Oxygen Vacancies Enrichment in Citric Acid-Assisted Synthesis of Zirconia Supported Ni Catalyst for Highly Selective Hydrogenolysis of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural.

2, 5-Dimethylfuran (DMF), which is a promising new-generation liquid biofuel, has attracted widespread attention owing to the sustainability of biomass-derived energy sources. In this study, a highly dispersed zirconia-supported nickel catalyst (CA-Ni/ZrO) was prepared via citric acid-assisted wetness impregnation for the selective hydrogenolysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to produce DMF. The characterization results confirmed the presence of Zr species in the mesoporous CA-Ni/ZrO catalyst and the formation of oxygen vacancies during its preparation, which led to the formation of a large number of catalytically active sites for the adsorption and activation of the C=O/C-O groups.

Efficient one-pot transformation of furfural to pentanediol over Cu-modified cobalt-based catalysts.

Pentanediols are substances with significant market potential as the key monomers for advanced polymeric materials. In this study, we successfully achieved directly hydrogenolysis of biomass-based furfural to 1,5-pentanediol with a remarkable yield of 53.4 % using Cu-modified cobalt supported on cerium dioxide catalysts.

Selective Catalytic Epoxidation-Hydration of α-Pinene with Hydrogen Peroxide to Sobrerol by Durable Ammonium Phosphotungstate Immobilized on Imidazolized Activated Carbon.

It is presented that the activated carbon was carboxylated with hydrogen peroxide and then acylated with 2-methylimidazole to prepare the porous carbon support with a surface imidazolated modification. Through the adsorption of phosphotungstic acid on the fundamental site of an imidazolyl group and then adjusting the acid strength with the ammonia molecule, a catalytic carbon material immobilized with ammonium phosphotungstate (AC-COIMO-NHPW) was obtained, which was used to catalyze a one-pot reaction of convenient α-pinene and hydrogen peroxide to sobrerol. The bifunctional active site originated from the dual property of ammonium phosphotungstate, as the oxidant and acid presenting a cooperatively catalytic performance, which effectively catalyzes the tandem epoxidation-isomerization-hydration of α-pinene to sobrerol, in which the solvent effect of catalysis simultaneously exists.

Recent advances on bifunctional catalysts for one-pot conversion of furfural to γ-valerolactone.

γ-Valerolactone (GVL) is one of the most valuable compounds derived from furfural (FAL), which has been industrially produced from agricultural byproducts like corn cobs. It is extremely challenging to synthesize GVL from FAL efficiently a one-pot cascade reaction due to the need for multiple active sites in a single pot. By focusing on the aspects of one-pot synthesis of GVL from FAL, the authors aim to shed light on the rational design and utilization of environmentally friendly bifunctional catalysts with high efficiency in this reaction.

Imidazolized Activated Carbon Anchoring Phosphotungstic Acid as a Recyclable Catalyst for Oxidation of Alcohols With Aqueous Hydrogen Peroxide.

Keggin-type phosphotungstic acid (HPW) supported on imidazolyl-activated carbon (AC-COIMI-HPW) catalysts was prepared, which was used to catalyze the oxidation of benzyl alcohol with aqueous HO. In the presence of AC-COIMI-HPW, the benzyl alcohol conversion of 90.2% with 91.

Preparation of Activated Carbon-Based Solid Sulfonic Acid and Its Catalytic Performance in Biodiesel Preparation.

With activated carbon as raw material, AC-Ph-SOH was prepared after oxidation with nitric acid, modification with halogenated benzene and sulfonation with concentrated sulfuric acid. After modified by 10% bromobenzene with toluene as a solvent for 5 h, followed sulfonation with concentrated sulfuric acid at 150°C, the -SOH content of prepared AC-Ph-SOH was 0.64 mmol/g.

Titania Nanotubes-Bonded Sulfamic Acid as an Efficient Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Synthesis of -Butyl Levulinate.

The titania nanotubes-bonded sulfamic acid (TNTs-NHSOH) catalyst was designed and successfully fabricated by the post-synthesis modification method. The as-prepared catalyst was characterized by a variety of characterization techniques, including Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and thermogravimetry-differential thermal gravimetry (TG-DTG). The crystal structure of the TNTs still maintained during the modification process.

