Publications by authors named "F Blockhuys"

This article explores the important, and yet often overlooked, solid-state structures of selected bioaromatic compounds commonly found in lignin hydrogenolysis oil, a renewable bio-oil that holds great promise to substitute fossil-based aromatic molecules in a wide range of chemical and material industrial applications. At first, single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) was applied to the lignin model compounds, dihydroconiferyl alcohol, propyl guaiacol, and eugenol dimers, in order to elucidate the fundamental molecular interactions present in such small lignin-derived polyols. Then, considering the potential use of these lignin-derived molecules as building blocks for polymer applications, structural analysis was also performed for two chemically modified model compounds, i.

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The surprising differences between the experimental solid-state and calculated gas-phase structures of 5-oxo-1,3,2,4-dithiadiazole (Roesky's ketone, 1) and 1-oxo-1,2,4,3,5-trithiadiazole (Roesky's sulfoxide, 2), identified and studied in a series of papers published between 2004 and 2010 but then never satisfactorily explained, have been revisited, making use of the more advanced computational possibilities currently available. The previous calculations' considerable overestimations of the C-S and S-S bond lengths in 1 and 2, respectively, have been partly explained based on the results of periodic calculations and the application of Valence Bond (VB) Theory. In the case of 1, the crystal environment appears to stabilize a structure with a highly polarized C=O bond, which features a C-S bond with considerable double-bond character - an effect which does not exist for the isolated molecule - explaining the much shorter bond in the solid state.

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While synthesis-properties-performance correlations are being studied for organophosphonic acid grafted TiO , their stability and the impact of the exposure conditions on possible changes in the interfacial surface chemistry remain unexplored. Here, the impact of different ageing conditions on the evolution of the surface properties of propyl- and 3-aminopropylphosphonic acid grafted mesoporous TiO over a period of 2 years is reported, using solid-state P and C NMR, ToF-SIMS and EPR as main techniques. In humid conditions under ambient light exposure, PA grafted TiO surfaces initiate and facilitate photo-induced oxidative reactions, resulting in the formation of phosphate species and degradation of the grafted organic group with a loss of carbon content ranging from 40 to 60 wt %.

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Modification of metal oxides with organophosphonic acids (PAs) provides the ability to control and tailor the surface properties. The metal oxide phosphonic acid bond (M-O-P) is known to be stable under harsh conditions, making PAs a promising candidate for the recovery of metals from complex acidic leachates. The thiol functional group is an excellent regenerable scavenging group for these applications.

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Amino-alkylphosphonic acid-grafted TiO materials are of increasing interest in a variety of applications such as metal sorption, heterogeneous catalysis, CO capture, and enzyme immobilization. To date, systematic insights into the synthesis-properties-performance correlation are missing for such materials, albeit giving important know-how towards their applicability and limitations. In this work, the impact of the chain length and modification conditions (concentration and temperature) of amino-alkylphosphonic acid-grafted TiO on the surface properties and adsorption performance of palladium is studied.

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