Reversible and Irreversible Structural Changes in Cu/ZnO/ZrO Catalysts during Methanol Synthesis.

The structure and chemical state of heterogeneous catalysts are closely related to their operational stability. Knowing these relationships as precisely as possible is thus essential for further catalyst development. This work focuses on the deactivation of a Cu/ZnO/ZrO-type catalyst for methanol synthesis.

Total synthesis of decarboxyaltenusin.

The total synthesis of decarboxyaltenusin (5'-methoxy-6-methyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-3,3',4-triol), a toxin produced by various mold fungi, has been achieved in seven steps in a yield of 31% starting from 4-methylcatechol and 1-bromo-3,5-dimethoxybenzene, where the longest linear sequence consists of five steps. The key reaction was a palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling of an aromatic boronate with a brominated resorcin derivative.

Facet-, composition- and wavelength-dependent photocatalysis of AgMoO.

Faceted β-AgMoO microcrystals are prepared by controlled nucleation and growth in diethylene glycol (DEG) or dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Both serve as solvents for the liquid-phase synthesis and surface-active agents for the formation of faceted microcrystals. Due to its reducing properties, truncated β-AgMoO@Ag octahedra are obtained in DEG.

β-SnWO with Morphology-Controlled Synthesis and Facet-Depending Photocatalysis.

Faceted β-SnWO microcrystals are prepared with different morphologies including tetrahedra, truncated tetrahedra, truncated octahedra, and short-spiked and long-spiked spikecubes. All of these morphologies are prepared with comparable experimental conditions via microwave-assisted synthesis of high-boiling alcohols (the so-called polyol method). The decisive parameters for controlled formation of one or the other morphology of faceted β-SnWO microcrystals are studied and discussed, including microwave-assisted heating, Sn(OH) as the Sn reservoir, the temperature of particle nucleation, the temperature of particle growth, and the concentration of the starting materials.

Pyridine-based low-temperature synthesis of CoN, NiN and CuN nanoparticles.

CoN, Ni3N and Cu3N nanoparticles were obtained by pyridine-based synthesis using CoI2, NiI2, and CuI as the starting materials as well as NH3/KNH2 as the base and nitride source. Colloidally stable suspensions of crystalline, small-sized CoN (4.5 ± 0.