Production of the 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid Bio-Monomer From 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Over a Molybdenum-Vanadium Oxide Catalyst.

2, 5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is an important bio-monomer that can potentially replace terephthalic acid to synthesize degradable polyesters. Efficient selective oxidation of biomass-based 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to FDCA has been a significant but challenging work in the past decades. In this study, a novel molybdenum-vanadium oxide (Mo-V-O) catalyst was prepared by a simple method and showed excellent catalytic activity for converting HMF to FDCA.

Selective Catalytic Isomerization of β-Pinene Oxide to Perillyl Alcohol Enhanced by Protic Tetraimidazolium Nitrate.

A series of tetraimidazolium salts with different anions was prepared and applied in the isomerization of β-pinene oxide. After examining the activity of different catalysts, a remarkable enhancement of the selectivity of perillyl alcohol (47 %) was obtained over [PEimi][HNO ] under mild reaction conditions and using DMSO as the solvent. Furthermore, noncovalent interactions between solvent molecules and the catalyst were found by FT-IR spectroscopy and confirmed by computational chemistry.

Ternary catalyst Mn-Fe-Ce/AlO for the ozonation of phenol pollutant: performance and mechanism.

In this study, a novel ternary catalyst Mn-Fe-Ce/AlO was synthesized by co-impregnation method, and was characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, and FTIR. The catalytic performance of this ternary catalyst was evaluated in the heterogeneous catalytic ozonation of phenol pollutants and it improved the removal rate and mineralization degree of phenol pollutants. The changes of dissolved ozone in water and the TBA experiment proved that the ternary catalyst could accelerate the decomposition of ozone into hydroxyl radicals, thus accelerating the oxidation of phenol.

Efficient synthesis of 5-ethoxymethylfurfural from biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over sulfonated organic polymer catalyst.

Herein, we investigated catalytic potential of a functionalized porous organic polymer bearing sulfonic acid groups (PDVTA-SOH) to the etherification of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) under solvent-free conditions. The PDVTA-SOH material was synthesized post-synthetic sulfonation of the porous co-polymer poly-divinylbenzene--triallylamine by chlorosulfonic acid. The physicochemical properties of the PDVTA-SOH were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, TG-DTG, and N adsorption isotherm techniques.

Polymerization mechanism of 4-APN and a new catalyst for phthalonitrile resin polymerization.

The widely used catalysts for phthalonitrile (PN) resin polymerization are aromatic compounds containing -NH because of their high catalytic performances. However, the catalytic mechanisms of these catalysts are not very clear. To understand the mechanisms of them, the widely used autocatalytic catalyst 4-(4-aminophenoxy)-phthalonitrile (4-APN) was studied in this paper.

Highly-selective solvent-free catalytic isomerization of α-pinene to camphene over reusable titanate nanotubes.

Titanate nanotubes, prepared by the hydrothermal reconstitution and modification with hydrochloric acid, were tested as solid acid catalysts in the isomerization of α-pinene under solvent free conditions. The results showed that titanate nanotubes have better catalytic properties than titanium dioxide nanoparticles, and the camphene was the main product for α-pinene isomerization. The effects of several reaction variables, such as reaction temperature, catalyst dosage, and reaction time, on the conversion of α-pinene and the selectivity to camphene were examined.

Visible-Light-Triggered Quantitative Oxidation of 9,10-Dihydroanthracene to Anthraquinone by O under Mild Conditions.

The development of mild and efficient processes for the selective oxygenation of organic compounds by molecular oxygen (O ) is key for the synthesis of oxygenates. This paper discloses an atom-efficient synthesis protocol for the photo-oxygenation of 9,10-dihydroanthracene (DHA) by O to anthraquinone (AQ), which could achieve quantitative AQ yield (100 %) without any extra catalysts or additives under ambient temperature and pressure. A yield of 86.

Direct cyclohexanone oxime synthesis via oxidation-oximization of cyclohexane with ammonium acetate.

An unexpected cascade reaction for oxidation-oximization of cyclohexane with ammonium acetate was developed for the first time to access cyclohexanone oxime with 50.7% selectivity (13.6% conversion).

Selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural into 2,5-diformylfuran over VPO catalysts under atmospheric pressure.

Vanadium phosphate oxide (VPO) heterogeneous catalysts with different V/P molar ratios were prepared and used for selective oxidation of biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to produce 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) in the liquid phase. It was found that the VPO catalyst with V/P molar ratio 0.25 exhibited the best catalytic performance.

Imidazolyl activated carbon refluxed with ethanediamine as reusable heterogeneous catalysts for Michael addition.

Imidazolyl activated carbon, denoted as AC-N, was prepared oxidation of AC with HNO (AC-O) and then refluxed with ethanediamine under mild conditions. The results showed that the N content of AC-N was 10.3%, and the surface alkali group density of AC-N was 0.

Titanate nanotubes-bonded organosulfonic acid as solid acid catalyst for synthesis of butyl levulinate.

In this study, titanate nanotubes-bonded organosulfonic acid (TNTs-SOH) was prepared and employed as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for esterification of levulinic acid with -butanol. Two reaction products pseudo -butyl levulinate (pseudo-BL) and -butyl levulinate (BL) were detected by GC-MS. The catalyst showed 86.

Metal-Organic Framework-Derived Materials for Sodium Energy Storage.

Recently, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are extensively explored and are regarded as one of the most promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries for electrochemical energy conversion and storage, owing to the abundant raw material resources, low cost, and similar electrochemical behavior of elemental sodium compared to lithium. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted enormous attention due to their high surface areas, tunable structures, and diverse applications in drug delivery, gas storage, and catalysis. Recently, there has been an escalating interest in exploiting MOF-derived materials as anodes for sodium energy storage due to their fast mass transport resulting from their highly porous structures and relatively simple preparation methods originating from in situ thermal treatment processes.

One-pot synthesis of trifunctional chitosan-EDTA-β-cyclodextrin polymer for simultaneous removal of metals and organic micropollutants.

The global contamination of water resources with inorganic and organic micropollutants, such as metals and pharmaceuticals, poses a critical threat to the environment and human health. Herein, we report on a bio-derived chitosan-EDTA-β-cyclodextrin (CS-ED-CD) trifunctional adsorbent fabricated via a facile and green one-pot synthesis method using EDTA as a cross-linker, for the adsorption of toxic metals and organic micropollutants from wastewater. In this system, chitosan chain is considered as the backbone, and the immobilized cyclodextrin cavities capture the organic compounds via host-guest inclusion complexation, while EDTA-groups complex metals.

Selective and Cleavable Extraction of Sialo-glycoproteins by Disulfide-Linked Amino-oxy-Functionalized FeO Magnetic Nanoparticles.

The low abundance of sialo-glycoprotein hampered the separation, enrichment, and analysis of sialo-glycoproteins, which are critical for studying their functions. Here, we designed cleavable amino-oxy functionalized magnetic materials and employed to fast and selective isolate sialo-glycoproteins. This includes the ligation of disulfide-linked amino-oxy-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles with periodate-treated glycoproteins or cells, followed by magnetic separation.

Ambient Pressure Inverse Ion Mobility Spectrometry Coupled to Mass Spectrometry.

Although higher resolving powers are often achieved using ambient pressure drift tube ion mobility mass spectrometry (DT-IMMS) systems, lower duty cycles are often required which directly impacts sensitivity. Moreover, the mechanism of ion gating using Bradbury-Nielsen or Tyndall-Gate configurations routinely results in ion gate depletion effects which discriminate against low mobility ions. This paper reports a new method of ambient pressure ion mobility operation in which inverse ion mobility spectrometry is coupled to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer to improve sensitivity and minimize the effects of ion gate depletion.

An EDTA-β-cyclodextrin material for the adsorption of rare earth elements and its application in preconcentration of rare earth elements in seawater.

The separation and recovery of Rare earth elements (REEs) from diluted aqueous streams has attracted great attention in recent years because of ever-increasing REEs demand. In this study, a green synthesized EDTA-cross-linked β-cyclodextrin (EDTA-β-CD) biopolymer was prepared and employed in adsorption of aqueous REEs, such as La(III), Ce(III), and Eu(III). EDTA acts not only as cross-linker but also as coordination site for binding of REEs.