triflic acid to (POCOP)Ir(CO) species show an Ir-H H NMR chemical shift dependence on the number of equivalents of acid present.

Two coexisting liquid phases in switchable ionic liquids.

Switchable ionic liquids (SWILs) derived from organic bases and alcohols are attractive due to their applications in gas capture, separations, and nanomaterial synthesis. However, their exact solvent structure still remains a mystery. We present the first chemical mapping of a SWIL solvent structure using in situ time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry.

Improving the Molecular Ion Signal Intensity for In Situ Liquid SIMS Analysis.

In situ liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) enabled by system for analysis at the liquid vacuum interface (SALVI) has proven to be a promising new tool to provide molecular information at solid-liquid and liquid-vacuum interfaces. However, the initial data showed that useful signals in positive ion spectra are too weak to be meaningful in most cases. In addition, it is difficult to obtain strong negative molecular ion signals when m/z>200.

Anomalous water expulsion from carbon-based rods at high humidity.

Three water adsorption-desorption mechanisms are common in inorganic materials: chemisorption, which can lead to the modification of the first coordination sphere; simple adsorption, which is reversible; and condensation, which is irreversible. Regardless of the sorption mechanism, all known materials exhibit an isotherm in which the quantity of water adsorbed increases with an increase in relative humidity. Here, we show that carbon-based rods can adsorb water at low humidity and spontaneously expel about half of the adsorbed water when the relative humidity exceeds a 50-80% threshold.

Formation of ethane from mono-methyl palladium(II) complexes.

This article describes the high-yielding and selective oxidatively induced formation of ethane from mono-methyl palladium complexes. Mechanistic details of this reaction have been explored via both experiment and computation. On the basis of these studies, a mechanism involving methyl group transmetalation between Pd(II) and Pd(IV) interediates is proposed.